Hickman beat Blue Springs South for Holiday Hoops Invitational title

The Hickman Kewpies made their first appearance in the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational a successful one.

The Kewpies put four players in double figures Sunday night in a 61-49 victory against the Blue Springs South Lady Jaguars in the title game of the Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse.

Jordan Matthews, a 5-foot-5 senior guard who was voted the MVP of the Invitational, and all-tournament team member Kendahl Adams had 17 points to lead Hickman. Emily Miller, who also was named all-tournament, added 11. Morgan Jones rounded out the foursome with 10 points.

It was a back-and-forth title contest in the first half. Hickman led 16-14 after one quarter, then closed the second period with a 6-0 run to take a 28-24 advantage into intermission.

The Kewpies slowly started to pull away in the third quarter. Hickman got its first double-digit lead on a layup by Adams that made it 43-33 with 1:13 left before Matthews drilled a long jumper in the final :30 to give the Kewpies at 12-point lead going into the final period.

Hickman's lead never dropped below 10 in the fourth quarter, with its biggest advantage coming at 58-42 with 1:22 remaining after a pair of free throws by Adams.

With the win, Hickman made it 2-for-2 in tournament finals against Blue Springs South this month. The Kewpies bested the Lady Jaguars 74-61 to take the championship of the Blue Springs/Blue Springs South Tournament in mid-December.

Remy Davenport tossed in 15 points to lead Blue Springs South, while Cloe Lane added 14. Both were all-tournament selections.