Kelly advances to championship game

~Chaffee rallies to beat East Prairie in overtime; Oran bests Scott Central

CHAFFEE -- The Chaffee Lady Devils Invitational rolled on Wednesday night, as Oran, Chaffee and Kelly each came away with victories.

In game one, No. 6 seed Oran took care of business against No. 3 seed Scott Central, 58-56.

"We played good," Oran head coach Adam Friga said. "Our young kids and our older kids played well together tonight. It was a total team effort."

The Lady Eagles were led offensively by Callie Kielhofner, who put up 12 points in the victory.

Oran's Callie Kielhofner drives around a Scott County Central defender

Oran's Callie Kielhofner drives around a Scott County Central defender

In the losing effort, Scott Central's Jamisha Williams scored 16 points and Markita Mosley added 14.

Oran was 10-for-18 at the charity stripe, while the Bravettes were 10-for-

25.

"Our kids played hard, but I am most proud of our effort," Friga said. "Scott Central is the defending district champs. We weren't going to take anything for granted."

Scott Central head coach Semona Penrod said that her team just couldn't string any momentum together.

Kelly's Sarah Ruff

Kelly's Sarah Ruff

"We just threw the ball away," Penrod said. "There's a lot of things we're not doing right."

"We're just not jelling," Penrod added. "There's nothing smooth about it. If we start working for each other, things will change."

Oran will now face Delta in the winner's bracket, tonight at 7:30 p.m. while Scott Central falls to the loser's bracket, and will go up against Sikeston tonight at 6 p.m.

Game two was an instant classic, as No. 5 seed Chaffee rallied from being down 13 points to come back and beat No. 8 seed East Prairie in overtime by a score of 62-57.

Chaffee's Amber Kirk scored a total of 30 points, including four three-

pointers to lead the Lady Devils to victory.

East Prairie looked to have the game in the bag, until three of their six top players fouled out before the fourth quarter was over.

"We made a few mental errors in the last few minutes of the ball game," East Prairie head coach Steven Douglas said. "It cost us."

"We also missed our free throws," he added. "(But) I was proud of our effort. We're not used to playing with the lead."

The Lady Eagles were led by Maddie Branum's 17 points along with Rianon Threstier's 12.

Next up for East Prairie is Kelly, on Monday at East Prairie. Chaffee now moves on to play for the consolation championship Saturday at 1:30 p.m. They will face the winner of the Sikeston and Scott Central game.

In the night-cap, No. 1 seed Kelly took down No. 4 seed Scott City 48-35, with major help from the offensive production of Debra Hall.

Hall put up 27 points in the victory and was a force on the boards all night long.

Londyn Backfisch added seven points in the win.

"Both teams played good and hard," Kelly head coach Rod McQuerter said. "I'm blessed with a good group of girls. I can't complain."

Scott City's Whitney Tapley scored 12 in the loss.

The Lady Hawks were 10-for-23 at the line, while the Lady Rams were 8-for-

12.

Kelly will now advance to the championship game on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. where they will face the winner of the Delta and Oran game, which will be played tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Scott City falls to the third place game, which will feature the loser of the Delta and Oran game. The third place game will be played Saturday at 3:00 p.m.