The Lady Tigers began the Battle of the States Tournament with a roar last week, winning over Murphy High School convincingly 66-48.

In the first quarter, Dawson County pulled ahead 20-10 on its way to a 38-24 halftime advantage.

Murphy inched back with a slight 15-14 advantage in the third quarter, but Dawson slammed the door in the final eight minutes with a 14-9 run down the stretch.

Carly Gilreath, who was named to the All-Tournamnet Team, led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 16 points, and had three steals

Allie Costley was also in double figures with 12 points, while Hannah Porter scored nine points and had four assists

Morgan Huber scored seven points, while Ashley Parker scored six points and had four rebounds.

Kacie Bearden and Sheyenne Seabolt both scored five points and Kenna Seitz had four points, three blocked shots and six rebounds.

Adding six rebounds from the guard position was Kim Wallace.

With the win, Dawson County improved to 8-4 on the year.

___________________________

In game two of the tournament, the Lady Tigers had a difficult time handling Union County as the Lady Panthers ran away with a 63-47 win.

We had plenty of shots but only made 18 out of 61 from the floor, commented Dawson head coach Steve Sweat, our shooting was off.

Union County edged Dawson 18-17 in the first quarter and took a 34-28 halftime lead.

Another big run in the third quarter, 19-8, allowed Union to take a commanding lead on its way to the victory.

Gilreath walked away with nine points, Costley finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, and Seabolt had eight points and five rebounds,

Porter finished with six points and two assists, Bearden had six points, and Huber chipped in five points and two blocks. Seitz rounded out the scoring for Dawson County with four points.

The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 8-5 overall.

___________________________

Dawson County then battled Towns County as the Lady Indians prevailed 68-57.

Towns County used a big push in the first quarter to grab a 23-14 lead.

However, the Lady Tigers fought back with a 16-6 third quarter run.

But Towns County hit 14 of 16 free throws in the final quarter to put the game out of reach.

Freshman post player Sheyenne Seabolt finished with 16 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.

Carly Gilreath scored 13 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out four assists.

Allie Costley had eight points and eight rebounds, while Kacie Bearden and Kenna Seitz both scored half a dozen.

Ashley Parker had four points and four rebounds, while Kim Wallace and Whitney Glover both scored two points apiece.

The Lady Tigers are now 8-6 for the year and will take on the Rabun County Wildcats at home Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.