The Princeton Lady Tigers showed great fight, but too many turnovers in the second half on Thursday night saw PHS fall to Worth County, 40-39, in semifinal action from the Albany Tournament broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
With Jaelyn Thomas bursting out of the gates with 10 first-quarter points, Princeton took a 15-10 lead after eight minutes, but although slowly at first, the lead began to slowly shrink. By halftime, Worth County was within 22-18, and by the end of the third quarter, Worth County had grabbed a 30-29 lead.
Despite a pair of key three-point shots by Princeton, one by Kennedy Norton and the other by Lindsey Batson, in the fourth quarter, Worth County’s Anna Gladstone forced the issue by getting to the free throw line six times in the final quarter, hitting four as part of a game-high 16 point effort, in the WCHS win. Regan Allee had 12 points for Worth County. For Princeton, now 1-1 on the season, Thomas had 15 points with Payton Goodin adding 10.
The Princeton girls will play Jefferson in Friday night’s third place game at 8:30, after Jefferson lost to top-seeded Stanberry in the other girls semifinals. Stanberry and Worth County play for the girls title on Saturday night at 7 o’clock.
The Princeton boys, in action broadcast on KTTN-FM, ran into one of the top teams in the Western Division of the GRC, as Pattonsburg got the better of the Tigers, 74-52. Cameron Jones played a sizzling all-around floor game for the Panthers, leading all scorers with 25 points, with Carter Crone scoring 14 (all in the second half) and Connor Ireland 10. For Princeton, Austin Kelly had 14 points, Preston Thomas 13, and Logan Dunkin 12.
The Princeton boys will play Worth County in Saturday night’s third place game at 5:30, while Pattonsburg will play Jefferson, a 66-38 semifinal winner over Worth County, in the 8:30 championship on Saturday evening from AHS.
In Friday night’s consolation finals, the Albany Lady Warriors play King City at 5:30, with the South Harrison Bulldog boys battling Stanberry at 7 o’clock.
