The Clinton County Lady Bulldogs didn’t finish the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic with a first place trophy, but the quality of play displayed on the local hardwood showed a lot of promise in working toward their end goal of making it deep in the postseason.

Clinton County finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and needed a win in their final game to take first place, but North Laurel had other plans and defeated the Lady Dawgs to claim the first place prize in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic.

Clinton County 60

North Laurel 82

The Clinton County Lady Dawgs went into the final game of the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic to face a team considered the best overall team in the tournament in North Laurel.

North Laurel opened the game with a free throw for the first points of the game, but Allee Hopper stepped to the line shortly after North Laurel’s basket to make two of her own and give the Lady Dawgs the first lead of the game, 2-1.

North Laurel was one of the better three point shooting teams in the tournament and hit a three pointer to regain the lead early in the game, 4-2.

Hopper went back to the line again, hitting one of two to cut the lead to one point with 5:55 on the clock.

Clinton County took its game straight at North Laurel and it was apparent it had thrown the Lady Jaguars off its game a bit.

With 5:40 on the clock, North Laurel hit a basket to move ahead 6-3, but back-to-back baskets by Alexis Roberts and Sam Flowers put the Lady Dawgs up by one, 7-6.

After a minute of both teams hitting a free throw each, and both teams scoring a basket each, Bree Boils stepped up and drained a three pointer to give the Lady Dawgs a four point lead, 13-9, with 3:42 remaining in the quarter.

North Laurel added a basket to cut the lead to two, but a spin move in the lane by Hopper put the Lady Dawgs up 15-11. North Laurel didn’t give up that easily as another basket by the Lady Jaguars cut the lead to two points, 15-13. Hopper then added another two points to Clinton County’s side, but once again, North Laurel answered with a basket to keep Clinton County from getting too far out of reach, 17-15.

The Lady Jaguars tied the score from the foul line, but a basket by Hopper gave Clinton County another two point edge with 1:30 on the clock.

North Laurel scored the final four points of the quarter and led Clinton County by four after the first quarter, 23-19.

The Lady Dawgs fell into a small slump in the second quarter as North Laurel adjusted its game to accommodate for Clinton County’s stellar play.

The Lady Jaguars hit a double digit lead at the 5:15 mark, 31-21 and led by as much as 15 points, 36-21, before Clinton County cut that lead to 10 at the half, 36-26.

The second half was all North Laurel as Clinton County’s ability to make baskets went cold. Bree Boils finished the game hitting four of six from the three point line, two of which came in the second half.

At the 5:02 mark, after Boils hit her third three pointer of the game, Hopper scored a basket to cut the lead to eight points, 46-38.

North Laurel scored a basket to push the lead back to 10, but Boils then hit her fourth three pointer of the game at the 4:30 mark to cut the lead to seven points, 48-41.

Back-to-back goals by North Laurel quickly extended the lead back 11 points with 3:55 remaining in the period.

Tessa Roberts scored two points from the foul line to get back to single digits, but another small run by the Lady Jaguars kept the lead at a safe distance for North Laurel.

Despite having another good quarter by the Lady Dawgs, putting up 19 points in the eight minute period, North Laurel had already done its damage and led Clinton County, 64-45, at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter went much the same way for Clinton County although the Lady Dawgs did put up 15 points for the period.

The Lady Jaguars posted 17 points for the final period and came out with the 82-60 win for the first place title in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Hopper 19

Boils 13

Campbell 9

A. Roberts 6

Beaty 5

T. Roberts 2

Collins 2

Hadley 2

Flowers 2

Clinton County 35

Franklin-Simpson 36

Friday night’s game put the Lady Dawgs up against 4th Region rival Franklin-Simpson. The Lady Dawgs defeated the Lady Wildcats during the second game of the season, 46-42.

Franklin-Simpson would get its revenge as the Lady Dawgs lost the heart breaker, 36-35.

Although the game wasn’t an offensive game, both teams played really good defense which kept the score low on both sides.

By the end of the first quarter, Clinton County held a two point lead, 6-4.

During the second quarter, the Lady Dawgs fell way behind as Franklin-Simpson put together a 12-2 run for a 16-8 lead by halftime.

Both teams struggled to score during the second period, but Clinton County’s two points made it easy for the Lady Wildcats to obtain the eight point lead.

During the third quarter, Clinton County began to go to work. After Franklin-Simpson hit the first two points of the quarter, Clinton County went on a 12-2 run, including two three pointers by Boils, to cut the lead to two points with 1:20 on the clock, 22-20.

Franklin-Simpson hit a basket to extend the lead to four points, but a basket by Hopper with 37 seconds remaining in the period cut the lead to two points, 24-22.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Macy Campbell and Hopper hit one free throw each while Franklin-Simpson hit a basket. With a lead of only two points, Franklin-Simpson hit back-to-back goals to reach a six point lead at the 6:15 mark, 30-24.

Alexis Roberts hit a three pointer at the 5:59 mark to cut the lead to three points, and Boils hit her third three of the game to tie the score at 30 with 5:30 to play in the game.

Franklin-Simpson went back on top with two free throw and a field goal, but Boils was there again to hit her fourth three pointer from the top of the key to get the Lady Dawgs to within one point, 34-33 with 2:50 on the clock.

Franklin-Simpson decided to use the clock to the best of their ability by stalling. At the 1:26 mark, Hopper hit a basket to give Clinton County a one point lead, 35-34.

In the final 1:20, Franklin-Simpson held the ball for the final shot. Clinton County held back in a zone defense until Franklin-Simpson made its move with 20 seconds remaining.

A quick drive to the basket was all that was needed for the Lady Wildcats as Franklin-Simpson scored a short jumper from the lane for a one point advantage with 10 seconds on the clock.

Clinton County inbound the ball and took it to half court before calling a time out to set up a last second play in hopes of coming out with a win.

With 6.4 remaining, Clinton County inbounded the ball and was quickly tied up by Franklin-Simpson forcing a jump ball call. Franklin-Simpson was awarded possession with the alternate possession arrow and was able to keep Clinton County from scoring in the final seconds.

The Lady Dawgs lost the game by one point, 36-35.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Hopper 14

Boils 12

A. Roberts 8

Campbell 1

Clinton County 44

Monterey 41

Clinton County’s second game of the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic came Thursday afternoon and ended with a win by the Lady Dawgs 44-41.

Clinton County opened the game with the first points as Hopper made a basket for a quick 2-0 lead.

Monterey came out and hit a three pointer to take the lead for the first time at 3-2.

Although scoring wasn’t superb for either team in the first quarter, both teams finished the quarter in a tie at 11-11.

The second quarter went much the same way with both teams matching each other point for point. The Lady Dawgs only scored nine points in the quarter, but held Monterey to eight point to give Clinton County a one point lead at the half.

Monterey hit a three pointer to open the third quarter, but Boils answered with a three pointer of her own to regain a one point lead.

Despite Hopper being sidelined for much of the third quarter due to foul trouble and Campbell out with a stomach virus, Clinton County continued to battle in the game and kept the score tight.

Towards the end of the period, Monterey outscore Clinton County in the third quarter, 10-5, to reach a four point lead by the end of the eight minutes, 29-25.

Monterey continued to add to its lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter and reached an eight point lead.

With Hopper back in the game, and hitting three free throws, followed by a basket by Tessa Roberts, the Lady Dawgs cut Monterey’s lead to three points, 33-30, with 4:45 remaining in the game.

A basket and two free throws by Monterey extended the lead back to seven points, but a 5-0 run by the Lady Dawgs got Clinton County to within two points with just more than two minutes to play.

At the 1:25 mark, Campbell hit a basket to tie the score at 37, followed by foul shots by Alexis Roberts and Hopper to take the lead, 41-37.

Boils added a point from the line to extend the lead with 29 seconds on the clock, 42-39, and Hopper came through with a free throw for a 43-39 lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Monterey scored two points from the foul line after being fouled on the inbounds pass, but with seven seconds remaining, Alexis Roberts hit a shot from the foul line to secure the victory, 44-41.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Hopper 21

A. Roberts 13

Boils 4

T. Roberts 3

Campbell 2

Flowers 1

Clinton County 43

Red Boiling Springs 40

Clinton County opened the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic against Red Boiling Springs on Wednesday.

The first quarter was pretty much back and forth for the entire first eight minutes as Hopper drew first blood with a basket, 2-0.

By the end of the period, both teams struggled on offense, but Red Boiling Spring finished the quarter on top, 13-11.

Hopper tied the score in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Red Boiling Springs answered with a three pointer, 16-13.

That three pointer was just the beginning for Red Boiling Springs as they continued and eventually putting together a 10-0 run to lead Clinton County 23-13 with still half the period left before halftime.

The remaining four minutes of the half Clinton County started clawing back at the lead and went into the locker room down only by six, 27-21.

The third quarter saw Clinton County fall deeper into the hole as Red Boiling Springs reached an 11 point lead at the 2:22 mark, 33-22.

Beaty hit a three pointer, followed by a three point play by Alexis Roberts to cut the lead to five points with 1:32 on the clock.

Red Boiling Springs hit a basket to end the quarter with a 35-28 lead over the Lady Dawgs.

During the fourth quarter, things started to go in favor of the Lady Dawgs.

A 7-1 run by the Lady Dawgs cut the lead to only one point with 5:35 remaining in the game, 36-35.

Red Boiling Springs was down two of its key players due to fouling out, which gave the Lady Dawgs a boost in the final minutes.

At 5:18, Tessa Roberts hit two foul shots to take a one point lead, 37-36.

Red Boiling Springs converted a three point play for a two point edge with 4:09 remaining in the game. With 3:12 left, Hopper hit two from the line to tie the score, followed by a basket by Mackinzie Polston to regain the lead, 41-39.

With 40 seconds remaining, Red Boiling Springs missed a three point opportunity and fouled on the rebound sending Boils to the line where she hit one of two for a three point lead, 42-39.

Clinton County got the ball back on a turnover by Red Boiling Springs then headed back to the line after being fouled. One of two was made from the line to give Clinton County a four point lead, 43-39.

In the closing seconds, Red Boiling Springs made one of two from the foul line, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. Clinton County came out victorious, 43-40.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

A. Roberts 14

Beaty 9

Hopper 8

Polston 5

Stockton 3

Boils 2

T. Roberts 2

Clinton County’s next game came Tuesday night, too late for press deadline, at home against Pickett County. The Lady Dawgs will also be back in action on Friday night as Clinton County travels to Metcalfe County.

Alexis Roberts put up a shot during the first half of Clinton County’s first game against Red Boiling Springs on Wednesday of last week in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic.

Tessa Roberts, left, and Rylee Stockton both got the block on defense Wednesday night during Clinton County’s game against Red Boiling Springs. Clinton County finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, picking up wins against Red Boiling Springs and Monterey.

Allee Hopper put up a shot in the lane on Wednesday during the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic held at “The Castle.” She finished the game with eight points.