BUDA, Texas-- Behind Tournament MVP junior forward Adesuwa Ebomwonyi (pictured, at left), the Pflugerville Panthers stopped Hendrickson, 44-36 Saturday afternoon to win their third consecutive Hays Rebel Classic championship.  The Panthers are ranked ninth in the TABC 5A poll this week, while Hendrickson, also in the Pflugerville ISD, is 14th in the TABC 4A rankings. The Panthers are now 13-2 overall with a six-game win streak, and went 4-0 in the tourney. In the four games, Ebomwonyi collected 60 points and 46 rebounds for tourney averages of 15.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. This included nine points and game-highs of 11 rebounds and six steals in the title game win over Hendrickson.

Joining Ebomwonyi on the All-Tournament Team was sophomore forward Itiana Taylor who had 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the championship game. Taylor reached double-figure scoring in three of the four tourney games and also pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds in the semifinal OT win against Flower Mound Marcus on Friday.

Other top performers in the game against Hendrickson included junior guard Curtiesha Woods (eight points, two steals) and junior post Dee Hyder (seven points, eight boards).

The game was close throughout, with PHS's biggest lead nine points. At the half, the Panthers led, 25-22.

En route to the championship, Pflugerville bested Vista Ridge (66-36) and Weatherford (81-60) Thursday before stopping Marcus in overtime (65-61) Friday.

The Panthers now break for final examinations and will return to action on Friday, Dec. 18 for their second District 25-5A contest. Pflugerville hosts Westlake in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Panther Gym.

[Note: photo courtesy of Jeff Sims and JeffSimsPhoto.com]