BY JOSHUA BALL
FOR THE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
FALLSBURG — Eden has that undefeated feeling.
And it feels so good. Real good.
The Wildcats wrapped up a perfect season with a flawless performance, defeating county-rival Inez, 28-12, Saturday for the Eastern Kentucky Elementary Basketball Conference A-Team Championship at Fallsburg Elementary School.
Eden won all 20 of its games this season. The Indians also finished strong with a 9-4 mark — with all four losses coming to the Wildcats.
Sixth-grader Alivia Stacy had a game-high 18 points to lead the Wildcats. This included her first career three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
“We couldn’t do it without a coach (BJ Endicott),” Stacy said, smiling and then hugging Coach Endicott.
It was a much different feeling for the Wildcats in this year’s final. They lost to Paintsville in the inaugural Eastern Kentucky Elementary Basketball Conference championship last year. That tough loss stung despite the 22-2 record last season.
However, it set the tone for this season.
“This is a great group to coach,” added Endicott. “They play hard and practice hard. They are competitive. But they love each other. It is certainly special to see and a privilege to coach.”
Sixth-grader Lexi Bowen added eight points for the Wildcats, all in the first quarter.
Eden raced out to a 13-2 halftime lead. In the first 90 seconds of the second half, Eden scored six points and it didn’t look back.
“I told our girls to play their game,” said Endicott. I didn’t feel like we were attacking like we should. I think we played much better in the second half.”
Emily Mills and Mia James had four points each for the Indians. Harper Runyon and Bradlyne Staffordsville finished with two each.
“I’m very proud of how hard my girls played,” said Inez Coach Alison Scott. “Every one of them has improved so much from the beginning of the season until now. Today’s games didn’t go the way we wanted to, but win or lose, I’m always proud of these girls. The future for Martin County girls’ basketball is very bright, and I can’t wait to see all of these girls playing together one day.”
Kennedy Mills added three points for Eden. Zoe Sammons finished with two.
At Fallsburg
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Inez (9-4) 2 0 4 6 – 12
Eden (20-0) 19 3 6 9 – 28
Scoring:
Inez (12) — Emily Mills 1 2-2 4, Mia James 0 4-4 4, Harper Runyon 0 2-2 2, Bradlyne Stafford 1 0-0 2. Totals: 2 8-8 12.
Eden (28) — Zoe Sammons 1 0-2 2, Kennedy Mills 1 1-2 3, Alivia Stacy 6(1) 0-0 15, Haleigh Maynard 0 0-2 0, Lexi Bowen 4 0-0 8. Totals: 12(1) 1-6 28.
B-Team Championship
FALLSBURG — Eden made it a clean sweep, defeating Inez, 19-10, to claim the Eastern Kentucky Elementary Basketball Conference Championship B-Team title Saturday at Fallsburg Elementary School.
Braylee Horn and Paige Stafford shared game-high honors with nine points each for the Wildcats, who raced out to a 12-4 halftime lead. McKinley Fitch finished with one.
Inez was led by Harper Runyon’s six points. Bradlyn Stafford and Kinslee Callaham chipped in two apiece.
At Fallsburg
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Inez 2 2 0 6 — 10
Eden 11 1 4 3 — 19
Scoring:
Inez (12) — Harper Runyon 3 0-3 6, Bradlyn Stafford 1 0-0 2, Jennah Fleming 0 0-2 0, Kinslee Callaham 1 0-0 2. Totals: 5 0-5 10.
Eden (19) — Braylee Horn 4 1-2 9, Paige Stafford 4 1-2 9, McKinley Fitch 0 1-6 1. Totals: 8 3-10 19.
