Brett Craighead wanted to see how his New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats responded to high expectations.
So far, he has to like what he sees.
State-ranked New Bloomfield - the No. 1 seed in the 31st-annual Sturgeon Tournament - secured a 47-27 first-round victory over the No. 8 Westran Lady Hornets on Monday night.
The Lady Wildcats (15-3) will play No. 4 Salisbury or No. 5 Paris in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
New Bloomfield - ranked No. 8 in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association/MOsports.com Class 2 poll - gave up just one point in the first quarter and carried a 24-5 advantage into halftime.
The Lady Wildcats were outscored 15-8 in the third quarter, but bounced back with a 15-7 edge in the final 8 minutes.
"We started off with a little pressure (defense), then got some stuff out of that," Craighead said. "They hit some outside shots on us in the third quarter, but other than that, they didn't get many shots off."
New Bloomfield freshman guard Madi Craighead led all scorers with 15 points. Senior guard Sydni Bedsworth added 13 points, while senior forward Taylor Howard supplied 12.
Mackenzie Hombs paced Westran with eight points.