The Clinton County Lady Dawgs picked up runners-up honors in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic held at The Castle last week.
The Lady Dawgs went 2-1 for the tournament, defeating Marion County and Butler County, but falling to Berea in the opening game.

Clinton County    48
Butler County    45

The Lady Dawgs finished up its own tournament on Thursday of last week with a matchup against Butler County in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic.
Clinton County started out slow on Thursday against Butler County, but by the time the first quarter was over, the Lady Dawgs had kicked it into high gear offensively.
The early part of the game showed both teams evenly matched.
At the 4:10 mark in the first quarter, Landree Moons hit a field goal to put the Lady Dawgs up by three, 9-6.
Clinton County then finished the quarter with a 14-4 run to lead 23-10 at the end of one. Most of that run was from Makayla Smith who hit four three pointers in the period for 12 of the 14-point run.
The second quarter saw much of the same thing for Clinton County, holding Butler County to only five points in the period. Smith continued to add points to the board with her fifth three pointer and a field goal for five of Clinton County’s 10 total second quarter points.
Moons scored a field goal in the second quarter and Sadie Ipock recorded a field goal and a free throw to give the Lady Dawgs a 33-15 halftime lead.
During the second half, Clinton County cooled off somewhat on offense. The Lady Dawgs only put up seven points, three from Ipock and four from Landree, compared to Butler County’s 11.
By the end of the third quarter, Butler County had closed the gap Clinton County had worked hard to get in the first half and trailed the Lady Dawgs by 14 to start the fourth quarter, 40-26.
The fourth quarter saw Butler County ease back into the game as the Lady Dawgs struggled from the floor.
Clinton County saw scoring from Moons with three free throws, two free throws from Tatum Harlan and one free throw from Ipock. The only field goal for the Lady Dawgs came from Smith at the 1:50 mark.
Even though Clinton County lived from the foul line in the fourth quarter, it proved to be enough as the Lady Dawgs picked up the three point victory, 48-45.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Smith    19
Moons    15
Ipock    12
Harlan    2

Clinton County    53
Marion County    41
The Lady Bulldogs avenged one of its season losses on Wednesday of last week against Marion County in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic.
Marion County defeated the Lady Dawgs in the first game of the season by a final score of 60-47, but the second meeting went entirely Clinton County’s way.
During the first quarter, Clinton County came out on a mission, jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
Marion County hit one of two free throws, then Clinton County went on a 7-0 run to lead, 11-1.
The Lady Dawgs finished the quarter with a 15-6 lead.
During the second quarter, Clinton County’s offense slowed down a bit, scoring 10 points in the quarter, compared to Marion County’s 14.
The Lady Knights managed to cut the lead to only five at the break, 25-20.
After halftime, Clinton County struggled from the floor, only putting up 12 points in the eight minute period.
Marion County posted 14 points and continued to chip away at the Lady Dawgs’ lead.
By the end of the third quarter, the Lady Knights had cut the lead to three points, 37-34.
During the fourth quarter, Clinton County picked up its game on both sides of the floor.
The Lady Dawgs started the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run on back-to-back three pointers by Moons, 43-36.
Clinton County’s run continued with a basket each by Harlan and Ipock to gain an 11 point lead, 47-36, with 5:11 on the clock.
Down the stretch, Clinton County held its own and kept the Lady Knights off the board. The Lady Dawgs finished the game with six more points and held Marion County to only five, for a 12 point victory, 53-41.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Moons    30
Ipock    6
Longwell    6
Smith    4
Thacker    3
Davis    2
Harlan    2

Clinton County    49
Berea    54

Clinton County’s first game in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic on Tuesday came with a loss to potential tournament winner Berea, 54-49.
The game started with the Lady Dawgs jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by Moons and Smith.
Berea responded with a three pointer to cut the lead to one, but a field goal by Moons at the 6:30 mark put the Lady Dawgs back up by three, 6-3.
Berea then cut the lead to one point on a made basket, but Smith knocked down back-to-back three pointers to give Clinton County a 12-5 edge.
Berea then put together a 13-2 run to finish out the quarter and took a four point lead over the Lady Dawgs, 18-14.
The Lady Pirates continued its run into the second quarter and remained in control of the game for the remainder of the half.
Although Clinton County didn’t fall too far behind in the first half, Berea went into the locker room at halftime with a two point lead, 24-22.
Clinton County continued to battle in the third quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump.
Berea opened the second half with a field goal to reach a four point lead, 26-22, but Harlan made a field goal to cut the lead back to two points at the 6:36 mark, 26-24.
Berea kept control of the game for the remainder of the third quarter and led by five to start the fourth, 38-33.
During the fourth quarter, Clinton County tried to chip away at the lead, but couldn’t put enough baskets together in a row to do any damage.
Berea grabbed a seven point lead to start the fourth, but the Lady Dawgs cut that lead to three on a three point play by Crista Thacker and a free throw by Harlan, 40-37.
The Lady Pirates then put up four points to regain a seven point lead, 44-37, but a basket by Moons cut the lead to five, 44-39.
Berea added a basket at the 3:12 mark, 46-39, but a three pointer by Moons cut the lead to four points, 46-42, with 2:56 remaining.
The Lady Pirates started using the clock from that point, running a weave to push the seconds away.
As the final seconds ran off the clock, Smith hit a three pointer with 2.2 remaining to cut the lead to three points, 50-47, but Berea remained strong from the foul line and made four free throws for a 54-47 lead with seven tenths of a second remaining. Moons hit Clinton County’s final basket for a final score of 54-49.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Moons    17
Smith    14
Harlan    10
Thacker    5
Young    3

Clinton County is traveling to Florida this week to participate in the Tampa Bay Invitational for three games in three days. Highlights from those games will appear in next week’s edition of the Clinton County News.

The Clinton County Lady Bulldogs are pictured above with the Clinton County High School Cheerleaders after the conclusion of Thursday night’s game in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic held at The Castle. The Clinton County Lady Dawgs earned runners-up honors in the tournament.

Bella Young knocked down this three pointer in the first half against Berea on Tuesday night in the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic. Clinton County lost the game by a final score of 54-49.

Landree Moons went around a Berea defender during the first half of Tuesday night’s opening game of the Best of the Lakes Holiday Classic held at The Castle. Moons finished the game with 17 points in the 54-49 loss.

Tatum Harlan put up a shot in the lane Tuesday night against Berea. Harlan finished with 10 points.