The North Callaway Ladybirds will be looking to add another tournament title to their collection, while setting up a much-anticipated rematch with the Hermann Lady Bearcats.
North Callaway senior guard Jaida Gray posted a game-high 15 points and the No. 2 seed Ladybirds eased past No. 6 Russellville 53-40 on Thursday night in the semifinals of the South Callaway Invitational Tournament.
With the victory, North Callaway - ranked No. 10 in Class 3 - advances to a championship showdown against top-ranked and top-seeded Hermann at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Bearcats reached the title game with a 53-37 triumph over No. 4 seed New Haven in Thursday night's other semifinal.
The Ladybirds, who won the Centralia Tournament in December, will be looking to avenge a disappointing 59-56 loss at Hermann on Jan. 9. The Lady Bearcats prevailed on senior guard Karinne Lane's desperation 30-foot shot as time expired.
"We're looking forward to it, and hope to take advantage of our opportunity," North Callaway head coach Matt Miller said Thursday night of the championship clash with Hermann.
New Bloomfield 56
Montgomery County 34
MOKANE - Fifth-seeded New Bloomfield tormented No. 8 Montgomery County with a bold defensive presence in Thursday night's matchup between Lady Wildcats in the consolation semifinals at the South Callaway Invitational Tournament.
New Bloomfield carried a 25-14 lead into halftime and outscored Montgomery County 17-10 in the third quarter to expand its advantage to 42-24.
Junior center Zoe Welschmeyer connected for a game-high 16 points to pace New Bloomfield (6-5), which bounced back from a 54-32 first-round loss to No. 4 seed New Haven on Tuesday night. Senior guard Bethany Craighead joined Welschmeyer in double figures with 15 points.
Boys' basketball
Fulton 50
Boonville 46
CALIFORNIA - The fourth-seeded Hornets outscored the No. 8 Pirates 29-19 in the second half to secure a victory in the consolation-bracket semifinals at the 80th-annual California Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Fulton (5-8) trailed by a point after the first quarter and was outscored by Boonville 11-6 in the second quarter to find itself behind 27-21 at halftime. The Hornets outscored the Pirates 16-9 in the third quarter to take a narrow 37-36 advantage into the final eight minutes, pulling ahead for good with about 2 minutes left in the game.
MSD 35
North Callaway (JV) 27
KINGDOM CITY - Senior guard Nick Jones scored a game-high 21 points to steer the Eagles to a win over the Thunderbirds on Thursday night.
Missouri School for the Deaf (6-4) trailed 10-8 after a quarter, before outscoring North Callaway 27-17 over the final three quarters to seal the victory. Senior forward Tray Thornton and freshman guard Ste'Quan Scott both added five points for the Eagles.
"We executed our offense really well tonight, but defense was the highlight," MSD head coach Dick Keller said. "... We jumped to the ball really well, got in the lane and forced the outside shot from North Callaway."
Junior Steven Coleman led the Thunderbirds (0-5) with seven points, sophomore Manzell Payne scored six and sophomore Braden Shramek totaled four.
College
Women's basketball
Westminster 71
MacMurray 58
Sophomore guard Sadie Theroff scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the second half in pushing the host Lady Blue Jays to a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Lady Highlanders on Thursday night.
Westminster College head coach Tracey Braden earned her 101st career victory at the school. Braden picked up her 100th win in the Lady Blue Jays' 85-50 conference home win over Fontbonne on Tuesday night.
Westminster (6-7, 4-3 SLIAC) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half Thursday night, but used a 13-0 run over the final 3 minutes, 4 seconds to carry a narrow 24-23 advantage into halftime. Freshman guard Andrean Zalis knocked down a 3-pointer with 16:17 left in the game, sparking a 23-3 run over the next 6:15 to push the Lady Blue Jays' lead to 52-30.
William Woods 80
Mid-Continent 70
MAYFIELD, Ky. - Senior guard Katie Scherder registered a double-double and led four Lady Owls in double figures in Thursday night's American Midwest Conference win over the Lady Cougars.
Scherder came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points to go with her 10 rebounds. She finished 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Senior guard Andraquay Quinnine scored 14 points off the bench for William Woods University (11-5, 4-4 AMC), which shot 42 percent (28-of-67) as a team. Junior guard Blake French put up 12 points and freshman center Kennedy Volkert tallied 10.