NEW BLOOMFIELD - The New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats lined themselves up for another shot to make the state playoffs.
Sophomore guard Madi Craighead logged a game-high 19 points to help steer top-seeded New Bloomfield to a 61-40 romp over No. 4 Russellville in the semifinals of the Class 2, District 8 Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Lady Wildcats (19-8) will play for a district championship for the third year in a row when they clash with No. 3 seed Iberia for the District 8 title at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Lady Rangers advanced by toppling No. 2 seed Tipton 57-54 in Wednesday night's other semifinal.
New Bloomfield lost to Tipton for the District 8 championship last year in Russellville.
"The girls seem ready to go and inspired," Lady Wildcats head coach Brett Craighead said after Wednesday night's victory. "Iberia shoots a ton of three-pointers and can get hot.
"We have to take care of the ball, hit easy shots and limit our turnovers. If we can do those three things, we'll be pretty successful."
New Bloomfield pulled out a 68-59 Show-Me Conference win at Russellville on Dec. 14, but quickly gained the upper hand on the Lady Indians in the early going Wednesday night. The Lady Wildcats raced to a 17-9 edge after one quarter and pushed their advantage to 33-15 at the break.
New Bloomfield continued to separate itself by outscoring Russellville 19-9 in the third quarter to open up a commanding 52-24 lead.
"I liked how our girls came out and matched (Russellville's) intensity," Craighead said. "Our defensive pressure in the first half was outstanding, our ball movement on offense was excellent and we spread our scoring around.
"We sped them up, they threw the ball away and we were able to capitalize."
Freshman forward Samantha Haas also provided 17 points for the Lady Wildcats and junior guard Kate Baxter finished with 14, including a pair of 3-pointers.
McKendra Fischer and Chyan Wilkes scored nine points apiece for the Lady Indians.