Lady Bulldogs take fourth at tourney

CHAFFEE -- The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs dug a first-half hole too deep to climb out of in Saturday's third-place game at the 28th Chaffee Lady Devils Invitational.

Sikeston's second-half comeback fell short in a 62-53 loss to Scott County Central. The Bravettes led 38-21 at the half, then held on to withstand a 32-24 second-half advantage by the Lady Bulldogs.

"We came out sluggish in the first half, then played hard in the second," said Sikeston coach Tiffany King. "We just didn't have enough to win it after that first half."

Scott County's hot outside shooting combined with Sikeston's frigid free-throw shooting made the difference. The Bravettes hit nine 3-pointers, eight in the first half, while the Lady Bulldogs made only 7-of-20 from the charity stripe. Sikeston had two 3s.

Sikeston's Whitney McCray recorded a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Robyn Morris added 13 points and Ali Blurton chipped in with eight.

Nyketia Johnson topped Scott County with 23 points, Brittney Goodwin scored 16, including four 3s, and Myleka Mitchell had 10. Janet Penrod nailed three 3s for her nine-point total. Kelly defeated Delta 47-43 in overtime to capture the tournament championship.

The Lady Hawks, led by Kelly Essner's 12 points and Jessica Burnett's 10, outscored the Lady Bobcats 4-0 in the overtime period.

Shea Smith paced Delta with 13 points and Sarah Cook had 10.

Scott City finished fifth with a 39-29 victory over Chaffee.