Lady Tigers defeat Adrian, advance to Clinton Tourney championship game

A close game was blown open in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, as the top-seeded Nevada Lady Tigers knocked off the Adrian Lady Blackhawks, 52-34, in the semifinals of the 41st Annual Clinton Basketball Tournament.

Nevada (14-4) led 15-5 through one quarter of play, and held a commanding 31-15 advantage at the break. Adrian, however, didn’t go quietly, as the Lady Blawkhawks used an 18-4 third quarter blitz to slice the Lady Tiger lead to 35-33 late in the third.

Nevada regrouped in the fourth, holding Adrian to a single point en route to the 18-point victory.

Cracking the starting rotation for the first time this season, junior sophomore guard Tylin Heathman led the way offensively for Nevada, finishing with a varsity career-high 14 points.

“We did a great job of keeping our composure in the third quarter, after they made a bug run at us in the third,” said Nevada head coach Brent Bartlett. “We knocked down shots, and did a good job of taking care of the ball in the fourth.”

Added Bartlett: “We had to play with foul trouble, and I thought we had some girls really step up and do a good job.”

The victory propels Nevada into the title game, and a matchup with either Harrisonville or El Dorado Springs on Saturday.