BRL girls tournament tips off Monday

A strong South Iron club is understandably the No. 1 seed in the girls bracket of the Black River League Tournament set to begin Monday night at Ellington.

The host Lady Whippets are the tournament’s defending champions and stand at 7-6 overall following Thursday’s loss to Poplar Bluff, but they should make another run in their home environment.

South Iron is 14-1 overall and is the No. 1 team in Class 1 owning a victory over Ellington earlier this season.

CLEARWATER

Clearwater opens tournament play at 7:30 against No. 3 seed Bunker (9-5) and won the title in 2011-12 and 2013-14 when current head coach Lexi Morris was a player when she averaged 29 points a night for the Lady Tigers.

“We were coached by one of the best, Darren Garrison,” Morris said. “I would do anything to have the chance to be able to suit up and play in another BRL tournament.”

No. 6 Clearwater has struggled in its reboot year with a 1-10 record, but the small roster has competed well in a handful of its losses so they continue to trend forward.

“Our season has been going pretty good,” Morris said. “The girls have improved tremendously from day one. They come ready to battle every game, no matter the competition we are up against. I have a good group of girls, who have a lot of heart. This team right here will always have my greatest respect; because they knew how tough of a year this year would be, and they are still putting in the effort day in and day out.”

Morris is prepared for a tough go in this edition of the BRL tournament.

“I feel like this year's bracket is very tough and all of the teams are very tough,” Morris said. “They each bring a unique skill to the table.”

EAST CARTER

It says something for the depth of the field when a team like East Carter (10-4) is seeded fourth.

However, the Lady Redbirds recently ended a four losses in six games run of play at just the right time as they prepare for the 5:30 p.m. first-round matchup against No. 5 Lesterville (7-4).

The winner plays No. 1 South Iron in a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday semifinal.

The Lady Redbirds have finished third the last two seasons.

“This is a tough tournament with good competition, but I feel like if we can play our best game we have a shot at making it far,” East Carter head coach Angela Rodgers said. “Keys are using our height to our advantage (rebounding, staying out of foul trouble), being patient, and sharing the ball.

“Overall we've made a lot of progress this year but hit a rough patch after Christmas. After (Thursday) against Van Buren, hopefully, we're seeing a turnaround. The best things I've seen from the team are competing in the games that we have lost big in the past, our rebounding, and our ability to be mentally tough in tight situations.”

ELLINGTON

The Lady Whippets have a first-round bye and will enter the fray in the 7 p.m. Wednesday semifinal against the Bunker-Clearwater winner.

Ellington has continued to battle this year with a small roster of seven players and has competed with a competitive group of girls who don’t back down, led by senior scoring machine Kaylee King.

“This year will be tough to win with South Iron at the top,” Ellington head coach David Burrows said. "They are very tough and well coached. We will have to bring everything we have to this tournament on both ends of the floor if we want a chance to win.”

Burrows is pleased with the progress of his squad, seeded second in the field, to date.

“There are things we need to improve on but we are getting better every game which is what needs to happen for us to make a postseason run,” Burrows said.

The championship game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The boys tournament, which starts Tuesday, will be previewed in that day's edition of the DAR.