Lady Wildcats top Harrisburg 40-34

Anna-Jonesboro defeated Harrisburg in the final game of the Harrisburg Lady Bulldog Preview Tournament 40-34 in high school girls’ basketball Saturday, Nov. 26.

Jessi Stone led the Lady Wildcats with 19 points. Erica Friebel added 7 points, Kim Mixen 5, Krista Pender 3 and Brooke Chamness, Katie Grant and Valerie Pender 2 each.

A-J led 5-3 after one quarter and 19-18 at the half. The Lady Wildcats trailed 26-24 after three quarters but outscored the Lady Bulldogs 16-8 in the final quarter to pull out the win.

“Our girls played hard,” A-J coach Brian Clark said. “The main thing we were looking for was improvement and we saw that. We led both Carmi and West Frankfort and we lost both  games in the end. It wasn’t a very good defensive effort in those games.”

The Lady Wildcats finished 1-3 in the tournament.Mixen and Stone were each named to the all-tournament team.

In other tourney action:

Carbondale 57, A-J 24: The Lady Wildcats fell behind early and couldn’t come back in the loss Friday, Nov. 26.

The Lady Terriers led 19-9 after one quarter and 32-16 at the half.

Mixen scored 10 points to lead A-J. Stone added 6 points, Friebel and Chamness 3 each and Nattie Hepburn 2.

 West Frankfort 31, A-J 26: The Lady Wildcats let a first quarter lead slip away in the loss Wednesday, Nov. 23.

A-J led 9-7 after one quarter but trailed 15-14 at the half. The Lady Redbirds led 22-20 going into the final period.

Friebel scored 11 points to  lead A-J. Chamness added 6 points, Stone 4, Mixen 3 and Valerie Pender 2.

A-J plays Thursday, today, at home against Marion.