Sikeston girls pull district upset over Perryville

DEXTER -- As time was running down, the voice of Sikeston head coach Homer Jackson could be heard above all others as he counted down from five.

Prompted by the countdown, sophomore Keyonna Blissett drove straight down the middle of the lane and sent a right-handed runner up that rolled around the back of the rim and finally fell in.

"My heart dropped," Blissett said.

Blissett gave the Lady Bulldogs their first Class 4, District 1 tournament win in Jackson's tenure as head coach with a 51-50 win over the No. 3 seed Perryville Lady Pirates on Tuesday night at the Bearcat Event Center.

"It's a huge win for our girls basketball program," Jackson said. "Not only do our girls understand that we can compete, they are legitimate contenders now."

As Jackson began to count backwards, Blissett took off as he said 'three.' Even though there was more than three seconds remaining.

It's a play the No. 6 seeded Lady Bulldogs have been running in the waning seconds of every quarter this season. The countdown is the cue to start getting the ball to the basket hoping to score or, if they can, get two shots before time runs out.

"That's our signal to dribble-drive the ball to the basket," Jackson said. "Everyone knows what that means. If she does not make the shot, we have enough time to maybe get a second shot. This time, she came through for us."

Even though she knew of the countdown, Blissett and the rest of the Lady Bulldogs did not have a special, last-second play they were running. In fact, her decision to take off towards the basket just popped up a moment before heading that way.

"That was more of a last minute thing," said Blissett. "We really didn't have a play we just wanted to get to the basket."

Blissett, who finished with nine points, scored Sikeston's last three points of the night. She hit 1-of-2 free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining to pull the Lady Bulldogs to within one, 50-49. The 5-5 guard was also helping out below the basket with seven rebounds as well as three steals.

"She had been doing it all night," Jackson said about Blissett. "She kept going to the well and going to the well and finally, she came up with a gold mine."

Giving Blissett the opportunity for the game-winning shot was the second half jolt provided by sophomore Tyangela Gibson.

Gibson, who came off the bench and began playing in the second half, scored 14 points in the last 16 minutes. Sikeston was down by as much as 14 points, they're biggest deficit of the game, in the third quarter until Gibson scored on four-straight Sikeston possessions. She single-handedly trimmed Perryville's lead to eight points with just over a minute left in the quarter.

"She's a very offensive minded player," Jackson said about Gibson. "Tyangela helped fill that void."

In the fourth quarter, Gibson cut the lead to five, then three and then eventually one with 1:49 left remaining. The Lady Bulldogs did not score again until Blissett's free throw trimmed it down to a one-point Lady Pirates lead.

Sikeston trailed throughout the entire game until the last three seconds.

"It's unexplainable," Blissett said about the win. "There's no words to explain how the whole team feels right now."

The Lady Bulldogs outscored their opponent 17-7 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Asia Liggins led the team with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Tyanne Townsend added a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in the win.

Perryville (9-14) was led by Natalie Bauwens and Emily Hanquist. Bauwens had a game-high 20 points while Hanquist chipped in 16.

Next up for the Lady Bulldogs (8-14) will be the No. 2 seeded Dexter Lady Bearcats on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

Sikeston 5 11 18 17 -- 51

Perryville 13 14 16 7 -- 50

SIKESTON (51) -- Tyanne Townsend 10, Keyonna Blissett 9, Asia Liggins 15, Shateria Flye 3, Tyangela Gibson 14. FG 22 FT 6-22 F 15. (3-pointers: Flye 1. Fouled out: none.)

PERRYVILLE (50) -- Natalie Gremaud 1, Morgan Mueller 2, Abbie Schilli 2, Catie Oberndorfer 3, Megan Moldenhauer 2, Katlyn Lukefahr 4, Emily Hanquist 16, Natalie Bauwens 20. FG 22 FT 5-16 F 17. (3-pointers: Oberndorfer 1. Fouled out: none.)

Ste. Genevieve 46, Fredericktown 41

The No. 5 seed Ste. Genevieve Hunters upset the No. 4 seed Fredericktown Lady Blackcats on Tuesday night in a 46-41 win.

Holding a slim, 32-31 lead after three quarters of play, the Hunters out-scored Fredericktown 14-10 in the final frame.

Elle Korenak led Ste. Genevieve with 16 points while Laura Rhodes added 15. The Lady Blackcats were led by Lauren Henderson's 17 points. Haley Stevens chipped in 10.

Ste. Genevieve moves on to play the No. 1 seeded Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

Ste. Genevieve 5 15 12 14 -- 46

Fredericktown 8 6 17 10 -- 41

STE. GENEVIEVE (46) -- Elle Korenak 16, Peyton Herrell 4, Laura Rhodes 15, Abby Meyer 5, Sam Brown 6. FG 17 FT 7-10 F 10. (3-pointers: Korenak 2, Rhodes 2, Meyer 1. Fouled out: none.)

FREDERICKTOWN (41) -- Haley Stevens 10, Lauren Henderson 17, Marlee Griggs 2, Terra Helm 8, Miriah Korokis 4. FG 16 FT 6-10 F 12. (3-pointers: Stevens 2, Korokis 1. Fouled out: none.)