Youth teams play tournament Saturday

Published 12:03 am Sunday, March 6, 2011

NATCHEZ — The AYA fifth- and sixth-grade youth, girls and boys, basketball teams battled in the league playoffs Saturday in Cathedral’s gymnasium to determine what four teams would advance to the championship games on Tuesday.

Two boys teams, Natchez After Hours Clinic and Natchez Women’s Center, and two girls teams, Dr. Lee Falkenheiner and Gamberi Farm Supply, will face off Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. at Adams County Christian School for their respective championships.

The coach of Natchez After Hour Clinic, Dr. Blane Mire, was not able to be on hand for the 23-17 semi-final win over Sandy Creek Farms but he got continuous updates throughout the game.

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“I am down here at Mardi Gras, the timing (of the events) was wrong,” Mire said over the phone in New Orleans. “It has been so nerve wracking, I have been getting play-by-play the whole game.”

Mire’s team will face Natchez Women’s Center in the finals.

Natchez Women’s Center advanced to the championship game with a 24-19 win over Batieste Realty.

“We lost two games in the regular season, one to the team we played today so it is nice to get some revenge,” said Allen Dossett, coach of Natchez Women’s Center.

William Doss scored nine of Batieste Realty’s 19 points in the loss.

On the girls side, Gamberi Farm Supply won easily over Jordan Kaiser 30-8 in the semi-finals.

Bailey Boyd led Gamberi Farm Supply with eight points, and Lexie Emanuel who netted 10.

The individual star of Saturday’s action may have been Marty Lewis for Dr. Lee Falkenheiner. Lewis scored 16 points in the team’s 20-9 semi-final victory over Kelly’s Kids. She also put up 10 points in an earlier game against Super Auto Glass.

“(Making it to the finals) means a lot for the sixth-grade bunch,” said Dr. Lee Falkenheiner, who coached the team. “(The sixth-grade girls) were (in the championship) in fourth-grade and lost to the same bunch we will play (in the championship) this year.”