CROWDER - The Central Lady Tigers used a stellar defensive effort to shut down Hartshorne for a 48-27 victory Friday night in the third place game of the Crowder Invitational.

The Class 2A 20th-ranked Lady Tigers took a seven-point lead into the second half and then shut out the Lady Miners in the third quarter to run their record to 4-1 on the season.

“We’ve played good defense in every game,” said Central head coach Scott Lowe. “I thought we defended decently in the first half, but particularly well in the third quarter. We were disappointed in ourselves at halftime and came out with a purpose in the second half and put it away in the third quarter.”

A 13-0 run put Central up 31-11 entering the fourth quarter and the Lady Tigers were not threatened down the stretch.

Sophomore Hayley Tanner led Central with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Cydney Dillard added 10 points and five assists while Maegan Goodwin netted six points and grabbed 10 boards. Lindsey Woody added five points, Jessica Ruark four, Tanar Sigel three and Jacklyn Jiles one.

Third-ranked Oktaha won the tournament with a 58-37 victory over Crowder on Saturday night.

Crowder, ranked 19th in 2A, handed Central its first loss of the season 38-33 in the semifinals earlier in the week. Tanner scored 18 for the Lady Tigers in that game and Dillard chipped in eight.

A pair of NCAA Division I schools, including Arkansas, were in attendance to watch Crowder standout Alex Tucker, who scored 13 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 21 points against Central.

Central had two players—Tanner and Dillard—named to the all-tournament team.

Central 68, Wister 53 (B)

The Tigers opened up a tight game with a strong third quarter on Friday night while topping Wister for third place at the Crowder Invitational.

Central held a slim 29-28 lead at the break, but went on a 16-6 run in the third period to pull away.

“They got real hot on us early and hit four 3s in the first quarter,” said Central head coach John Hart. “In the second half we made more of an emphasis on getting the ball inside to Cole (Dillard) and we tightened up our defense.”

Dillard had six points in the third quarter and finished with 11.

Central was led by Trey Rogers with a game-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds. Grant Demaree sank four 3-pointers on the way to 18 points. Blake Rogers added eight points, Taylor Davidson seven, Kolten Remy two and Dakota Cogburn two.

Trey Rogers and Demaree were both selected to the all-tournament team for their efforts in helping Central win two of three games.

The Tigers lost 76-62 in the semifinals to Hartshorne. In that contest, Trey Rogers netted 18 points, Blake Rogers 11, Taylor Davidson 11 and Grant Demaree 10.

Hartshorne lost 79-77 to Oktaha in Saturday’s championship game.