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Restless Sikeston blows by NMCC 63-26
NEW MADRID -- Before Monday, the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs had played one game in 16 days.
Like a caged animal waiting to escape, Sikeston was finally allowed to run wild and bolted past New Madrid County Central 63-26.
"There's been a lot of practice days and it's almost to the point where you're tired of practice and you just need to play games," Sikeston head coach Matt Schonhoff said. "You could tell tonight we were ready to go and ready to play. We did it from the start."
Larysa McClellon led all scorers with 14 points. Miranda Harrison added 12, Tyeshia Mitchell chipped in nine while six other Lady Bulldogs added to the total.
The stored anticipation from being held away from the hardwood spilled into chaotic bliss for the Lady Bulldogs, whose last game was Jan. 5 against Farmington and before that Dec. 27 in the consolation championship of the St. Dominic Christmas tournament.
Sikeston's controlled madness brought on by its unnerving pressure defense put them in the driver's seat early by causing massive turnovers for NMCC. The Lady Bulldogs are fortunate to utilize a rare tactic within its defensive scheme by subbing in two different teams of five players each.
"They were definitely the more aggressive team tonight," NMCC first-year head coach B.J. Stone said. "Five in and five out can obviously help you when you're playing full-court man and double-teaming the ball. They were the aggressive team all over the floor defensively and offensively. We've got a long way to go if we want to match their intensity."
Sikeston (6-4) led by eight after the first quarter, then outscored NMCC 19-7 in the second for a 20-point halftime lead. NMCC, who scored 13 points in the first quarter, was only allowed 13 more during the final three periods combined.
Sikeston's depth and timely substitution rate, which resembled more of a line change in hockey than simple substitutions, kept the Lady Eagles at bay.
"That's a big time luxury," said Schonhoff. "If we have someone get in foul trouble we have plenty of help that comes off the bench. That's what our M-O has been all year. If one group isn't clicking at one time we can put in our second group and hopefully that sparks it. It's worked out, so far, well for us."
Sikeston's main focus was to check NMCC's Shanterra Waters, who is one of the Eagles' leading scorers. With Waters, who scored seven points, gaining most of Sikeston's attention, Keisha Rainer became an early problem.
Rainer, who led NMCC (6-5) with nine points, scored seven points in the first quarter giving the Lady Eagles an early advantage at one point. Rainer added two free throws in the second but was held scoreless the rest of the way.
"We wanted to stop the Waters girl. That was our point of emphasis," Schonhoff said. "(Rainer) comes out and starts going to the middle, making shots and keeping them in the basketball game. Once we took that away we pretty much stopped them from scoring."
On top of continually battling against Sikeston's wall of defense, NMCC ran into early foul trouble. They gave Sikeston 15 free throws the first half which also left Stone with three of his starters on and off the bench.
"We had to play some younger girls there and, again, when you're going against someone who can sub five in and five out and you're having to play some players that's not quite ready for varsity it will end up catching up to you in the end," he said.
Before Sikeston, NMCC had won three of its last five games which included two losses during the Lady Royals Classic tournament Dec. 18 and 20. They added wins over Caruthersville and Senath-Hornersville before Sikeston rolled into town.
"This is probably one of the more aggressive and well-coached teams that we've played so far," Stone said about Sikeston. "I told the girls that our schedule gets nothing but tough from here on out. There's no easy games."
NMCC will host Portageville -- a potential district opponent -- on Thursday then go to Charleston for its next game followed by Twin Rivers and a trip to Dexter.
"We're going to have to figure out a way to get our intensity picked up," Stone said.
Sikeston continues with Notre Dame on Thursday at the Sikeston Field House.
Sikeston has handed Notre Dame, a district foe, a loss already this season which was the first victory over Sikeston's rival during Schonhoff's five-year career at the school and was believed to be one of, if not the, first win over Notre Dame in Sikeston's history.
| Sikeston | 21 | 19 | 17 | 6 | -- | 63 |
| NMCC | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | -- | 26 |
SIKESTON (63) -- Kiera Steward 7, Dominique Roach 2, Tyra Bonner 6, Larysa McClellon 14, Nachira Sims 2, Erica Peet 7, Arianna Beard 4, Miranda Harrison 12, Tyeshia Mitchell 9. FG 27 FT 7-17 F 18. (3-pointers: Steward 1, Harrison 1. Fouled out: none.)
NMCC (26) -- Shanterra Waters 7, Monica Davis 2, Keisha Rainer 9, Aaliyah Phillips 1, Keiote Tillman 1, Octavia Smith 6. FG 6 FT 14-22 F 13. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)