Lady Cats claim tournament title

El Dorado's ninth grade girls pose with the trophy after beating Little Rock Parkview 53-51 Saturday in the finals of the Freshman Classic at Wildcat Arena.
El Dorado's ninth grade girls pose with the trophy after beating Little Rock Parkview 53-51 Saturday in the finals of the Freshman Classic at Wildcat Arena.

El Dorado’s freshmen Lady Wildcats rallied for a 53-51 victory over Little Rock Parkview in the championship game of the seventh annual Freshman Classic Saturday night at Wildcat Arena. Charalyn Rester nailed two free throws with 13 seconds left for the game’s final points.

El Dorado led 8-4 after one quarter. The game was tied 22-22 at the half and the Lady Patriots led 39-36 going into the final quarter.

El Dorado’s Mallory Whitten hit a jump shot with 30 seconds remaining to tie the game before Rester, who was 11-of-16 from the line on the night, hit the game-winning free throws.

The Lady Wildcats did not allow Parkview, which finished the game with four players on the floor, to get off a final shot.

“After being down by eight points, our girls dug deep and finished the game strong,” said Coach Ashlee Curtis. “I couldn’t ask for anything more from my girls. They played hard and left everything they had on the floor.

“Thank you to my assistant coach, Marleigh Bonsall, for not taking a play off and pushing the girls to reach victory. I am proud of these young ladies and excited to get back to it on Monday.”

Rester led the Lady Wildcats with 23 points while Whitten finished with 17. Coach Curtis also singled out the defensive effort of Julia Jackson.

El Dorado improved to 3-0 on the season.

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