Dexter to play Bell City for Stoddard County title

BLOOMFIELD -- The semifinal round of the Stoddard County Tournament took place on Thursday night, with Dexter beating Advance 70-44 and Bell City defeating Bloomfield 64-49. Dexter and Bell City will play for the championship tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Bloomfield High School.

Derek Demaree scored 19 points, Chris Guethle added 14 and Levi Rawson contributed 12 as the top-seeded Bearcats rolled past Advance 70-44. Dexter led 31-18 at halftime, then blew the game wide open with a 26-13 run in the third quarter. James Masters led Advance with 15 points.

Dominitrix Johnson scored 30 points, leading second-seeded Bell City to a surprisingly easy 64-49 win over Bloomfield on the Wildcats' home floor.

The two teams played on Jan. 23, with Bell City squeaking out a four-point victory.

But there was no drama this time around as the Cubs jumped out to a 22-8 lead and never looked back.

Bloomfield standout Tim Perry was held to four points in the loss. The Wildcats were led by Grant Jones with 17. For Bell City, Randy Conn scored 11.

VARSITY GIRLS

NEW MADRID -- Mia Welch scored 14 points and Allison Blurton added 12 as Sikeston defeated New Madrid County Central on Thursday night, 49-24.

The Lady Bulldogs struggled early, holding just an 11-10 lead after the end of the first quarter.

Sikeston went on to outscore the Lady Eagles 11-4 in the second, 19-5 in the third, then 8-5 in the fourth.

"In the first quarter, they stayed with us," said Sikeston coach Lee Brooks. "They've got some good athletes and they play hard. We had to regroup at halftime and come out and do what we do best, which is run the ball and push it up."

Nyketia Johnson and Whitney McCray each scored eight for the Lady Bulldogs. NMCC was led by McFarland and Matthews with eight points each.

Sikeston (10-6) will travel to Portageville on Saturday. The varsity is schedule to play at 4:30 p.m.