Congratulations to this week’s Josh Finley Country Financial Rams of the Week! This week it’s Kamaree Pollard, Melaina Zedalis, and the Mt. Vernon Lady Rams Basketball Team! The Lady Rams FOUR-PEATED the Benton Rangerette Christmas Classic on Monday, December 30, 2024, with their fourth consecutive tournament championship. This time they knocked off state-ranked Civic Memorial 60-54. The state-ranked Lady Rams opened the tournament with a 66-19 win over Benton’s JV, ran the clock against Mt. Zion in an 84-41 win, then beat previously undefeated Vienna 71-66 in the semifinals. Pollard and Zedalis made the all-tournament team as a result of their performances throughout the tournament.

In the first three games, Pollard scored 58 points, had 14 rebounds, 19 assists, and 5 steals. In the same stretch Zedalis poured in 53 points, had 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 9 steals. Pollard added additional 20 points in the title tilt while Zedalis added 15 (full stats were not available as of this writing) giving them scoring averages of 19.5 and 17 points per game, respectively. Senior Josie Shirley just missed a double digit scoring average with 9.5 points per game in the tournament.

The accolades don’t stop there. The two seniors BOTH eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for their careers in the first half against Civic Memorial. The terrific tandem became the 16th and 17th players in program history to reach that particular pinnacle.

Sophomore Arwyn Wilkey was introduced to the starting lineup during the tourney and added 30 points, while Freshman Leniyah Shelby saw additional minutes and added 23 points. Senior Starter Autumn Rudd added 12 points and also had 20+ rebounds in the tournament. The Lady Rams left Benton with a 14-1 record. Mt. Vernon is coached by Jeff Lonnon, Matt Pool, Jami Williams, and Justice Malone.

 

Editor’s note: The Lady Rams lost a shootout game against Breese (Central) on Jan. 4 (61-41). They are now 14-2. This post was previously written on Jan. 3, 2025.