The Quitman Lady Bulldogs went 2-2 last week in the Quitman Invitational Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs fell 46-35 to Bland in the third-place game Wednesday. Van won the first place trophy with a win over Wills Point.

The Lady Bulldogs opened the tournament with a loss to Class 4A Wills Point Tuesday morning but came back to defeat Class 5A Longview Pine Tree 51-33. 

Against Pine Tree, Quitman jumped to an early lead on three-pointers by Maddy Pence and Sadie Vander Schaaf. With Quitman up 7-5, Reiny Luman got a bucket and Allie Berry had a steal which turned into a lay up to give Quitman an 11-5 lead. Quitman ended the first quarter ahead 13-9 and did not fall behind the rest of the game.

The Luman and Pence combination dominated the second quarter. Luman hit for six points and Pence five. 

Vander Schaaf had a great third quarter. The talented freshman hit a triple just as the second half began and had five points in the quarter to go with her solid defensive efforts. Three-point shots were also made by Ashley Davis, Carley Spears and Pence.

Quitman took a 39-26 advantage into the final quarter. Kaysi Parker and Pence each added three-point shots helping lead the Lady Bulldogs to the 51-33 win. Pence led the way with 13 followed by Luman with 10 points.

Quitman defeated Beckville in an exciting game with the Lady Bulldogs taking a 37-35 victory setting the stage for the third place trophy game against Bland.

The Lady Bulldogs and Bland had a very tough game with officials letting the teams play a very physical style of play.

Bland junior Connie Hughes was the difference in this one, scoring 32 of her team’s 46 points. According to Bland Coach Garrett Todd, Hughes went over the career 1,500 points mark during the contest. Bland went on to score a 46-35 victory.

The Lady Bulldogs started strong with Luman controlling the boards on both ends of the floor and scoring five of Quitman’s 13 first quarter points. Freshman Berry came in to spark defensive play as she brought down rebounds and forced Bland to hurry shots and make mistakes. Pence and Spears each had triples in the first quarter.

Bland came back with a strong second quarter making the score 24-24 at the half. Bland’s Hughes scored 13 of the Lady Tiger’s 16 points in the quarter.

The third quarter became a defensive struggle with both teams playing tough defense. Hughes again led the Lady Tigers, scoring all eight of their points with a pair of triples and a lay-up. Quitman got buckets from Luman and Parker, but the score was 32-28 with Bland in the lead going into the final stanza.

Bland took control in the final eight minutes and hit 4-6 free throws in the late going to pull away.

Quitman was back in action Jan. 4 at Mt. Pleasant Chapel Hill  in district play followed by a home game Friday against Winona.