CENTRALIA, Mo. - The No. 8 seed North Callaway Ladybirds shot just 31 percent (13-of-42) and committed 25 turnovers in their first-round loss to the top-seeded Boonville Lady Pirates at the 61st-annual Centralia Tournament on Monday night.
North Callaway (2-1) missed six putbacks in the first quarter. Those missed opportunities allowed Boonville (2-1) to jump out to a 24-7 lead at the end of the quarter and the Lady Pirates raced into halftime with a 32-13 advantage. The Ladybirds outscored Boonville 13-9 in the third quarter but were still down 41-26 heading to the final 8 minutes.
"We came out cold and they came out hot," North Callaway head coach Morgan Beamer said. "We missed a lot of easy shots, but the girls never gave up and played until the very end. Give credit to Boonville - they're a good ball club."
Junior forward Allie Schlueter paced the Ladybirds with 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Kyla Bertschinger put up 13 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while junior guard Nicole Emmons handed out five assists.
Jamie Lemmons guided the Lady Pirates with a game-high 18 points and Hannah Fuemmeler supplied 16.
North Callaway plays No. 5 seed Sturgeon in the consolation semifinals at 4:30 p.m. today. The Lady Bulldogs lost to fourth-seeded Salisbury 36-34 in first-round play Monday night.