Fantasy of Lights recap: Six new champions crowned

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - It was a historic night of firsts – and seconds – in the girls division at the 30th Annual Fantasy of Lights Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

Wichita Falls High School, Bangs and Muenster won its first championship while Iowa Park became the only returning champion to successfully defend a title.

Beginning in Div. I, the Lady Coyotes (6-1) took advantage of a seven-minute Rider scoring drought in the first half to build a double-digit lead and cruise their way to a 52-34 win over their cross-town and District 5-4A rival.

There was a time when couldn't make it to the finals," WFHS coach Joe Golding said. "We used to struggle to stay in the winner's bracket, but now we've got that off our backs. It's a credit to Coach (Deborah) Gonzales, along with Coach (Alysha) Pritt and Coach (Larry) Ludtke.

"They take care of all of the little things where all I have to do is coach – they're all tremendous."

Senior point guard Danielle Rudolph led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds to earn the Most Valuable Player award.

"We really pushed the ball tonight," Randolph said. "We have a lot of team speed and we used it to our advantage. It was a good tournament for us overall – whenever someone got down, we kept each other up.

"I think we have some big things in store for us in the future."

Sophomore post Khiani Clark was an all-tournament selection along with senior forward Carolyn Taylor. Clark finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor six points and five board spending most of the night keeping the Lady Raiders (8-1) out of the lane.

"We talked at halftime about looking up and realizing we were down eight or nine points for the first time this year," Ghazal said. "We didn't handle adversity very well in the second quarter, but I was proud of the way we played in the third to make a game of it."

Senior Samantha Hislop and sophomore Erin Henderson had six points each to lead the Lady Raiders. Hislop and senior Lauren Haley rounded out the all-tournament team for Rider.

In Div. II, Iowa Park defended its Div. II (3A) title with a 46-33 win over Burkburnett in an unofficial District 6-3A matchup.

"We're happy to get the win, but I told the girls that it doesn't do any good to win this and then turn around and lose to them in district," Langen said. "It's nice to get a look at them – but when you get right down to it, this won't matter if we're sitting home in February and Burkburnett is still playing."

The Lady Hawks were in control throughout, but needed an 11-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Lady Bulldogs after they trimmed Iowa Park's lead to 23-22 on Hailey Land's 3-pointer to open the second half.

And it was the 3-pointer itself that deserted Burkburnett in the first half (1-for-6) and opened the door for Iowa Park to control the pace of the game behind Most Valuable Player Amanda Fuhrman, leading scorer Jessie Crenshaw (14 points) and Joey Drury.

"We know what we'll get from them once district play starts," Fuhrman said. "They'll remember this and be out for revenge once district starts. It's good to leave with the trophy, but we've got to get better every time we play."

Crenshaw and Blair Utalan nailed down spots on the all-tournament team also with Burkburnett's Hailey Land and Macy Cooke.

Land had eight points to lead the Lady Bulldogs while Brenna Moore and Haliegh Camerlin had seven each.

"We never really like to play a district opponent this early in the season," Koulavatos said. "But anytime you can play a competitive game, the kids get something out of it. They (Iowa Park) did a good job of keeping pressure on us and we just never got into rhythm."

With the win, Iowa Park wraps up its third overall title.

Danielle Denbow and Beth Mullins each scored a game-high 16 points as Bangs won their first-ever title via a 68-38 wire-to-wire victory over Slaton in the Div. II (2A) championship game.

Charlsi Heinrich led the Tigerettes with 15 points and claimed a spot on the all-tournament team along with teammate Kortni King and Bangs' Hillary Evans.

No. 4 Muenster's Taylor Klement, who garnered MVP honors, led all scorers with 20 points as the Lady Hornets won their first-ever title at the Fantasy of Lights with a 57-49 victory over Wellington in the Div. III championship game.

All-tournament selection Amber Thornberry led the Wellington with 14 points. Allison Pagel, Lana Heers and Demi Koelzer of Muenster were also all-tournament selections along with Wellington's Nakisha Nation.

Muenster denied the Lady Rockets a tournament record-tying fourth championship after wins in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

All-Tournament Teams

Girls Div. I

MVP – Danielle Randolph, WFHS, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Carolyn Taylor, WFHS, Sr.

Khiani Clark, WFHS, Soph.

Samantha Hislop, Rider, Sr.

Lauren Haley, Rider, Sr.

Girls Div. II (3A)

MVP – Amanda Fuhrman, Iowa Park, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Blair Untalan, Iowa Park, Sr.

Jessie Crenshaw, Iowa Park, Jr.

Hailey Land, Burkburnett, Jr.

Macy Cooke, Burkburnett, Jr.

Girls Div. II (2A)

MVP – Danielle Denbow, Bangs, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Beth Mullins, Bangs, Jr.

Hillary Evans, Bangs, Sr.

Kortni King, Slaton, Sr.

Charlsi Heinrich, Slaton, Sr.

Girls Div. III

MVP – Taylor Klement, Muenster, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Allison Pagel, Muenster, Jr.

Lana Heers, Muenster, Jr.

Demi Koelzer, Muenster, Jr.

Amber Thonberry, Wellington, Sr.

Nakisha Nation, Wellington, Jr.

BOYS

Three new boys champions were crowned Saturday night Lakeview Centennial (Garland), A. Maceo Smith (Dallas) and Dodd City all became first-time champions under the bright lights at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

In the Div. I game, Lakeview Centennial (6-1) and Estacado (Lubbock) had a reunion of sorts after seeing each other earlier this year in Austin at the State Tournament. Saturday night they got together for a game of big runs and big comebacks.


In the end, the Patriots outlasted the Matadors, 89-82, thanks to a key a 6-0 run late in the fourth quarter. Estacado overcame a 10-point deficit in the third quarter but could not find a way to stay with Lakeview Centennial down the stretch.


Still, Lubbock Estacado coach and Rider graduate Tony Wagner looks at the Fantasy of Lights weekend as a success for his team.

"This was an outstanding tournament," Wagner said. "Carmen (Lozipone) does a great job with the hospitality and it's a Grade-A tournament. The competition is good for us, getting to play all those Class 5A schools will only make us better.

"Anytime you can stretch your team early and learn something about them in the process can only be a good thing."

Patriots' all-state selection Toddrick Gotcher (21 points) took Most Valuable Player honors while teammate and fellow all-stater Chris Jones and Jamarlus Demas joined him on the all-tournament team along with Lubbock Estacado all-stater Clarence Willard and Kevin Wagner.

Danmian Jones led all scorer for the Patriots with 24 points while Demarcus McGaha topped the Matadors with 22.

After handing No. 15 Hirschi its first loss of the season earlier in the day, A. Maceo Smith wore down Dallas Roosevelt with its press and left with a 56-41 victory and the Div. II championship.

The Falcons' Micah Cooper took MVP honors while Learron Brown, who led A. Maceo Smith with 14 points, Zachary Pier and Kevin White joined him on the all-tournament team.

Glen Easley, who also had 14 points, topped Roosevelt and garnered all-tournament honors along with teammate Tre Fountain.

Patrick Moore scored 15 points, connecting twice from 3-point range, as the Dodd City Hornets grabbed a 51-34 win over Dallas Lakewood Presbyterian in the Boys Div. III championship game.

Moore garnered MVP honors while teammates Landon Darwin (12 points) and Jaylen Wallace joined him on the all-tournament team along with Lakewood's Thomas Robertstad and Jonathan Dillahunty, who scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.

Stephen C. Smith Sr. can be reached via e-mail at stephencsmith1@yahoo.com or at www.facebook.com/stephencsmith1

All-Tournament Teams

Div. I

Toddrick Gotcher, Lakeview Centennial, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Jamarlus Demas, Lakeview Centennial, Sr.

Chris Jones, Lakeview Centennial, Sr.

Clarence Willard, Lubbock Estacado, Sr.

Kevin Wagner, Lubbock Estacado, Sr.

Div. II

MVP – Micah Cooper, A. Maceo Smith, Jr.

All-Tournament Selections

Learron Brown, A. Maceo Smith, Sr.

Zachary Pier, A. Maceo Smith, Jr.

Kevin White, A. Maceo Smith, Sr.

Glen Easley, Roosevelt (Dallas, Texas), Sr.

Tre Fountain, Dallas Roosevelt, Sr.

Div. III

MVP – Patrick Moore, Dodd City, Sr.

All-Tournament Selections

Landon Darwin, Dodd City, Jr.

Jaylen Wallace, Dodd City, Jr.

Jonathan Dillahunty, Dallas Lakewood, Sr.

Thomas Robertstad, Dallas Lakewood, Sr.

Stephen C. Smith Sr. can be reached via e-mail at stephencsmith1@yahoo.com or at www.facebook.com/stephencsmith1