Sikeston comes up on short end against Notre Dame

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The Sikeston girls basketball team got a chance to test their mettle against one of the better teams in the area in Notre Dame, but they came up on the short end 77-29.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 28-6 lead after one quarter and extended that to a 46-17 halftime lead.

"We knew that we were in for a battle," said Sikeston head coach Lee Brooks, whose team falls to 7-4. "We were wanting to hang on and make a presence. I thought we played real hard. We had a few too many turnovers and we had trouble covering their inside-outside game. Anytime you've got some girls that can shoot like the Millham sisters, it's tough to guard."

The sisters, Lisa and Ashley, scored 20 and 18 points respectively. Inside player Deena McCormick added 18 points for Notre Dame to make for a tough trio.

"I look at it more as a learning experience," said Brooks. "They're probably the best 2A team I've seen. We'll probably be watching them in the state tournament. In my 11 years of coaching here this is the best Notre Dame team I've seen, at least the most talented. I have nothing but praise for them. They don't have many flaws."

Sikeston was led in scoring by Joy Daniel's eight points. Summer Ray had six points and Stephanie Clark had five for the Lady Bulldogs.

"I thought we had great leadership from Summer," said Brooks.

"I think Stephanie Clark really came into her own tonight, but she had to carry a lot of the load."

Sikeston will play at Chaffee on Monday at 6:30 p.m.