By Marla Jones, Sports Editor

marla@southerntorch.com

Sylvania 69-Collinsville 54

RAINSVILLE, Ala.— The Sylvania Lady Rams faced the Collinsville Lady Panthers, Thursday night in the semifinals of the Dekalb County Basketball Tournament.  The Rams defeated the Panthers 69-54 to move on to the finals, this Thursday night, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.

The #1 one seed Sylvania Rams jumped to an early lead against the Collinsville Panthers and maintained the lead throughout the game.  At the end of the first, the Lady Rams led the Panthers, 13-5.  Going into the half, they led with a score of 37-20.

Coming back from the half, the Lady Rams held their lead, and going into the fourth with a fifteen point cushion.  The second half resembled a MMA fight with busted lips and several bruises.  The Collinsville Lady Panthers fought with all they had to cut the lead to 8 early in the fourth.  With only a few minutes left in the game, two key players fouled out for Collinsville. With a little over 3 minutes left in the game, Kendreia Moore got her fifth foul.  One minute later, Aryelle Jones joined her on the bench with her fifth foul.  With two key starters out, it made it impossible for the Panthers to gain control.  Sylvania won the game 69-54 and earns the spot to play in the county championship against the Ider Hornets Thursday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.

Morgan Frazier and Megan Wagner led the Lady Rams with 14 points each.  Frazier had eight, 3-pointers and 4 rebounds for the night.  Wagner had six, 3-pointers and 3 rebounds.  Lauren King led the team with 8 rebounds.

The win over Collinsville gives the Lady Rams a 16-6 record.  Coach Jon Currie was proud of how his team played in the first half of the game, “ We executed very well in the first.  We just lost momentum and did not do as well in the second.”  When asked about the upcoming championship game against Ider, “ We will have to play to beat them.  We will have to execute better than we did in the Collinsville game to beat Ider.”

The Championship game against Ider will be played at the Dekalb County Schools Coliseum, starting at 6:00 pm.