Lady Bulldogs hold off Oran for 11th win

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's girls basketball team ran its record to 11-6 on Wednesday night, defeating Oran 47-39.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a comfortable lead, then held off a late Oran rally to preserve the victory.

"We're a young team and we're not clock-conscience yet," said Sikeston coach Lee Brooks. "The girls want to keep pushing and pushing instead of using the time they have available to work the ball around and get good shots. You've got to know when to say when. We kept pushing and pushing, and let (Oran) get some confidence and get back in the game. There was no need for that."

Sikeston jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the game, with all 12 points coming from Jennifer and Jaime Medlin.

Joy Daniel then hit two layups to give the Lady Bulldogs a 16-8 lead at the end of the period.

In the first, all of Oran's points came from center Maria Eftink, who finished with 22 on the night. Eftink signed a letter of intent to play for Fontbonne College in St. Louis on Tuesday.

"(Eftink) is such a good player," said Brooks. "(Oran) looked for her and we knew that was going to happen. We tried to get a hand in the lane, but she's much bigger and they just threw it over the top. Once she gets the ball, she's going to score most of the time."

Kerri Jones and Stephanie Clark got into the scoring action as Sikeston opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run.

Oran's Ashley Dirnberger ended the offensive drought for the Lady Eagles with a 15-foot jump shot, then Anilise Lange busted two 3-pointers.

Jennifer Medlin countered with a trey of her own as Sikeston increased its lead to 31-18 at the half.

Sikeston outscored Oran 11-9 in the third quarter, only to see Eftink and Teresa Hodges rally the Lady Eagles in the final frame.

Oran got as close as seven, but Sikeston was able to hold off the charge with two baskets from Mia Welch and three crucial free throws.

"I think the game got a little out of control," said Oran coach Susan Diebold. "It was pretty physical, and that's pretty much what hurt us. We only had seven kids and kind of wore down a little towards the end. But I was proud of the way the girls played. We're a 1A school, they're 3A and we played them within eight points."

Jennifer Medlin led all Sikeston scorers with 18 points, hitting 7-of-9 from the foul line.

"Jennifer really stepped up tonight," said Brooks. "She's been sick the last few nights, so we were lucky to get the performance we did out of her."

Daniel and Jaime Medlin each finished with eight, followed by Jones with six and Mia Welch with four.

Ashley Johnson added two and Summer Ray contributed one. For Oran, Lange finished with nine points. Dirnberger and Hodges each finished with four.

Sikeston will travel to Scott City today, while Oran (8-5) hosts Charleston.

Sikeston won the junior varsity game over Oran, 44-25. Welch led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points, followed by Victoria Davis with nine and Ebony Collins with seven. Jami Pobst paced Oran with eight.