Callie McWilliams played hero and the Salisbury boys notched their third straight home tournament championship Saturday night.
The girls championship put Class 3 #4 South Shelby against Class 1 #1 Cairo. Two overtimes were needed for the 65-62 final and it came down to the final buzzer.
South Shelby went the length of the floor in four seconds for the win. That was the third buzzer beater of the game. The first came at the end of the opening quarter.
South held the lead for most of the first quarter through the early second and went to halftime leading 30-28 after a late three by Bella Cook. Macie Harman had a third quarter buzzer beater.
Cairo scored the first bucket of the fourth to go up by six, its largest lead of the game. South’s largest lead was seven. In total, the back-and-forth battle had 13 lead changes.
McWilliams finished the game with 24 points. Belle Roush and Bella Cook had 11 and 10 respectively. The Ladybirds stay perfect on the season at 13-0.
Cairo falls to 9-3. Macie Harman scored 18, Olivia Cross put in 17 and Avery Brumley ended with 13.
The Salisbury boys got a redemption win over Cairo 55-51. Cairo beat Salisbury 39-37 December 19th. Austin Cravens led all scorers with 17 points.
Jake Peiffer and Patrick White contributed 14 and 12. Salisbury never trailed in the second half, although Cairo never let the Panthers pull away.
Cairo got within one point three times in the fourth quarter. Shaun Leucke concluded with 13 points. Zander Holman chipped in 10. The Bearcats fall to 8-4 while Salisbury moves to 6-5.
Freeman Financial and Insurance Outstanding Players of the Game
South Shelby girls- Callie McWilliams
Salisbury boys- Austin Cravens
South Shelby girls coach Luke O’Laughlin Postgame:
Salisbury boys coach Alex McFadden Postgame:
Cairo girls and boys coach Brian Winkler Postgame:
