There couldn't have been more of an offensive contrast between the New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats and the Sturgeon Lady Bulldogs.
Top-seeded and state-ranked Sturgeon outscored No. 4 seed New Bloomfield 19-1 in the third quarter Wednesday night, taking charge in a 59-28 runaway in the semifinals of the Sturgeon Tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs were only up 24-21 at halftime, but sizzled by shooting 80 percent (8-of-10) in the third quarter to extend their lead to 43-22. Conversely, the Lady Wildcats misfired on all 11 of their shots in the period.
"That's the ballgame," New Bloomfield head coach Brett Craighead said. "We just couldn't hit anything and they came down and hit everything they shot.
"That makes it that much tougher to shoot. It was kind of a domino effect."
Senior guard Elizabeth Clark paced the Lady Wildcats (7-10) with nine points.
Maddie Embree topped Sturgeon - ranked No. 10 in Class 2 - with a game-high 21 points. Krissy Arends chipped in with 10 points.
New Bloomfield will face either No. 2 seed Community R-6 or No. 6 Paris for third place at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Westran..................................54
S. Callaway basketball (VB)...50
STURGEON - The No. 3 seed Hornets rallied by outscoring the No. 6 Bulldogs 16-7 in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's first-round game of the Sturgeon Tournament.
The game was tied 27-27 at halftime, but South Callaway outscored Westran 16-11 in the third quarter to take a 43-38 lead into the final 8 minutes of play. Tyler Aulbur sparked the Hornets' comeback by hitting a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game in the fourth quarter, and Westran took control from there.
"We struggled guarding the post late in the third (quarter) and into the fourth, and gave up several easy shots underneath," Bulldogs head coach Tony Brandt said. "... Westran was able to force several fourth-quarter turnovers out of their zone (defense) and put the game away."
Senior guard Will Brandt delivered a game-high 23 points as the only player to reach double figures for South Callaway (7-8), which saw its three-game winning streak halted. Senior guard Bryan Lechner was next with eight points.
The Bulldogs built a 17-10 lead after one quarter, but the Hornets countered by outscoring South Callaway 17-10 in the second quarter - including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer - to pull even at the break.
"This was definitely a game of runs," Tony Brandt said. "We were able to jump out to a nice lead in the first quarter. We were able to knock down a few shots and really were able to establish some early pressure for easy scores on defense."
Drake Buffington hit a team-high 18 points to direct three players in double figures for Westran. Tycie Linneman also supplied 14 points and Aulbur had 12.
The Bulldogs will meet No. 2 seed Paris in the consolation semifinals at 9 tonight. The Coyotes were surprised by No. 7 Madison 66-57 in first-round play Tuesday night.
Columbia Independent.....28
MSD basketball (VG)........15
Senior guard E'lisia Bush finished with five points, four rebounds and four steals in the Lady Eagles' home loss to the Lady Lions on Tuesday night.
Freshman forward Odalis Araujo also contributed four points and a rebound for Missouri School for the Deaf, while junior forward Dayanara Guzman added two points and collected a team-high eight rebounds.
"Our girls looked much better tonight," Lady Eagles head coach Laura Smith said. "They were more aggressive on the boards and shot more. It was great to see E'lisia and Dayanara stepping up.
"I'm very proud of the team's effort tonight. Hopefully we keep this enthusiasm up as we head into the GPSD Tournanent."
Nicole Neville and Lea Selby scored eight points apiece to guide Columbia Independent.
MSD plays in the Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Tournament beginning Friday in Olathe, Kan.