<I>The Eagle/David Heldreth</I><BR>Prairie CIty's Rachel Gray is fouled as she goes for a shot during the Panthers' game against Burnt River Friday, Dec. 19 in Dayville.

MONUMENT – Burnt River played the role of the Grinch last weekend.

The Bulls beat Monument/ Dayville 46-26 in the championship game of the Tiger Christmas Tournament Saturday, Dec. 20 in Monument. The tournament was held in Dayville and Monument.

Burnt River went ahead 10-4 after the first quarter and continued to build its lead, outscoring the Tigers in each quarter.

Burnt River was able to control Shyanne Winters, Monument/Dayville’s leading scorer, during the game. Winters had nine points against the Bulls. She had scored 26 and 28 points in her two previous games.

“The girls worked hard. We just had an off shooting night,” Tiger coach James Retherford said. “I think next time we play them we can beat them. We’ll have a lot more games and experience.”

Although Winters had a slower offensive game, she was able to help slow the Bulls’ Ellie Delong. Delong was held to 13 points.

Prairie City didn’t fare any better against Burnt River. They lost 47-37 to the Bulls in the first round of the tournament Friday, Dec. 19 in Dayville. Burnt River led the game 23-13 at half time and went up by as much as 16 points.

However, Prairie City was missing two players due to injuries. Skylar Fast was out with a dislocated shoulder and Cheyenne Molt suffered a knee injury. Fast is expected to return in four weeks while Molt may miss the remainder of the season.

Prairie City and Monument/Dayville each had better games against Ukiah in the tournament. The Tigers beat Ukiah 70-9 in their first game of the tournament. The Panthers faced Ukiah in the tournament’s consolation championship game and won. Prairie City won the game, but injuries continued to haunt the team. The Panthers’ Salem Fast broke her nose during the game.

Prairie City also beat Ukiah 75-8 Tuesday, Dec. 16 before losing 52-38 to Powder Valley Thursday, Dec. 18 in the week leading to the tournament. The Tigers dominated Mitchell 59-25 Tuesday, Dec. 16 in their pre-tournament game.

“I played a lot of freshmen (last) week,” Prairie City coach Penny Black said. “We had a big lead against Ukiah and had some injuries.”

Prairie City will play in the Elgin Tournament Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 29-30. The Tigers won’t play another game until they face the Panthers in Prairie City Friday, Jan. 9.