• Ross Cunningham •
• Originally published January 2, 2009 at 12:31 p.m., updated January 2, 2009 at 12:31 p.m.

The Van Vleck Leopards opened the Palacios Sharkettes Basketball tournament with a win over the Columbia Lady Necks. Van Vleck edged the Lady Necks 61-51 on Monday, Dec. 29. Alisha Brown started the scoring for Van Vleck with a lay up but Kenzie Longbotham answered back with a basket to tie the game and then hit a three-pointer to give Columbia a 5-2 lead. The Lady Leopards fought back to take a 6-5 lead on foul shots by Lylasha Williams and a basket by Nataja Smith. The first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie. With less than six minutes to go in the second quarter, the Lady Necks broke A 14-14 tie on a jumper from the foul line by Hailee Gilbert for 16-14 Columbia advantage. Aaliyah Ward hit two foul shots with less than two minutes to go before halftime to give Columbia a four-point advantage at 22-18. The Lady Leopards rallied and reeled off eight straight points to lead their opponent 26-22 behind the shooting of Williams, Desiree Griggs and Andrea Floyd. Van Vleck lead at the half 28-25. Ebony Washington opened the third quarter scoring for Columbia with two quick baskets to tie the game at 29-29. Jona Griffin rallied the Lady Leopards with a steal, layup and was fouled on the shot. Griffin made the free throw for a 31-29 Van Vleck lead. Alisha brown followed with a steal and a basket for a 33-29 advantage. Whitney Flannel edged the Lady necks closer on a basket from five feet out as Van Vleck led 33-31. The Lady Leopards answered back with a six-point run with baskets by Floyd, Smith and foul shots by Williams for a 39-31 Van Vleck lead. Columbia refused to quit and scored six straight points to narrow the gap to 39-37 with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Van Vleck led at the end of three quarters 41-39. Williams opened the fourth quarter with a basket off of a rebound for Van Vleck and Brown followed with a steal and a lay up for a 45-39 advantage. Courtney Scott and Ward hit back-to-back baskets for the Lady Necks to narrow the gap to 45-43. Van Vleck exploded on offense with nine straight points to take a 11 point lead with four minutes left in the contest. Griggs had a basket on a fast break and hit one bucket from the charity stripe, and Griffin hit two lay ups on a steal and another fast break as Van Vleck led 52-43. Columbia never recovered from the run as Van Vleck went on to defeat the Lady Necks 61-51. Jona Griffin led Van Vleck in scoring with 14 points followed by Alisha Brown and Desiree Griggs with 10 points. Aaliyah Ward and Courtney Scott led Columbia in scoring with 13 points.

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