MASON, W.Va. — The Wahama girls basketball team enjoyed an early holiday at home last weekend, as the Lady Falcons defeated both Ohio Valley Christian and Wirt County to claim the championship at the 2011 Wahama Holiday Tournament held Friday and Saturday in Mason County.

The Lady Falcons (4-2) soared past OVCS on Friday with a 61-45 victory in a semifinal matchup, then held on against Wirt County to claim the title with a 43-42 decision in the Saturday finale.

Wahama had three players reach double figures against the Lady Defenders on Friday, as the hosts stormed out to leads of 16-12 after eight minutes and 35-21 at the intermission. WHS opened the second half with a 12-9 run for a 47-30 edge, but the guests closed regulation with a 15-14 spurt to wrap up the 14-point decision.

Kelsey Zuspan led Wahama with 18 points, followed by Sierra Carmichael with 15 points and Karista Ferguson with 11 markers. Ashley Templeton and Mackenzie Gabritsch added six points each, while Paige Gardner and Morgan Nottingham rounded things out with respective totals of four points and one point.

Wahama was 7-of-17 at the free throw line for 41 percent, while the guests went 17-of-27 at the charity stripe for 63 percent.

Emily Carman paced OVCS with 12 points, followed by Beth Martin with 10 markers. Bekah Sargent, Madison Crank and Samantha Westfall all added six points, while Sarah Schoonover rounded things out with five markers.

The Lady Falcons jumped out to an early 7-0 edge Saturday en route to a 13-10 lead after eight minutes, then went on a small 9-8 spurt in the second canto for a 22-18 intermission advantage.

WCHS opened the second half with a 16-10 charge to take a 34-32 lead headed into the finale, but the hosts answered with an 11-8 run down the stretch to secure the one-point triumph.

Templeton, who was named tournament MVP, led WHS and all scorers with 17 points. Ferguson and Gardner added respective point totals of eight and seven, while Carmichael and Gabritsch chipped in five and four markers. Zuspan rounded out the scoring with two markers, as Wahama went 11-of-20 at the free throw line for 55 percent.

Brittani Gaskins paced Wirt County with 14 points, followed by Hannah Nichols with eight points and Miriam Smith with six markers. WCHS was 8-of-16 at the charity stripe for 50 percent.