Cave Spring rode the early scoring of junior Hailey Sitze and the overall performance of junior Cassi Parulis as the Lady Knights outlasted Patrick Henry 54-48 on the final night of the Knights Winter Classic girls basketball tournament at Cave Spring.
Cave Spring scored the game’s first eight points and led 17-10 after one quarter before the Patriots went on a pair of runs to cut the deficit to 25-24 at the break.
The Knights held PH to 8 points in the third quarter before holding off PH down the stretch for the win. Parulis led Cave Spring with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Sitze netted 15 points for the Knights.
Patrick Henry was paced by freshman Cienna Bryant’s 15 points.
The Knights Winter Classic, featuring 10 varsity and 7 junior varsity teams playing a predetermined three-game format over three days, continues to grow as one of the top holiday girls high school events.
“To my knowledge it’s the biggest girls holiday tournament in the state,” tournament organizer and Cave Spring head coach Jessica Ficarro said Saturday night. “A lot of time and effort goes into making this a great event for all the teams.”
“Eight of the ten teams we have this year returned from last year,” Ficarro added. “The teams have a great time. Abingdon and Broadway travel here and stay in hotels during the tournament. Our main challenge now is the sponsorship needs to grow.”
Five ” Big-11 ” teams were in the 2013 field. Chuck Pound’s Lord Botetourt team finished a perfect 3-0, with Cave Spring going 2-1. William Byrd and Northside each went 1-2 and PH 0-3 in a field that included Jefferson Forest, Abingdon, Heritage, Broadway and Brookville.
The highlight of the tournament occurred Friday night when Cave Spring managed to outlast William Byrd 76-74 in five overtimes as Parulis and teammate Courtney Stover hit free throws down the stretch to secure the marathon shootout as Byrd junior Maggie Self poured in 30 points for the Terriers.
– Bill Turner
