PROSPER -- Krum didn’t pick the best night to have one of its worst offensive performances of the season, but the gritty Lady Cats overcame their scoring woes and were crowned champions of the North Texas Holiday Showcase.

Krum’s zone defense, which held Paris North Lamar to eight points in the final 14 minutes of the contest, made the difference in a 38-33 win over the Pantherettes.

“Our defense in the second half really kept us going and kept us in the game,” Krum head coach Lana Degelia said. “The effort was great out of our man-to-man, but we kept getting hung up. We went to zone and we did a good job of making adjustments and moving on ball reversal. The girls played it smart.”

The Lady Cats (22-1, 4-0) took their first lead on the final shot of the first quarter and held the advantage until the 7:25 mark of the fourth frame when a Logan Anglin jump shot tied the game at 31.

Krum’s Kirsti Degelia put the Lady Cats back out in front just 30 seconds later and followed that with a layup that ended a five minute scoring drought and gave Krum the cushion it needed to hold on in the championship clash.

Lady Cat Dani Wojciak capped off a great weekend by picking up tournament MVP honors and was joined on the all tournament team by teammate Kirsti Degelia, who averaged over 16 points per game in her team’s four games.

Things got off to an ugly start for Krum as it turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, but the Lady Cats turned it around in the final 3:40 of the stanza going on a 10-2 run capped by a Kristina Cloud 3-pointer with three ticks left on the clock.

The run continued into the second quarter and pushed Krum's lead to as many as six, but a Wojciak triple with 3:13 left in the half provided the only points in the final six minutes of the frame for the Lady Cats.

“Offensively it was not a good night,” Lana Degelia said. “We had way too many turnovers that are not typical of us.”

Cloud was an early catalyst for Krum with six points, three steals and three assists in the first half. Cloud finished with a team-high 10 points.

Both teams got off to a hot start in the second half before the Lady Cats settled into their zone defense and slowed the pace. North Lamar struggled the rest of the way and the two late Degelia field goals lifted Krum to victory.

The Pantherettes are ranked No. 12 in the TABC Class 4A poll. Lana Degelia was proud of how her team showed that the state’s top 2A team can hold its own against anyone, regardless of classification.

“North Lamar is a good team for us to match up with to see where we are at,” Lana Degelia said. “Lake Highlands is also a good team. I think if you show you can compete with Lake Highlands and North Lamar, you’ve done a good job. The girls really stepped up this weekend and played great.”

Krum also knocked off Prestonwood Christian and Decatur en route to its first-place finish.

Wojciak averaged a little over 11 points in those four wins, but according to her coach the senior’s value doesn’t show up on any stat sheet.

“Being an MVP is not all about scoring and those kind of things,” Lana Degelia said. “It’s about being a floor leader and leading a team to a championship. Dani did a great job for us this weekend.”

The Lady Cats will be looking to extend on their 13-game winning streak as they get back to district play at Anna on Friday night. 

Krum 38, Paris North Lamar 33

Paris North Lamar  11            8            10            4            --            33

Krum   14            8            9            9            --            38

Paris North Lamar – Logan Anglin 12, Emily Fouse 6, Ashley Endsley 6, Ali Stone 5, Chelsie Shackelford 4.

Krum (22-1, 4-0) – Kristina Cloud 10, Jessica Hesse 8, Dani Wojciak 6, Kirsti Degelia 6, Allison Taylor 4, Emily Beck 2, Sunny Burk 2.