Members of the Clements girls basketball team celebrate their victory in the championship game of the 2008 Limestone County Tournament.

The Lady Colts put Clements in position to sweep the 2008 Limestone County Basketball Tournament Saturday night with a 49-43 win against Tanner.

Clements struggled early and trailed at the half, but found a rhythm as they outscored Tanner 21-17 in the third quarter to take a lead they would not give up.

“I challenged the girls to come out and make a difference by rebounding and playing strong defense,” said Clements coach Sonya Marks. “That was the difference in the game.”

The Lady Rattlers dominated early, keeping Clements off the scoreboard the first few minutes of the game.

Tanner led 9-5 after the first quarter and 18-15 at the half.

The Lady Rattlers pushed the lead to 21-15 at one point, but Clements rallied and took a 29-28 lead late in the third quarter on a Jordan Beggs 3-pointer.

“She came out cold to begin with,” Marks said. “When it came down to it, she stepped up and made big shots for us.”

After that shot, the Lady Colts finished the quarter on a 7-4 run.

Early in the fourth, Sentoya Harper and Sierra Sales scored for Tanner to cut the lead to 40-36.

Clements went on a 5-0 run to regain a comfortable lead including a 3-pointer by Chelsea Haggermaker to end the run.

Jessica Urias answered for Tanner with a 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining in the game to cut the lead to 45-38.

The Lady Rattlers were able to outscore Clements 5-4 the rest of the way, but the deficit was too much and the Lady Colts celebrated their first county title in several years.

Sales led all scorers with 23 points while Jessica Urias added five and Lauren Harris scored four for Tanner.

Beggs was the leading scorer for the Lady Colts with 17 points. Daneshia Malone added 12 while LaCreshia Petty added nine for Clements.

Marks said the win was a relief because she implemented new things and did not know if they were going to be successful.

She also said the victory was a reward for the hard work the team has put into this season.

During the summer the players made a commitment to improving.

That included more time lifting weights and quite a bit of time taking shots in the gym.

“I have to give credit to all of them,” Marks said. “They were determined to win the county and worked hard and did it.”