OPP TAKES TOURNEY TITLE: Lady Bobcats sweep way to tourney championship

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Opp Lady Bobcats battled past the Pleasant Home Eagles to clinch the championship of the 33rd Annual Amelia Rhoades tournament in Kinston on Saturday.

Both Pleasant Home and Opp came into the tournament ranked in the top 10 in their respective classifications.

Pleasant Home inched out front to 5-4 lead to start the first match, but the Lady Bobcats rallied for eight-straight points to put Opp up 12-5.

The Lady Bobcats never let up in the match and pulled away with a 25-13 victory.

In the second match of the best-of-three series, the Lady Bobcats jumped out front to a 9-6 lead, but the Lady Eagles weren’t going down that easily.

With Opp up 19-15, the Lady Eagles pounced for seven-consecutive points to give them a 22-19 lead.

Pleasant Home then went up 24-22, but the Lady Bobcats pushed the game into sudden death when Opp went up 25-24.

The Lady Eagles then reeled off three-straight points to pick up a 28-26 victory and push the championship to a decisive game three.

Opp quickly jumped out front and looked to be running away with championship after taking an early 5-0 lead, but Pleasant Home rallied and knotted the match at 7-7.

The Lady Bobcats would then rally for eight-straight points to clinch the championship with a 15-7 victory.

With the win, Opp improves to 7-0 on the season.

Match scores provided by Tripp Norris.