BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Martin County hosted this year’s Eastern Kentucky Elementary Basketball Conference tournament Oct. 14-19.

After an exciting week with a few upsets in the third season of the conference, co-founder Sara Kise had much to say about the successful tournament.

“It has been so much fun to watch this conference grow into a competitive environment for our youth,” she said. “This is exactly what Les (Trimble) and I wanted when we started this conference. Thank you to the teams, refs, coaches and parents for all the miles traveled this week. Thank you to Martin County for hosting a great tournament. Until next year. And now let the boys season begin.”

The conference consists of Eden, Inez, Warfield, Louisa East, Salyersville, North Magoffin, Fallsburg, South Magoffin and Paintsville.

The Louisa East A-team, Martin County’s Eden B-team and Blaine’s C-team were all crowned champions.

The following is a recap of EKEBC tournament action:

Louisa East vs Paintsville – On Oct. 19, the A-team championship featured one-seed Louisa East versus two-seed Paintsville.

The Tigers clawed their way to an 18-8 lead in the third quarter.

Louisa East went on a 7-0 run before Paintsville’s key player Kendell Scott fouled out of the contest with 12 points.

Louisa entered the final quarter with a 21-20 lead.

Cheyann Evans dropped in a scorching 26 points for Louisa East. Ten of her points came in the fourth quarter to help her squad pull away from Paintsville for a 33-27 championship win.

Emma Castle flipped in four points for the winners and Sadie Parsley assisted with three.

Reese Lauffer fired in eight points for the Tigers. Camdyn McKenzie scored four points and Lucy Hale added three for the runner-up.

Eden vs Louisa East – On Oct. 19, the B-team championship featured No.1 seeds Louisa East and the Eden Wildcats.

Eden went into halftime with a 5-4 lead.

Coming out of the break, the Lady Wildcats outscored Louisa 8-3 in the second half for a 13-7 championship win.

Harper Howell led the undefeated Cats with eight points.

Taytum Jennings flipped in three points and Charlie Mollett hit a jumper for two.

Libby Sturgell, Berkley Whitt and Austyn Pinson each scored two points for Louisa. Ella Fitzpatrick assisted with a free throw.

Blaine vs Salyersville – The C-team championship was an overtime thriller between the one-seed Salyersville and two-seed Blaine.

Blaine came back from a 10-4 deficit to bring home the trophy in OT with a 17-15 win.

Champion Kendall Young led all scorers with 10 points. Kaylee Justice flipped in three points. Maci and Hayden Davis each scored two.

Malia Arnett led Salyersville with eight points. Kenzie Russell followed up with six points. Lilly Williams hit a free throw.

Eden vs Paintsville – Paintsville advanced past Eden’s A-team on Oct. 17 to reach the championship game with a 33-28 win.

Tiger Kendell Scott led all scorers with 16 points. Camdyn McKenzie hit double digits with 10 points. Reese Lauffer pitched in with five. Kendell Kinner added two points.

Paige Stafford led the Wildcats with 13 points. Braylee Horn fired in nine points.

Martha Maynard scored four points and Paislee Hinkle flipped in a bucket for two.

Eden vs Paintsville – The Eden B-team advanced to the championship game after defeating Paintsville 21-12 on Oct. 17.

Harper Howell led all scorers with eight points for Eden. Charlie Mollett flipped in five points. Taytum Jennings scored four points. Kami Fletcher and Aubrey Wilson each pitched in with two.

Mia Marquez led the Tigers with six points. Kendell Kinner flipped in four. Summer Melvin added two points.

Eden vs Blaine – Blaine advanced to the championship game after defeating Eden’s C-team 20-7 on Oct. 17.

Hayden Davis led Blaine with 12 points. Maci Davis fired in six. Olivia Workman pitched in with two.

Kyleigh Horn led Eden with five points. Kaydee Dials flipped in a bucket.

Eden vs South Magoffin – The Eden A-team advanced past the first round with a 41-8 win over South Magoffin.

The dynamic duo of Paige Stafford and Braylee Horn led Eden with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Sarah McCoy and Paislee Hinkle each fired in six points. Martha Maynard and Charlie Mollet each flipped in a bucket.

Eden vs Blaine – Eden’s B-team advanced past Blaine with a 15-12 win Oct. 15.

Harper Howell led Eden with six points. Charlie Mollett fired in five. Taytum Jennings added four points.

Maci Davis and Kendell Young each scored four points for Blaine. Kelsey Hayes and Hayden Davis flipped in two each.

Eden vs Paintsville – Eden’s C-team advanced past Paintsville with a 10-6 win on Oct. 16.

Kyleigh Horn led Eden with four points. Hammond, Kaydee Dials, and Remy Williams each scored two points for the Wildcats.

P. Boggs had all six of the Tiger points.

Inez vs Paintsville – Paintsville’s A-team advanced past Inez 35-21 in the first round on Oct. 14.

Inez’s Harper Runyon led all scorers with 14 points. Emily Mooney fired in four. Macie Callaham flipped in two. Kenleigh Estep had one point.

Kendell Scott led the Tigers with 13 points. Reese Lauffer and Lucy Hale each fired in eight points. Aundrea Fairchild and Camdyn McKenzie each pitched in with two.

Inez vs Paintsville – Paintsville’s B-team advanced past Inez 19-11 in the first round on Oct. 14.

Paisley Mooney led the Indians with nine points. Layla Cline flipped in a bucket for two.

Mia Marquez led all scorers with 10 points. Kendell Kinner scored seven points. Leah Baskett added a bucket.

Warfield vs Salyersville – Salyersville’s A-team advanced past Warfield 31-10 in the first round on Oct. 14.

Salyersville’s Russell led all scorers with 19 points. Malia Arnett, Emmalee Howard, and Lilly Williams each flipped in four points.

Payzlee Fletcher, Morgan Dove, Baylee Hall, McKenna Fletcher, and Payton Harmon each scored two points for the Red Devils.

Warfield vs Louisa East – Louisa East B-team advanced past Warfield 11-6 in the first round on Oct. 14.

Ella Fitzpatrick led the winners with six points. Berkley Whitt pitched in with three points and Harper Dove scored two.

McKenna Fletcher led the Red Devils with three points. Reagan Baisden scored two and Brooklyn Nichol one point.

Warfield vs North Magoffin – Warfield’s C-team advanced past North Magoffin 17-8 on Oct. 15.

Kami Fletcher led the Red Devils with eight points. Brooklyn Nichol had four points. Carolyn Dalton flipped in three points. Parks had two points.

Warfield vs Salyersville – Salyersville C-team advanced past Warfield 23-21.

Brooklyn Nichol and Carolyn Dalton fired in seven points each. Kami Fletcher had three. Maynard and Endicott had two points each.

Macie McKenzie led all scorers with 17 points. Malia Arnett fired in six points for Salyersville.