Lady Bulldogs defeat Naylor for third at Twin Rivers tourney

BROSELEY - The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs basketball team captured the third place trophy in the Lady Royals Holiday Classic Tournament, with a hard-

fought 52-46 victory over the pesky Naylor Lady Eagles in Broseley on Friday night.

Sikeston started the contest with an 11-0 run in the first quarter. Naylor committed five turnovers in the quarter and seemed to have problems with the Lady Bulldogs pressure defense.

Naylor regrouped and eventually tied the game at 12 apiece, when the first quarter came to a close.

Sophomore forward Martika Davis went to work in the low post in the second quarter for the Lady Bulldogs. Davis scored eight points and 5-foot-8 senior Allison Blurton chipped in six points in the second quarter, to spur Sikeston to a 32-21 lead at halftime.

Naylor went back to basics and got the basketball to super sophomore Hailee Deckard. At 5-10, Deckard did it all for Naylor on Friday night. Deckard dribbled through the press for Naylor and got her team going on offense.

Deckard scored eight points in the third quarter, but Sikeston still led 42-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

Naylor cut the lead to 47-44 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter. Miranda Sullivan, a 6-0 Naylor forward, was fouled down in the post and went to the free throw line looking to cut into the Sikeston lead.

Sullivan missed both foul shots and Naylor was forced to put Sikeston on the foul line. The Lady Bulldogs hit 1-of-2 foul shots and led 48-44, with one minute remaining in the contest.

Sikeston fouled a Naylor player and once again the Lady Eagles had a chance to cut into the lead while the clock was stopped. Naylor missed on another opportunity, as the foul shot was missed and Sikeston retrieved the rebound.

Blurton was and calmly strolled to the foul line and drained two shots, to put Sikeston up 50-44 with 30 seconds left in regulation.

Naylor missed two more foul shots and Sikeston put the game away from the line, as Blurton made two more foul shots and Sikeston won the game 52-46.

Naylor was 5-for-13 from the line against Sikeston and committed 15 turnovers in the game. Naylor pulled down 31 rebounds (14 offensive) as a team.

Sikeston had 26 rebounds (seven offensive) as a team and committed 14 turnovers in the game.

"We didn't do anything on the boards," said Sikeston head coach Fred Johnson. "I am pleased to get a trophy. Rather have first, but better than last."

Blurton led Sikeston with 15 points. Davis ended up with 12 points and eight rebounds. Whitney McCray scored nine points and hauled down nine rebounds off the bench for the Lady Bulldogs. Point guard Amber Minner had nine points and five assists.

"Blurton plays good in spurts," said Johnson. "Like to see her step up every night and play the way she is capable of playing."

Deckard finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and two assists for Naylor.

Sullivan scored 10 points and had six rebounds.

Sikeston (6-4) will have some time off and will next play on Jan. 5 at home against Kelly.

"I am going to two practices a day over the break," said Johnson. "I am going to get two good hours of practice out of the girls. If that means we practice six hours to get two good ones, then that is what we do."

The Dexter Lady Bearcats fell to the Doniphan Donettes 57-40 in the championship game of the tournament in Broseley on Friday night.

Doniphan never seemed to be challenged in the contest as they sprinted out to a 36-25 lead at halftime.

Dexter committed nine turnovers in the first half, as fatigue might have set in according to head coach Gavin Miller.

"We seemed to commit the majority of our turnovers when the girls get tired," said Miller. "The turnovers got us late in the second quarter, as it went from a four point game to an 11 point game at the half. We are hurting for someone to take care of the ball and to take it to the hole. Hopefully, Haylee Finch will step up once she recovers from her injury."

The third quarter was a defensive struggled, as both teams scored a total of eight points with four each. The Donettes led 40-29 heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Doniphan put the game away outscoring Dexter 17-11 in the quarter. Dexter had no answer for 5-foot-6 guard Morgan Davis of Doniphan, who ran from baseline to baseline looking for screens to be set in her favor. For the game, Davis hit five 3-pointers.

The Lady Bearcats committed 21 turnovers in the game and were 2-for-8 from the foul line.

"The girls will learn from this defeat and will get better," said Miller. "We are not in great shape right now. I blame myself for that happening. Overall, we need to take care of the ball and start to attack the basket. We don't have great shooters, so we have to get to the basket."

Taylor Nelson led Dexter with 18 points. However, fatigue may have been a factor in her game as 16 of her 18 points came in the first half.

Dexter (6-1) had some good contribution from its bench as sophomore Amanda Dooley had nine points and Jessica Fowler scored five points.

Mallory Kennedy continued her overall contributions for Dexter, leading the team with seven rebounds. Junior Molly Burleson led the Lady Bearcats with four assists.

Davis led Doniphan with 28 points and also had four rebounds and two assists. Angela Rodgers scored eight points and Haily Reed scored seven points, two rebounds and dished out a team leading eight assists.

Portageville could not handle 5-foot-10 forward Beth Johnson of East Carter. Johnson scored 34 points and had nine rebounds (five offensive) to led the Redbirds. Johnson scored 16 points in the second quarter to help build a lead for East Carter.

The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 35-20 at halftime due to foul problems to junior Hannah Rone. Rone played sparingly in the first half and Portageville lost their energy without her.

East Carter extended the lead to 54-35 heading into the fourth quarter. Two big 3's hit by Meaghan Carner of East Carter in the third quarter, seemed to ice it for the Redbirds.

However, Portageville didn't quit and Rone caught fire scoring 11 points in the final quarter. Freshman Courtney Chamberlain did a nice job off the bench for Portageville, hitting two 3-pointers in the second half.

Portageville hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored East Carter 27-17 in the quarter to make it interesting. In the end, East Carter held on to the 71-62 victory.

Besides the points of Johnson, Carner scored nine points and had four rebounds for East Carter. Junior Carri Brooks had seven points and six rebounds. Stephanie Moeckli also had seven points and garnered five rebounds.

Caitlyn Bowman scored six points, had five rebounds and dished out a game-

high nine assists. Charmayne Loury chipped in with a good stat-line of four points, two rebounds and six assists.

Rone led Portageville with 19 points, grabbed four offensive rebounds and had seven assists to also lead the Lady Bulldogs. Chamberlain finished with 16 points. Sophomore Kellye Penn scored eight points and had five rebounds.

Fellow sophomore Mallory Bidewell scored five points, had five rebounds and two assists.

Lauren Kellams led Portageville with nine rebounds and scored four points.

Portageville (8-3) will play at Kennett on Jan. 8 with the junior varsity game starting at 6 p.m.