Holiday Tournament Champions were the Vina Lady Red Devils (left to right) Coach Richie Hester, Montana Howard, Makenzie Lawler, Lauren Brewer, Ashleigh Thompson, Abby Hester, Emily Renfrow, Kaitlyn King, Gracie Raper, Annabelle Upton, Emma Humphres and Coach Elisha Coons. (Not pictured: Mary Clingan and Maddie Raper).

By Bart Moss for the FCT

The Vina Lady Red Devils won their first tournament since the mid-90s over the weekend. The Lady Red Devils hosted the first-ever Vina Holiday Tournament Saturday.

Vina defeated Thrasher, Miss., 78-64, to win the tournament.

“I am really proud of the way these girls played today,” said Vina coach Richie Hester. “We shot the ball extremely well. It is a great accomplishment for these ladies to win this tournament. It’s been a long time since they could call themselves champions. Now they can.”

Thrasher led Vina 20-13 at the end of the first quarter. While Thrasher cooled off, the Red Devils stayed red hot, outscoring Thrasher 49-23 in the next two quarters to take a 68-43 lead. Despite outscoring Vina 21-10 in the fourth quarter, Thrasher couldn’t catch up.

Kaitlyn King hit five three pointers and led all scorers with 26 points. Freshman Emma Humphres followed with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Abby Hester also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Gracie Raper had nine points, AnnaBelle Upton scored six points and Montana Howard and Lauren Brewer had three points each to finish out the scoring for Vina.

Earlier in the day Vina lost to Lindsay Lane Christian Academy of Athens 74-65. One of the state’s leading scorers, Emilee Murr, scored 43 points in the game for Lindsay Lane.

For Vina, Humphres had 33 points and 11 rebounds. King added 14 points. Hester had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.

Others scoring for the Lady Red Devils were Upton with three points and Raper and Brewer with two points each.

Vina versus Cherokee

The Vina Lady Red Devils opened their season against the Cherokee Indians Nov. 13. A big third quarter by the Indians was too much for Vina to overcome. Leading by five at the half, 28-23, Cherokee outscored Vina 19-9 in the third quarter to make the score 47-32. Vina was able to add 15 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough.

Humphres led all scoring with 25 points. King added ten points. Hester pitched in eight points, 12 assists and eight steals. Maddie Raper, Upton and Brewer scored two points each.

Vina versus Brilliant

Nov. 17 the Lady Red Devils traveled to Brilliant to play last year’s regional representative. Brilliant led 29-19 at the half. Vina put up 34 points in the second half but couldn’t slow down the Lady Tigers as they held on for a 70-53 win.

Humphres led Vina with 22 points. King added 11 points, and Mary Morgan Clingan scored 10 points. Upton scored four points, Gracie Raper scored three points and Hester had three points and 13 assists.

Vina versus Waterloo

Vina defeated Waterloo Nov. 20, 53-32. The Lady Red Devils doubled-up Waterloo in the first quarter, 16-8. Vina extended the lead to 27-17 by halftime.

The Lady Red Devils continued their dominance of the Cougars in the third quarter to 43-25 and cruised to victory.

Vina had three players in double figures with Humphres leading the way with 14 points and 12 rebounds. King added 13 points. Hester had 12 points and 12 assists. Others scoring for the Lady Red Devils were Clingan, six points, Upton, four points, and Montana Howard, two points.