Lady Colonels win Carrollton SMI Christmas Classic

The Cass Lady Colonels defeated the New Manchester Lady Jaguars Saturday night to win the 2022 Carrollton SMI Christmas Classic. Cass also had wins over East Paulding and Mt. Zion-Carroll to go 3-0 in the eight-team tournament.

Trailing by four points at the intermission Saturday night, the Cass Lady Colonels surged in the third quarter to take the lead and made just enough free throws down the stretch to defeat Class 6A New Manchester and win the championship game of the 2022 SMI Carrollton Christmas Classic, 59-56.

Olivia Woods scored 19 points in the title game and was named to the Carrollton SMI All-Tournament Team.

New Manchester (9-2) held an 18-14 lead after one quarter and carried a 33-29 advantage to the halftime locker room, but Cass made adjustments and took control of the game in the second half.

The Lady Jaguars’ leading scorer, Andrea Guilford, was limited to just four points in the second half after pouring in 14 in the first half.

Meanwhile, Darianna Sosa and Mikaela Jackson of the Lady Colonels both knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter and Kiana McDaniel added six more points inside as Cass outscored New Manchester 20-12 in the period and gained a 49-45 lead.

Both teams had their chances down the stretch. A tight fourth quarter came down to free throws with the Jags converting 6 of 10 opportunities while the Lady Colonels held on for a three-point victory by making 6 of 12 chances.

Kiana McDaniel scored 13 points in the finals and was named Carrollton SMI Christmas Classic Tournament MVP.

Olivia Woods, who made the All-Tournament Team, scored a game-high 19 points to lead Cass in scoring. Tournament MVP, Kiana McDaniel, followed with 13 points. Mikaela Jackson and Adrianna Sosa finished with nine points each. Nevaeh Woods contributed seven and KK Evans added two points in the Lady Colonels' win.

Cass (9-1) will take a holiday break and return to action Wednesday, December 28 to face Darlington at 10 a.m. in the Christian Heritage Holiday Tournament in Dalton.