The Cawood Lady Comets held off a late run from Wallins to defeat the Lady Devils 40-31 Tuesday and claim their second seventh- and eighth-grade title in the last four years.

Cawood (18-3) forced five Wallins’ turnovers and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and an 11-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter and Cawood went into halftime with a 20-14 lead.

Melissa Stewart powered Cawood with eight points in the third quarter as the Lady Comets stretched their lead to 31-22.

Wallins (17-5) quickly answered at the start of the fourth quarter as a 3-point basket by Rachel Carmical and a layup from Lauren Lee closed the gap to 31-27. Carmical added a free throw to bring the Lady Devils to within three, but they couldn’t get any closer.

Cawood’s Ashley Stewart scored the game’s next six points to put the game out of reach and give the Lady Comets the championship.

“We preached all year that free throws win championships, and our girls stepped up and made ours tonight,” said Cawood coach Emily Boggs. “I also thought we played really well defensively tonight.”

Boggs said she was proud of the way her team strived throughout the year to get better.

“These girls have worked hard all year long. I have a good group of eighth-graders, and this is what they wanted. They worked hard to get it. I told them all year long that they had to finish and they did. I’m really proud of these girls,” she said.

Wallins coach Jeff Kilgore said he was pleased with the improvement his team has made throughout the season.

“It has been a great opportunity to work with these girls. They have worked hard and come a long way. I am proud to be their coach. I wish it would have went our way, but congratulations to Cawood,” he said.

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The Lady Dragons jumped out to a 13 point halftime lead and cruised to a 50-31 win over Rosspoint in the third place game.

Sixth-grader Brooklyn Massingill scored 18 points to lead Harlan (15-7)

Madison Hendrix scored 14 points to lead Rosspoint (15-9)

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Cawood (40) — Bella Noe 13, Ashley Stewart 11, Melissa Stewart 9, Kristina Bray 4, Haley Cook 3.

Wallins (31) — Rachel Carmical 15, Lauren Lee 9, Chelsea Niday 4, Chyanna Harris 2, Renishia Gilpin 1.

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Harlan (50) — Brooklyn Massingill 18, Torri Mitchell 12, Kaitlyn Stittums 10, Jourdan Ledford, Jessica Pope 4, Madison Noe 2.

Rosspoint (31) — Madison Hendrix 14, Michaela Burke, Kaitlin Reynolds 4, Megan Tolliver 2, Jade Goodwin 2, Kennedy Thompson 2.