For the first time in Rumph Classic history, Team Cloud and Team Candy battled Sunday afternoon for the right to call themselves the women’s tournament champion.
Candy dominated en route to the final matchup, but they didn’t have the same luck Sunday. Cloud controlled the latter half of the matchup and took home the 50-40 win and the trophy.
Bri Butler hit the biggest shot, but Brittany Hrynko was the biggest player for Team Cloud. Her nine points and two steals in the second half fueled Team Cloud comeback efforts, earning her game MVP and a Rumph Championship in the process.
Cloud started out firing on all cylinders and led for the majority of the first half. Alisha Lewis found a groove early with five early points.
Candy’s Taylor O’Brien, who had 21 points in the semifinals, hit just one bucket in the first half, and Candy was in a seven-point hole halfway through the first half. Suddenly, they shifted gears as Imani Magee Stafford had eight points and grabbed five boards and helped Candy take a one-point lead at the half.
Team Candy desperately tried to extend their lead to mimic Saturday’s contest, but that never happened. Only two Candy players scored midway through the second half, allowing Cloud to snatch the momentum and take a 38-35 lead.
Team Cloud never looked back. They led by five with just under two minutes remaining and had a chance to put the icing on the cake. They just needed someone to deliver.
Butler, who hadn’t hit a shot all afternoon, stepped up to make history.
With a fan yelling at her to shoot the ball, she drained a three to lock up the championship. Those were her only three points, but they turned out to be the dagger as her squad lifted the trophy.
