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On Monday night, Westwood honored the eighth grade members of their basketball and cheer teams, but the Lady Rockets fell 51-33 and the Rockets narrowly lost 55-54 in a conference battle with Cascade.

Westwood Lady Rockets

The visiting Lady Champions would have the edge at the start, outscoring the Lady Rockets 16-9 in the first quarter.

Westwood struggled to find some points in the second quarter with Cascade outscoring the Lady Rockets 10-2 to put up a halftime lead of 26-11.

The Lady Rockets showed some fight in the second half, but Cascade outscored them 25-22 over the final two quarters to pull away with the win, 51-33.

“Defensively, we didn’t match up well in the paint,” said Lady Rockets Coach Shala Ferrell. “I would have liked to have seen us matchup a little bit better with Cascade’s post player and that will probably be the plan heading into tournament play.”

With the loss, the Lady Rockets fall to 9-6 on the season with a 6-3 mark in DRVC play.

Of her eighth grade players, Coach Ferrell said, “All of them have been with us since sixth grade and onwards with the exception of one. They are turning into very good young ladies and I think that’s better than the game of basketball itself. They’re good teammates to each other and I appreciate the time and effort that they’ve put into this program.” 

During halftime of the girls game, Westwood took time to recognize Cascade player Kaemey Young, who is currently in a battle with leukemia. Westwood boys coach Anita Gannon presented a care package to Kaemey’s grandmother, Kathy Young, during the halftime ceremony.

Box Score: Cascade Lady Champions (51) Mady Davis 25, Caroline Insell 8, Jessie McElroy 6, Marisa Gulick 5, Kenzie Bledsoe 3, Addie Tidwell 2, Aubree Zanghi 2.

Westwood Lady Rockets (33) Amelia Johnson 12, Jerzee Ferrell 7, Zallona Dillard 6, Maci Jackson 4, Carter Trail 2, Allee Wilmore 2.

Westwood Rockets

The boys game was an even battle in the first period with the score knotted up at 11-11 through the first six minutes.

Cascade went on an 11-0 run to start the second quarter, then Westwood went on a 11-3 run of their own to close out the first half, but the Champions held a 25-22 advantage at halftime.

The Rockets took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Champions 21-13 to take a 43-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Cascade fought back in the fourth quarter to tie the score multiple times. Westwood put themselves back in front 54-53 on a free throw by Levi Jordan with 11.5 seconds remaining, but the Champions scored on a put-back layup in the final seconds to win the game 55-54.

“Our boys came out ready to play and I was proud of them,” said Rockets Coach Anita Gannon. “Cascade’s a good team, they have some good shooters and they rebound the ball well. On the last second shot, we just didn’t rebound and it cost us the game. We need to rebound better and hopefully our boys will take that to the next game.”

The Rockets fall to 8-7 on the season with a 6-3 record in DRVC play.

Gannon said of her eighth grade group of players, “They’re a good group of guys. I’ve coached a few of them since the sixth grade, and a few others were new this year. I’ve enjoyed having them and they’ve brought some good comradery to the team. They’re a good group and I think they’ll make good additions to next year’s high school team.” 

Box Score: Cascade Champions (55) Ryan Frazier 19, Jonathan Barrett 15, Aiden Overcast 11, Jackson Laughlin 5, Grady Johnson 3, Landon Comstock 2.

Westwood Rockets (54) Levi Jordan 19, Kingslee Miller 12, Isaiah Buchanan 11, Brock Christian 6, Trenton Tanner 4, Hayes Shemwell 2.

Westwood will close out the regular season at Eagleville on Thursday, Dec. 5.