Weston Junior High held its annual basketball tournament this past Thursday and Friday, with the girls’ team proving to be the “host with the most” and the boys’ squad showing great improvement by winning two games and finishing in second place. Quitman Junior High also competed in the tourney, with the girls and boys teams both winning their first game and losing in the second round.

The WJH girls, under the guidance of Matthew Herring, beat Claiborne Christian 34-10, Quitman Junior High 34-1, and Castor 30-6 in the finals to win their fifth straight tournament title and remain unbeaten, running their record to an impressive 17-0 this season. The WJH boys improved to 5-12 on the year by beating Claiborne Christian and Castor before falling to Choudrant in the finals.

The Quitman Junior High girls team, now 6-8 this season, beat Dodson 35-10 in the opening round before falling to Weston, while the boys team beat Calvin 43-28 to open the tourney and then dropped the second-round contest to eventual tourney champion Choudrant, dropping their season record to 14-4, with all four losses coming against Choudrant.

Weston Tourney Recap

Thursday Games

Weston 34 Claiborne Christian 10 (girls): The “dynamic duo” of Kate Keiffer and Saniyah Salsberry led Weston in scoring as they have for most of the season by tallying 13 and 8 points, respectively, as Weston exploded for 20 second-half points to break open a 14-9 game at the half and take the first-round victory. Hannah Aldy finished with five, Ashlyn Petre had four, and Brooklyn Keiffer and Shelby Johns each scored a basket.

Quitman 35 Dodson 10 (girls): Quitman spotted Dodson a 3-2 first-quarter lead, but behind 14 points from Elliot Savage over the final three quarters blew open the game. Lily Tolar and Aaliyah Mixon finished with 4, Jaicee Hall tallied 3, and both Dally-Kate McCurdy and Abigail Sullivan scored 2. Savannah Porter added a free throw.

Quitman 43 Calvin 28 (boys): Jaxen Culpepper led the Wolverines in scoring with 12, coming within one point of his career high, and Luke Davis put up 8 for his second-best scoring total. Khyree Boston also added 8, Bentley Ponder finished with 5, and Kutter Blalock added 4 points. Aiden Reed and Asher Norred chipped in with 2 points each.

Weston 26 Claiborne Christian 22 (boys): Kaine Stassen scored 8 points, and “Hawk” Snuggs added 6 to lead the Wolves past CCS in a close game that wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter. Ashton Paggett and Mason Greer scored four points each.

Friday Games

Weston 34 Quitman 1 (Girls): In the second round, the Lady Wolves allowed Quitman only a second-quarter free throw by Elliot Savage and were led offensively by Kate Keiffer, who finished with 17, half of the WJH points. Hannay Aldy chipped in six, while Saniyah Salsberry tallied three, and Brooklyn Keiffer, Ashlyn Petre, Bailey McCurdy, and Shelby Johns each scored two.

Choudrant 47 Quitman 33 (boys): The Aggies methodically pulled away to claim their fourth victory over Quitman, the only losses suffered by the Wolverines this season. For the second straight night, Jaxen Culpepper led QJH in scoring with 11 followed by Aiden Reed with 7. Bentley Ponder finished with 5, Khyree Boston had 4 and both Luke Davis and Sheppard Norred made a basket.

Weston 28 Castor 10 (boys): A team effort that saw WJH have 8 players score moved the Wolves into the championship round. Mason Greer and Ashton Paggett led the offensive attack with 6 points each, and El Jones pitched in with 4. Kaine Stassen and Colton Haney each added a three- pointer, and “Hawk” Snuggs, Grant Griffin and Haiden Jones all tallied two points each.

Championship Games

Choudrant 24 Weston 21 (boys): Weston held Choudrant scoreless in the third quarter to close to within 19-16 heading into the final frame of the championship game, but the Aggies won the fourth quarter by a 10-5 advantage to claim first place. Grant Griffin and “Hawk” Snuggs scored 6 points apiece to pace the Wolves while Kaine Stassen chipped in with 4. Mason Greer and Eli Jones added a basket each.

Weston 30 Castor 6 (girls): In the championship game, Weston jumped out to an 8-0 first-quarter lead that grew to an 18-2 advantage at the half in another dominating defensive effort. Kate Keiffer led the way with 11 points, followed by Brooklyn Keiffer and Hannah Aldy, both with 6 points. Shelby Johns chipped in with 4, Ashlyn Petre tallied 2, and Saniyah Salsberry sank a free throw to round out the scoring.

Tuesday Tilts

The All-Jackson Parish season series between Quitman and Weston will come to a close on Tuesday at Quitman. Three games are on tap, beginning with a “B” girls game at 4:00 pm followed by girls and boys action.

4:00 pm: Weston at Quitman (Girls “B” game)
4:30 pm: Weston at Quitman (Girls)
5:30 pm: Weston at Quitman (Boys)

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