On Thursday, the final two teams left standing in the 8th grade county tournament hit the floor in a battle for the title. The A. B. Combs Lady Bearcats and the Viper Lady Hornets laced them up for a game that would determine this year's best team.

Despite the Lady Hornets’ inability to break the Lady Bearcats’ press, they were able to keep in the game by getting back quickly on defense and harassing them under the basket. At the end of the first period, A. B. Combs held a scant 6-4 lead.

Little by little, Viper began to break the press, opening up the floor for a couple of good looks at the basket. A. B. Combs also began to get good looks at the basket. The Lady Bearcats' baskets were slightly greater than those of the Lady Hornets, allowing them to extend their lead. Going into the break, A. B. Combs held a 25-15 lead.

The Lady Bearcats came out of the locker room hot, and pushed the margin to nearly 20 points. However, The Lady Hornets were not done. Viper went on a strong run near the end of the period, and all but countered the A. B. Combs rally. With six minutes left to play, the Lady Bearcats held the 39-25 advantage.

Viper continued to battle in the early going of the fourth quarter, but midway through A. B. Combs began to nail down the victory. With a little more than a minute left in the game, the Lady Bearcats put together the rally that would seal the deal.

A. B. Combs went on to win the game by the final count of 51-35, giving them the 8th grade crown.

A. B. Combs (51)

Ashleigh Bryant 2, Whitney Evans 19, Kelsey Lowe 28 and Brooke Cambpell 2.

Viper (35)

Perri Coots 4, Rachel Curry 9, Mashayla Tackett 9, Kelsi Caudill 8, Dallas Coots 1, Allie Sizemore 2 and Lexi Griffie 2.