Lady Bulldogs roll over Portageville in opener

PORTAGEVILLE -- Sikeston's girls basketball team opened the 2002-2003 season on a high note Monday night, rolling past a scrappy Portageville team, 50-33.

"The kids came out and did a good job," said Sikeston coach Lee Brooks. "They played hard and got after it. We don't have our basketball legs yet, but we did a lot of things right."

Jennifer Medlin led the charge for the Lady Bulldogs, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring 18 points overall. Center Joy Daniel contributed 16 points.

"That's our bread and butter," said Brooks. "To beat us, other teams are going to have to prove they can beat Joy. If they can, they're going to have to beat Jennifer from the outside. We are going to play an inside-outside game this year."

The Lady Bulldogs held a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, then fought Portageville to a 6-6 stalemate in the second to make the score 25-17 at halftime.

Sikeston came out fresh in the second half, outscoring Portageville 17-5 in the third quarter to pull away. The Lady Bulldogs were outscored 11-8 in the final frame, but held on to win 50-33.

Portageville standout Janil Booker scored 19 points in the loss.

"I saw her do a lot of good things," said Brooks. "She missed quite a few shots and could've had a lot more than she did. She is one heck of a player, I think a lot of her."

Sikeston (1-0) will have its hands full Thursday night, taking on Dexter.

The last two games between the two schools have been decided by two points or less.

"That's going to be a good game," said Brooks. "Coach (Gavin) Miller always has his girls ready to play, and I know they're going to be waiting on us. We're going to take a good game plan over there and see if maybe we can walk out with a win."

Sikeston won the junior varsity game over Portageville, 52-35. Nyketia Johnson scored 16 points for the Lady Bulldogs, followed by Allison Blurton with 13 and Whitney McCray with 10.

For Portageville, Jessica Green scored 11 points and Channey Williams added 10.

DEXTER -- Dexter took advantage of a big first half, beating Kelly 58-48 on Monday night.

Katie Dunlap was too much for the Lady Hawks in the post, scoring a game-high 21 points. Amy Rose hit one 3-pointer in the game, finishing with 13 points.

For the Lady Hawks, Kelly Essner led the way with 18 points. "It was a scrappy, fast-paced, physical game," explained Dexter coach Gavin Miller. "It was a little different from what we had last week against Caruthersville. Last week was just an athletic team that liked to run up and down the court. We've played two different styles now, which is good for us. We need that early in the season. We will probably see something different Thursday night against Sikeston."

Dexter (2-0) will host Sikeston on Thursday at 6 p.m.

STEELE -- Senath-Hornersville defeated New Madrid County Central in the South Pemiscot Tournament on Monday night, 61-51.

Stephanie Cunningham did the most damage, scoring a game-high 25 points. Christina Motes was also unstoppable, contributing 18.

For NMCC, Shanika McFarland led the way with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Tanya Minner finished with eight points and six rebounds.

"We had too many turnovers," said NMCC head coach Matt Ginther. "We have got to learn to make smarter decisions. We can not give the opponent that many opportunities and expect to win. We are making progress. We just have to keep at it."

CHAFFEE -- Loren Groves scored 30 points, leading Scott City to a 68-37 win over Chaffee on Monday night.

Kristen Schaeffer scored 15 points for the Lady Rams, and Rachel Spinks added 10.

For Chaffee, Jennifer Vandeven led the way with 10 points. Samantha Hendrix contributed eight points.

FARMINGTON -- Farmington upset Notre Dame in the first round of the Farmington Invitational on Monday, 63-62.

Natalie Bess scored 24 points, followed by Katelyn Peterson and Jessica Arnold with 10 each.

Ashley Millham paced Notre Dame with 17. Sierra Ellis and Sommer McCauley each added 15.