Sweet Water storms past Linden girls

LINDEN — Without their leading scorer, the Linden Lady Patriots struggled to keep up with a game Sweet Water squad Thursday, falling 55-42 in the first round of the Linden High School Christmas Tournament.

The teams played to an 11-11 tie in the game’s first period before Sweet Water embarked upon a 17-6 run in the second quarter to take a 28-17 lead into the break.

Linden would ultimately trail 41-27 heading into the fourth quarter before starting to claw its way back into the game.

On the strength of Brunesha McIntosh’s quick hands on defense and Tomysha Boykin’s mid-range jumper, Linden narrowed the gap to 44-38 with the hope of a Nandi Dove three-pointer.

With 3:01 remaining in the contest, Andrea Landrum absorbed a foul and connected on a pair of free throws before stealing the in-bound pass and draining a triple to complete a five-point swing and effectively put the game out of reach by pushing the Sweet Water lead to 49-38.

Landrum led all scorers with 23 points. Madison Beck added 16 points for the Lady Bulldogs. Christina Cowan and Kamae Redic each finished with seven.

McIntosh scored 12 for Linden while Boykin finished with 10. Dove and Imiya Agee each added seven for Linden.

The Lady Patriots are set to play in the third place game Friday against Choctaw County while Sweet Water punched its ticket to take on Greensboro in the tournament finals.