Indians finish in second place at Russellville Tournament

Macie Edwards goes up against a Belle defender during Russellville's 50-23 loss to Belle during the championship game at the Russellville Tournament, Jan. 26, 2019.
Macie Edwards goes up against a Belle defender during Russellville's 50-23 loss to Belle during the championship game at the Russellville Tournament, Jan. 26, 2019.

RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - The Russellville Indians girls basketball team (12-8) lost a tough matchup vs the Belle Tigers (15-3) 50-23 in the championship game of the Russellville Tournament, Jan. 26.

The Indians defeated Calvary Lutheran (1-10) 65-29, Jan. 22, in the first round and Russellville defeated Eugene (9-8) 54-51, Jan. 24, in the second round to advance to the championship game. In their first-round game vs Calvary Lutheran, Macie Edwards scored a team-high 17 points in the game, Skylar Potts scored 14 and Allison Schrimpf added 12.

In their second round win vs Eugene, Jayla Volkart led the team with 16 points, Skylar Potts scored 12 and Allison Schrimpf and Chyan Wilkes each added eight.

Belle defeated Versailles (0-17), 72-23, in the first round, Jan. 21, and the Tigers defeated Tuscumbia (10-7), 46-32, in the second round to advance to the championship game.

The first half did not go well for the Indians in the championship game, as they only scored nine points in the half and trailed Belle 24-9 at halftime. Yet, despite their offensive struggles against Belle's zone defense, the Indians were still in the game.

Head coach David Volkart said he thought the team had a good defensive game.

"Our girls really played hard and aggressive to keep us in the game," Volkart said.

In the third quarter, Russellville continued to struggle against Belle's defense, as the Indians only scored three points in the quarter and the team soon found itself down 20 points at the end of the quarter with the score 32-12.

Even though the team was having a tough night shooting the ball, as even good looking shots would not go down for the Indians, Volkart said he told his team to keep shooting.

"For whatever reason, sometimes it isn't your night and that sums up Saturday night," Volkart said.

Russellville had their best offensive quarter in the fourth quarter, but were unable to cut into Belle's lead, as the Tiger's outscored them 18-11 in the final quarter. Allison Schrimpf led the Indians with eight points and Skylar Potts added seven.

Despite the loss in the championship game, Volkart said he thought the team had a good week during the tournament.

Skylar Potts and Jayla Volkart were both named to the all-tournament team for the Indians.