North Callaway junior guard Elaine Brinker delivered a remarkable effort and the Ladybirds responded with a riveting comeback.
Brinker's game-high 28 points were two shy of a tournament record as No. 2 seed North Callaway rallied to force overtime, then outlasted No. 6 Hallsville for a 58-55 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the Southern Boone Classic.
The Ladybirds were down 46-42 with 13 seconds to play in regulation when senior guard Tara Oberlag hit a basket to cut the deficit to two points. North Callaway then forced a turnover, Brinker was fouled with :11 remaining and she sank both ends of a 1-and-1 opportunity to tie the game.
Hallsville committed another turnover with :01.1 to go, but the Ladybirds were unable to get off a potential game-winning shot. North Callaway put the game away in overtime at the foul line, hitting 8-of-12 attempts while outscoring the Lady Indians 12-9.
Boonville 63
Fulton 51
BOONVILLE - Fatigue took a toll on the Lady Hornets down the stretch as they succumbed to the state-ranked Lady Pirates in North Central Missouri Conference play Friday night.
Fulton trailed 18-11 after one quarter, but outscored Boonville 18-15 in the second quarter to close within 33-29 at the break. The Lady Hornets were only down 45-41 to start the fourth quarter, but the Lady Pirates pulled away late as exhaustion consumed Fulton.
"The last four minutes we got gassed, committed some turnovers and Boonville had some easy baskets," Lady Hornets head coach TJ Quick said. "I liked everything about the way we played; I don't have anything to complain about.
"The girls were all over the place and they had no quit."
Sophomore forward NaShayla Brandt posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds to direct Fulton (6-12, 3-3 NCMC), which dropped both of its meetings with the Lady Pirates. Sophomore guard Sloane Totta also produced 13 points and nine rebounds, while fellow sophomore guard Baileigh Horstmeier had seven points and seven rebounds.
South Callaway 50
Calvary Lutheran 34
JEFFERSON CITY - Senior guard Taylor Howard connected for a game-high 14 points and the Lady Bulldogs put the defensive squeeze on the Lady Lions in Friday night's non-conference victory.
Junior forward Hannah Oberdiek and freshman forward Konnor Arrowood supplied 10 points apiece to round out the double-figure scoring for South Callaway (7-8), which owned a 28-17 halftime lead.
"We had to shake a lot of rust off early in the game, but our defense - for the most part - was pretty good," Lady Bulldogs head coach Jim Donnelly said. "We were leveling off dribblers and penetration.
"Offensively, we had a lot of great looks inside, but we missed a lot of those. We still have some holes we have to fix."
North Callaway (JV) 32
Mexico 27
KINGDOM CITY - Sophomore guard Kaylee VanBoening tallied 12 points to steer the Ladybirds (5-9) to the five-point triumph over the Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night.
Boys' basketball
Father Tolton 63
North Callaway 44
ASHLAND - The seventh-seeded Thunderbirds couldn't correct a sputtering offensive performance in Friday night's semifinal loss to the No. 3 Trailblazers at the Southern Boone Classic.
North Callaway - which knocked off No. 2 seed California 60-56 in the first round Thursday night - fell behind Father Tolton 19-8 after one quarter and trailed 31-21 at halftime. The Trailblazers outscored the Thunderbirds 17-13 in the third quarter and carried a 48-34 advantage into the final 8 minutes.
Senior guard Chance Kee topped North Callaway (7-11) with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Brett Metcalf provided 12 points. Senior guard Justin Menard handed out five assists and came up with five steals.
"It seemed like the closer we got to the basket, the harder it was for us to score," Thunderbirds head coach Tim Turlington said. "We got good looks, but we couldn't put them down. We just couldn't keep pace with (Tolton) offensively."
Boonville 76
Fulton 65
BOONVILLE - The Hornets were blitzed by the Pirates 21-6 in the first quarter of Friday night's North Central Missouri Conference loss.
Fulton rebounded with 21 points in the second quarter, but Boonville knocked down their first six field-goal attempts and finished the frame with four 3-pointers. The Pirates hit six shots from behind the arc and converted five conventional three-point plays in the first half, en route to a 49-27 halftime lead.
"... They really kind of broke our backs in that second quarter," Hornets head coach Ryan Shaw said.
Fulton outscored the Pirates 38-27 in the second half and got as close as seven points twice in the final 16 minutes.
Junior guard Ricky Dawson led the Hornets (6-13, 1-5 NCMC) with 13 points, while junior forward Devin Gibson and sophomore guard Kalin Mitchell both tallied nine. Senior guard Chris Tilson, junior forwards Sam Christensen and Austin Wilson, and sophomore forward D'Angelo Walker each had eight points as Fulton fell for the seventh time in its last nine games.
Fulton (JV) 73
Camdenton 65
JEFFERSON CITY - Sophomore guard DeAreyon Estes registered a team-high 20 points to lead the Hornets past the Lakers on Saturday in the consolation-bracket semifinals of the Helias Tournament.
Sophomore forwards D'Angelo Walker and Radarion Glover supplied 17 points apiece for Fulton (9-6), which led 42-39 at halftime.
Mexico 54
North Callaway (JV) 23
MEXICO - The Thunderbirds found themselves down 37-11 at halftime in tumbling to the host Bulldogs on Saturday in the third-place game of the Mexico Tournament.
Sophomore forward Brandon Shramek and sophomore guards Will Crawford and Manzell Payne paced North Callaway (1-11) with six points apiece.