MVP Clarke leads Lodge to back-to-back titles

McKenna Clarke laid claim to being the best young female basketball player on the island with a dominant performance to lead the Lodge School to back-to-back titles in the National Sports Council (NSC) Girls Basketball Competition on Tuesday evening.

Up against rivals Queens College in a battle of two undefeated teams, Lodge held their never to come away with a 34-25 victory to trigger celebrations at the Wildey Gymnasium.

Clarke was outstanding, finishing with 15 points to claim the Most Valuable Player award for the regular season and finals for the second consecutive year.

Lodge jumped out to an early advantage against QC – who they also defeated in last season’s title game – with Clarke scoring eight of the team’s 14 points in the first quarter while holding QC to five points.

The second quarter proved to be a defensive battle, with both teams finding the scoring difficult. However, Lodge outscored their opponents 7-3 during this eight-minute period to lead 21-8 at halftime.

QC returned from the break with an extra sense of motivation, turning up the full-court defensive pressure with star guard Solange Holford accounting for all eight of her points as QC won the period 12-9 to reduce the lead to 10 at the end of the third quarter, 30-20.

During a scrappy fourth quarter, which totaled nine points and eight fouls between the two teams, Lodge managed to keep their composure and end the game with a solid victory.

The NSC awarded five Most Valuable Players for the season.

Joining Clarke and Holford on this list were Quinesha Cox from Lester Vaughan Secondary along with twin sisters, Azaria and Acima Alleyne, from Springer Memorial and St George Secondary respectively. (ZM)