Lady Hornets have "some fun,' take seventh at California

The Fulton Lady Hornets ended a rough week at the 17th-annual California Tournament by finding a way to enjoy themselves.

Junior guard Corri Hamilton put up a game-high 21 points to pace three players in double figures Friday night as No. 5 seed Fulton turned back No. 6 Boonville 59-47 in the seventh-place game.

The Lady Hornets - coming off a 32-point loss to No. 8 seed Kansas City Central in Thursday night's consolation semifinals - raised their season record to 6-7.

"We definitely needed this win for some confidence," Fulton head coach Jenny Preiss said. "We came out much more relaxed and had some fun. That had been lacking the last couple of games."

The Lady Hornets trailed 27-21 at halftime, but rallied by outscoring the Lady Pirates 38-20 in the second half at California Middle School.

"We put on some defensive pressure and played the passing lanes," Preiss said. "We also got into our secondary break and made some good decisions in transition."

Junior guard Rachel Washington also delivered 15 points for Fulton and sophomore guard Bailey Mitchell contributed 10.

MacKenzie Greis topped Boonville with 19 points. The Lady Hornets previously defeated the Lady Pirates 50-38 in a North Central Missouri Conference matchup Dec. 6 in Fulton.

The Lady Hornets host Blair Oaks at 6 p.m. Monday at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.

Southern Boone..........................52

Fulton basketball (VB).................49

CALIFORNIA - The No. 2 seed Hornets were outscored by the No. 3 Eagles 11-8 in overtime late Thursday night in the semifinals of the 77th-annual California Tournament.

The game was tied 41-41 at the end of regulation.

Fulton jumped out to a 12-5 lead after one quarter and went into halftime with a slim 21-20 edge. The Hornets (7-5) - who have lost four of their last five - were in front 31-27 to start the fourth quarter.

"We're disappointed, obviously, with the way the game turned out," Fulton assistant coach Tom Arms said. "The kids played hard and we got off to a really good start again, but we always seem to take a quarter off."

Senior guard Anthony Porter was the only player to make it into double figures for the Hornets, scoring 10 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter. Senior guard Blake Calvin was next with eight points.

Trey Lacy led Southern Boone with 18 points and Nick Carlos chipped in with 16.

The Eagles were 19-of-27 as a team at the free-throw line, while the Hornets converted 8-of-12 attempts.

Fulton faced No. 4 California for third place late Saturday afternoon. Results were not available at press time. The Hornets downed the Pintos 58-52 on Dec. 14 at California.

N. Bloomfield basketball (VG)....58

South Callaway............................31

MOKANE - The No. 5 seed Lady Wildcats outscored the No. 8 Lady Bulldogs 27-11 in the first half Friday night in the consolation semifinals of the South Callaway Tournament.

New Bloomfield took charge by outscoring South Callaway 15-3 in the first quarter at South Callaway Middle School. The Lady Wildcats then pushed their 16-point halftime advantage to a commanding 43-19 lead going into the fourth quarter.

"We were a little more consistent throughout every quarter," Lady Wildcats head coach Brett Craighead said. "We hit some threes and then we were able to take the ball to the basket. We attacked a lot better."

Senior guard Sarah Moore responded with a game-high 18 points to lead New Bloomfield (6-7). Senior guard Elizabeth Clark added 15 points.

Freshman guard Taylor Howard scored a team-high 10 points for South Callaway.

The Lady Wildcats squared off against No. 6 North Callaway for fifth place late Saturday afternoon, while the Lady Bulldogs played No. 7 Montgomery County for seventh place. Results from both games were not available at press time.

New Bloomfield visits Linn for a Show-Me Conference contest at 6 p.m. Monday. South Callaway hosts Southern Boone in a Mid-Missouri Conference matchup at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

N. Callaway basketball (VG).......60

Montgomery County...................34

MOKANE - The No. 6 seed Ladybirds shot 50 percent (8-of-16) from 3-point range in Friday night's blowout win in the consolation semifinals of the South Callaway Tournament.

North Callaway owned a 29-19 advantage at the break, then outscored Montgomery County 17-9 in the third quarter to widen its lead to 46-28 at South Callaway Middle School.

Senior forward Morgan Brown-Emmons and junior guard Jordan Gray provided 16 points apiece, going 4-of-6 and 3-of-5, respectively, from behind the arc to guide the Ladybirds (3-7). North Callaway shot 42 percent overall (16-of-38) and 76 percent (22-of-29) from the free-throw line.

"Good passing created good looks at the basket," Ladybirds head coach Jack Peace said. "Defensively, we did our best job of blocking out that we've done all season."

Brown-Emmons pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to spark North Callaway's efforts on the boards.

Gina Sachs led Montgomery County (5-8) with 15 points and Brandy Reagan was next with 14.

The Ladybirds met No. 5 New Bloomfield for fifth place late Saturday afternoon. Results were not available at press time.

North Callaway hosts Hallsville - ranked No. 4 in Class 3 - in a Mid-Missouri Conference clash at 6 p.m. Monday.

Russellville..................................66

N. Callaway basketball (VB)........54

MOKANE - The No. 6 seed Thunderbirds were unable to survive 24 turnovers in Friday night's loss to the No. 7 Indians in the consolation semifinals of the South Callaway Tournament.

North Callaway was down 28-21 at halftime and 49-37 entering the fourth quarter.

Senior forward Jacob Stafford - who missed the Thunderbirds' 84-56 first-round loss to No. 3 Harrisburg on Thursday night with the flu - broke out for a game-high 26 points Friday night. Junior guard Zack Lavy contributed 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

"The kids are still playing hard," North Callaway head coach Tim Turlington said. "But on defense, one time down the court someone would lose sight of the ball and then one time someone would lose who they were defending. That really hurt us.

"On offense we tried to do too much, instead of doing the easy things that would have given us easier shots."

Rusty Calvin answered with 22 points to direct three players in double figures for Russellville (5-8). Levi Kehr supplied 16 points and Shane Kilson had 14.

The Thunderbirds challenged No. 7 Montgomery County for seventh place on Saturday afternoon. Results were not available at press time.

North Callaway returns home for a Mid-Missouri Conference game against Hallsville at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

William Woods basketball (M)...88

Hannibal-LaGrange University....76

Senior guard Dan Anderson set a school record with a game-high 32 points as the Owls picked up their first AMC win of the season Thursday night at Anderson Arena.

Anderson was flawless from the field, making all 10 of his shots - including four attempts from 3-point range. He was almost perfect from the free-throw line, hitting 8-of-9 shots. Anderson surpassed the previous mark of 31 points that he set, ironically, against Hannibal-LaGrange on Feb. 11, 2010.

William Woods University carried a 43-30 lead into halftime Thursday night, but the Trojans were able to close within two points with 11 minutes to play. However, the Owls answered with an 11-3 run and finished 16-of-19 from the line in the second half to secure the victory.

William Woods - which made 22-of-29 free throws (76 percent) overall - ended a two-game losing streak in improving to 7-11 overall and 1-2 in the American Midwest Conference.

Anderson was one of three players to score in double figures for the Owls, who shot 55 percent (29-of-53) as a team - including 54 percent (8-of-15) from behind the arc - and withstood 21 turnovers.

Sophomore guard Logan Decker tallied 15 points and junior forward Andrew Miller added 12. Anderson also collected a team-high eight rebounds as William Woods edged Hannibal-LaGrange on the boards.

Brock Webber finished with 25 points to guide the Trojans (4-11, 0-2), who shot just 39 percent (25-of-64) from the field and had 18 turnovers. Josh Boswell provided 21 points.

The Owls played at AMC opponent Williams Baptist (Ark.) College on Saturday. Results were not available at press time.

N. Callaway basketball (9th/G)...45

Missouri School for Deaf (V)......14

Tara Oberlag tallied a game-high 13 points Thursday night to spur the visiting Ladybirds past the Lady Eagles.

Junior center Evelyn Terrell topped MSD with 10 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Lindsey Painter and sophomore center Cherrel Croom each had two points. Junior forward Dayanara Guzman also grabbed six rebounds.

The Lady Eagles travel to Jamestown at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20.

Lady Blue Jays' Backes

receives national honor

Westminster College junior guard Rachel Backes has been named to the D3Hoops.com women's basketball team of the week for Jan. 3-9.

The 5-foot-4 Backes - a Tipton native - was also selected as the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the week for the same period.

Backes led the SLIAC in scoring at 15.8 points per game entering Westminster's home conference game against Principia (Ill.) College on Saturday. She averaged 14.0 points and 6.3 assists in helping guide the Lady Blue Jays to three conference wins the previous week.

Backes also averaged 3.0 steals per game while shooting 55 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range.