Wharton posts pair of wins at Lady Flyer tournament

Staff Photo by Kris Bagley Battling for a board, Wharton's LaToy Laban (15) gets her arms around the ball first while going against El Campo's Angel Brooks. Laban's Lady Tiger teammate Vernequa Taylor shadows the pair in case of a loose ball. The Lady Tigers picked up a pair of wins Thursday at the Lady Flyer Holiday Classic in Victoria, downing Hallettsville Sacred Heart and El Campo.

VICTORIA - The Wharton Lady Tigers knocked any potential holiday rust off in a big way Thursday during opening day play at the Lady Flyer Holiday Classic hosted by Victoria St. Joseph.

The Lady Tigers clawed their way to a pair of wins including downing county rival El Campo 59-40. Wharton had three players with double figure scoring in the contest, led by Vernequa Taylor's 16. Chandra Johnson added 15 and Jalessa Jones finished with 14.

Other Wharton scoring included Shaniqua Dogins, eight; and Desurae Matthews, four.

Wharton led 25-15 at halftime of the game on their way to the win.

In their opening game of the tourney, Wharton nearly doubled up Hallettsville Sacred Heart in a 74-43 win as the Lady Tigers had five players in double figures. Leading the way was Dogins with 15 while Jones and Matthews pumped in 13 points apiece. Rounding out the score sheet were Johnson with a dozen, Taylor with 11 and LaToy Laban, seven.

The Lady Tigers did better than doubling up the Indianettes in the first half as they dominated the action on the way to a 42-19 intermission advantage.

Play in the Holiday Classic is scheduled to run through Saturday. The Lady Tigers will resume their regular season on Jan. 4 at home against Needville in District 24-3A contest. Wharton is 3-1 in league play while Needville is 1-3. The freshman will play at 5 p.m. followed by the JV at 6 p.m. with the varsity game scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.

In other girls action this weekend, the East Bernard girls were scheduled to be in action at the Weimar Tournament Thursday through Saturday. Results from the games were not available.

The Boling girls were scheduled to play at the Tidehaven Tournament. No information was available and the Tidehaven ISD Web site showed the tournament had been canceled.

Boling will still have a chance to get in a game before returning to action against East Bernard in a district 27- 2A tilt set for Jan. 4.

The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play at El Campo on Jan. 3. It will be a JV-varsity doubleheader with games at 5:30 and 7 p.m., respectively.