Richland rolls past Naylor in opener

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

ESSEX-The Richland Rebels basketball team notched their first victory of the season, as they defeated the Naylor Eagles at home by a score of 64-34.

For first-year head coach Jeff Jennewein of Richland, the victory was a first step in a long season.

"We played extremely hard tonight," said Jennewein. "But we have a long way to go to become a complete team."

The Rebels jumped out quick on the Eagles as they outscored Naylor 19-4 in the first quarter. Richland took a 34-18 lead heading into halftime.

"We scored a lot of easy buckets off our defense," said Jennewein. "I was pleased with the way the team hit the boards and blocked out in the first half."

Both teams came out of the locker rooms ice cold in the third quarter, as both teams combined to score 14 points. Richland won the quarter by two, 8-6, and led 42-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Rebels got it going in the fourth quarter, as Naylor could not keep up the pace and were outscored 22-10 in the quarter. Richland defeated Naylor, 64

-34.

"I was not pleased with our play in the second half," said Jennewein. "We made too many turnovers in the half and we were just too careless with the basketball. We blocked out well early, but for some reason we stopped in the second half. We are going to have to be more consistent."

Richland was led in scoring by Tommy Harlan who netted 21 points. Matt Rich was second on the team in points as he scored 19, hitting two 3's on the night.

Naylor was led in scoring by Clint Somers who scored 10 points.

The Rebels outscored Naylor from the free-throw line, 22-8. Richland was 22-for-32 from the charity stripe, while the Eagles were 8-for-17.

Even though Jennewein found some areas for improvement, overall he was pleased with the first game effort of his team.

"I thought we played better than I anticipated," said Jennewein. "We still have some work to do, but I think we are further ahead than first thought. Still have a way to go."

Richland (1-0) will participate in the Oran Invitational Tournament as the Rebels will face top seeded Twin Rivers Royals in the first round. Tip-off is set for Nov. 28 at 5 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs basketball dropped their second game in a row at the Cape Central junior varsity tournament, losing to the Chaffee Lady Red Devils, 35-22.

Head coach Tiffany King of the Sikeston JV was disappointed with the way her club came out in the first half.

"We had a bad first half," said King. "The girls just came out flat tonight and we couldn't recover from the first half deficit. Having only six players for the entire game, didn't help matters."

The Lady Bulldogs only scored two first half points, which came in the first quarter. Chaffee jumped ahead as Sikeston struggled to score and led 18-2 heading into halftime.

While the first half was a nightmare for Sikeston, King was pleased with the effort of the team in the second half.

"After halftime, the girls came out and played with more desire and intensity. It was night and day, comparing the two halves. The team really started to hustle in that second half."

Sikeston rallied and scored 13 points in the second quarter, cutting the Chaffee lead to 27-15 after three periods. The Lady Red Devils outscored Sikeston 8-7 in the fourth, to make the final score 35-22 in favor of Chaffee.

LaShawna Turner was a one woman show for Sikeston as she scored 18 of the Lady Bulldogs 22 points. Geneva Baker and Ashley Mitchell each chipped in two points for Sikeston.

The Lady Bulldogs return to action today in the Cape Central JV tournament as they will face the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules at 6 p.m.

EGYPTIAN, Ill. -- The Oran Lady Eagles crossed the river and beat Egyptian, Ill. on foreign soil, 60-47.

Oran raced out to a 39-19 lead at halftime and looked to cruise the rest of the way in. However, foul trouble plagued the Lady Eagles and were outscored in the third quarter, 14-8.

Egyptian, Ill. cut the lead to 14 heading into the fourth quarter, but could not overcome the 20-point halftime deficit and only outscored Oran by one in the fourth.

Oran was outscored 14-13 in the final quarter, but had a big enough lead to hold on to a 60-47 victory, their first of the season.

"In the first half, our man-to-man defense was great," said Oran head coach Larry Boshell. "In the second half, we got into a little bit of foul trouble and our bench came through for us in the second half. The foul trouble affected us on offense as well, because in the first half we did some good things on offense. Once the foul trouble hit us, we kind of lost that momentum from the first (half)."

The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by Erica Michelsen who pumped in 12 points. Wendy Eftink, Jodi Urhahn and Courtney Nenninger each chipped in with nine points.

Tiffany Glastetter helped out with seven points, while Mandi Wood and Callie Kielhofner each added six points. Hanna Seyer rounded out the scoring for Oran with two points.

Oran (1-0) will travel to Perryville on Nov. 28 to take on the Lady Pirates.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: