Bedford survived a chilly day at the free throw line and earned its first-ever tournament victory. The third ranked Bulldogs got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Caila Raymond and held off a late rally by sixth ranked AR-WE-VA for a 55-54 win in the class 1A opener.
After falling in the opening round a year ago the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals. The Bulldogs won despite hitting on only five of 21 free throws. Senior center Dani Cook led AR-WE-VA with 18 points and 15 rebounds. The Rockets rallied from a 10 point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 50 but Bedord made the plays down the stretch to get the win.
After getting to the 1A championship game a year ago the Rockets end this season with a record of 21-5.
After three straight overtimes wins to get to the tournament the last thing LeMars Gehlen expected was blowout victory. The Jays outscored second ranked North Butler 15-2 in the second quarter and cruised to a 52-34 win.
Gehlen limited North Butler to just 29% shooting to come away with a victory in their first trip to the tournament. After losing the first game of the season North Butler saw its 21 game winning streak come to an end.