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DONIPHAN -- The Matt Schonoff era got off to a good start on Monday night as the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs won their season opener 68-50 over Doniphan.
"One it's a conference win and it's good to start off 1-0," Schonoff said. "Now we know what we need to work on. We need to finish at the basket and our free throws are not the greatest."
Sikeston used their defense to take a 14-9 lead after one and continued to force turnovers pulling ahead 32-20 at the break. The Lady Bulldogs then held a comfortable lead in the second half, taking advantage of 20 steals in the game.
"The girls competed hard and the defense played really good and forced a lot of stuff," Schonoff said. "We made them play faster than they wanted to."
Sikeston's Asia Liggins led all scorers with 17 points, pulling down 11 rebounds as well. Quesha Howard added 12 points while Taneshia Pulley scored nine points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Keyonna Blissett had four points to go along with her six steals and Vonteria Applewhite added five steals.
Doniphan was led by Hannah Netherland's 14 points.
Sikeston dropped an exciting junior varsity contest, 43-40 in overtime. Sikeston trailed 27-15 at halftime but outscored the Donettes 13-0 in the third quarter to take a slim one-point lead. Doniphan then tied the game at 38 to end the game and outscored Sikeston 5-2 in overtime to take the win.
"We never gave up and continued to fight," said Sikeston coach Summer Ray. "We played a full five quarters and played good defense."
Sikeston was led in scoring by Janai Ivory's 15 points. Makala Nichols added seven.