Unbeaten McDowell looks to be favorites

By: Tommy Fleming | Morganton News Herald
Published: December 26, 2009

Morganton --

The Burke County Christmas Invitational girls basketball tournament starts Monday with four top notch matchups in the opening round.
The '09 girls classic holiday event sports three teams from the mountains, two from the Charlotte-area and three local squads.
This year's field includes AC Reynolds, Asheville, Concord, East Burke, Freedom, Independence, McDowell and TC Roberson.
"This year's tournament is going to be very tough because of the high caliber teams that are participating. It will be good to play these teams early on in the season," said East Burke head coach Katie Gravel. "McDowell is the returning favorite but this tournament will not only help us work on some things but it will make us better as we continue on into our conference slate in January."
In Monday's opening round games in Icard, Concord will face AC Reynolds (4 p.m.) and Asheville will tackle host East Burke (7 p.m.).
In Morganton, Independence challenges McDowell (4 p.m.) followed by TC Roberson against host Freedom (7 p.m.).
"We have a really good field of competition. I am excited about the talent coming to Burke County," said Freedom head coach Amber Fox. "AC Reynolds has all of their starters back from last year. Concord is a very quick squad that we have scrimmaged this season."
The winner's bracket contests will be played at East Burke High this year while the consolation bracket games will be held at Freedom on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here's a brief glimpse of the each team in this year's Burke County Christmas Invitational:
McDowell — The Lady Titans are off to a 9-0 start and are led by Autumn Ward, Xandi Gellman and Jaalen Corpening. McDowell returns 8 players off last year's team and is hungry for another chance at the holiday crown that slipped through the Lady Titans' fingertips in '08.
Independence — The Lady Patriots are off to a rough 3-7 start but should look for a half-court style to contend. Expect a variety of zone presses at various times to keep their opponents off balance.
Concord — The Lady Spiders are aiming to place the cobwebs out to smother the competition. Concord started conference play with an impressive 79-48 win against NW Cabarrus. Look for the Lady Spiders' athleticism to try and control the tempo.
AC Reynolds — The Lady Rockets have not played many games but are off to a 4-0 start. AC Reynolds returns all five starters from a year ago. The Lady Rockers are led by the inside-outside duo of Whitney Brinkley and Karlee Taylor.
Asheville — The Lady Cougars began the season by winning four of their first five games. Asheville won a close 45-43 contest at a talented Rabun Gap (GA) Nacoochee squad in early December.
East Burke — The Lady Cavs are led by lone senior Paige Moore and a host of supporting cast members in point guard Alicia Byrd along with low post players Emily Greene and Dakota Crapps. East Burke (4-3) has wins against Patton, Freedom and Bunker Hill thus far this season.
TC Roberson — The Lady Rams were 25-5 a year ago and participated in the Super Saturday event held at Patriots Gym in early November. TC Roberson advanced to the 3A Regional Finals last season but the Lady Rams are now a 4A member.
Freedom — The Lady Patriots (7-3) have won five consecutive games including two straight in the SMAC-7. Freedom won last year's holiday classic with a thrilling 74-68 triumph over McDowell. The Lady Pats are led by senior CC Connelly (15 ppg), junior Jewel Walker (6 rpg), senior Brittiany Roberts (47 percent shooting from 3-point range) and senior Keonna Lewis (2.5 steals per game).
Burke County Christmas Invitational

Unbeaten McDowell looks to be favorites

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