ECMS girls win tourney

El Campo's seventh-grade Red girls basketball team won the Wharton Tournament championship with three wins.

Lady Birds 30, Bellville 10

A strong first half put the Lady 'Birds in charge early in their first tournament game.

El Campo outscored Bellville 9-5 in the first quarter and 14-2 in the second to take a 23-7 lead at halftime. and finished with a 30-10 win.

Khadijah Martin led the Lady 'Birds with 15 points while Janerica Cunningham scored 8, Ebonee Robinson scored 4, Alexia Pratt scored 2 and Malikka Sanford scored 1 point.

Lady 'Birds 39, Wharton 26

Wharton, the tournament host, provided the strongest challenge for the Lady 'Birds, but El Campo still earned a double-digit win.

After a strong 10-6 start in the first quarter, Wharton rallied back in the second. The Lady Tigers outscored El Campo 6-3 and cut the Lady 'Birds' lead to 13-12 at halftime, but El Campo held strong for the win.

Martin led El Campo with 21 points while Sanford scored 8, Cunningham scored 6 and Katie Wiesner and Robinson both scored 2 points.

Lady 'Birds 31, Rice 11

El Campo trailed after the first quarter 4-2, but a strong rally helped boost the Lady 'Birds to the tournament title.

The defense shut out Rice in the quarter and gave the Lady 'Birds several chances at some big scores. A 16-0 quarter put El Campo ahead 18-4 at halftime.

The rest of the game was close, but Rice was unable to respond to El Campo's solid second quarter. The game ended with the Lady 'Birds as champions with a 31-11 win.