The Fulton Lady Hornets were proactive in response to head coach Jenny Preiss' pep talk.
No. 7 Fulton outscored No. 6 Wellsville 32-17 in the second half Wednesday night to pick up its first win of the season, 50-36 in the consolation semifinals of the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament.
The Lady Hornets jumped on the Lady Tigers at the outset, crafting a 13-2 lead after one quarter. Wellsville, though, answered by outscoring Fulton 17-5 in the second quarter to take a slim 19-18 advantage into halftime.
Motivated by Preiss' message during the break, the Lady Hornets outscored the Lady Tigers 16-7 in the third quarter to establish a 34-26 edge. Fulton then outscored Wellsville 16-10 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
"I talked to the girls at halftime about staying composed," Preiss said. "In the second half we were much more intense on defense, and we were more aggressive on offense in attacking their 1-2-2 zone (defense)."
Junior guard Corri Hamilton logged a game-high 21 points and senior forward Meghan Davis connected for 15 as the Lady Hornets evened their season record at 1-1.
"This was huge for us," Preiss said. "We didn't get our first win last season until right before the Christmas break. We're starting to mesh as a team."
Bethany Bishop led Wellsville with 19 points.
Fulton will play either No. 5 Montgomery County or No. 8 New Haven for fifth place at 6 p.m. Friday.
Centralia.................................57
N. Callaway basketball (VB)...37
CENTRALIA - The Thunderbirds fell behind 38-19 at halftime in Tuesday night's season-opening loss to the Panthers.
Senior forward Jacob Stafford put up a team-high nine points for North Callaway, which was down 51-26 to start the fourth quarter. Junior guard Zack Lavy and sophomore forward Zack Eads chipped in with eight points apiece.
Lavy also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
"The guys never quit and played hard the entire game," Thunderbirds head coach Tim Turlington said. "(The loss) showed that we have things that we have to work on."
Grant Elsbury and Stewart Cox had 15 points each to pace Centralia, while Cameron Beard supplied 13.
North Callaway plays a tripleheader at New Bloomfield at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The junior varsity boys will play first, followed by the varsity girls' and boys' contests, respectively.
Russellville.............................60
S. Callaway basketball (VG)...28
EUGENE - The Lady Indians' Amber Duncan delivered a game-high 28 points to equal the Lady Bulldogs' final total in first-round play at the Eugene Tournament on Tuesday night.
No. 3 seed Russellville raced to a 25-7 advantage after one quarter and stretched its lead to 38-11 at halftime.
"They're tall and athletic; they're good," South Callaway head coach Doug Sain said.
Freshman guard Taylor Howard topped the No. 6 Lady Bulldogs (0-2) with eight points and junior guard Jasmine Meurer scored six.
South Callaway faces No. 7 Versailles in the consolation semifinals at 5 p.m. today.
Prairie Home.........................67
MSD basketball (VG)..............8
Junior center Evelyn Terrell and junior forward Dayanara Guzman both scored four points to account for the host Lady Eagles' output in Tuesday night's season-opening loss.
Senior forward E'lisia Bush pulled down a team-high six rebounds for Missouri School for the Deaf, while Terrell and Guzman each had two.
Taylor Zey directed Prairie Home with a game-high 19 points and Megan Morton added 13.
The Lady Eagles travel to Olathe, Kan., for games against Kansas School for the Deaf at 6 p.m. Friday and Oklahoma School for the Deaf at 9 a.m. Saturday.
N. Callaway basketball (JVG)...30
St. Francis Borgia......................24
HERMANN - Sophomore forward Kelsey Coil supplied 12 points Tuesday night as the Ladybirds opened their season with a first-round victory at the Hermann Tournament.
North Callaway will face either Hermann or Cuba in the semifinals at 6 tonight.
Southern Boone...........................35
N. Callaway basketball (8th/G)...22
KINGDOM CITY - Danielle Cassidy produced a game-high 10 points in the Ladybirds' loss to the Lady Eagles on Tuesday night at North Callaway High School.
Kyla Hudson also scored seven points for North Callaway.
The Ladybirds were coming off a 44-21 loss at Harrisburg on Monday night. Cassidy and Kaysey Huddleston finished with eight points apiece.
North Callaway plays at Hallsville on Friday night.
N. Callaway basketball (8th/B)...45
Harrisburg....................................35
AUXVASSE - Steven Coleman tallied 15 points Monday night to steer the Thunderbirds to the 10-point triumph over the Bulldogs.
Cole Branson added 10 points for North Callaway (5-4).
SCMS basketball (7th/B).......22
North Callaway.....................12
MOKANE - The Bulldogs assembled a 16-4 halftime lead Monday night, en route to their victory over the Thunderbirds.
Logan Taylor, Mason Shoemaker and Caleb Sconce scored six points apiece for South Callaway Middle School (5-4).
Quintin Nichols led North Callaway with five points.