Girls' Basketball: North Callaway 57, Sturgeon 54

CENTRALIA, Mo. - Junior guard Reyna Schmauch's 3-pointer with 50 seconds left broke a 54-all tie, sending the No. 8 seed North Callaway Ladybirds to the stirring victory in the consolation semifinals of the 61st-annual Centralia Tournament on Wednesday.

North Callaway (3-1) forged an 18-11 advantage over No. 5 seed Sturgeon after one quarter and carried a 25-22 lead into halftime. Both teams put up 32 points in the second half, with Schmauch's pivotal 3 proving to be the difference at the end.

Junior forward Allie Schlueter produced a game-high 21 points and also had seven rebounds and three steals to direct the Ladybirds. Junior guard Nicole Emmons finished with 10 points before fouling out, while sophomore guard Kenzie Ausfahl had nine points and four assists.

Senior forward Sam Schaefer scored all eight of her points in the second half for North Callaway, converting 4-of-4 free throws in the fourth quarter, and collected a team-high 12 rebounds.

"It was a good team effort," Ladybirds head coach Morgan Beamer said. "We missed some shots in the first half that we shouldn't have and had some bad passes that gave them some easy baskets.

"With two starters fouling out (including junior guard Kyla Bertschinger), our bench had to come through and played a big part in the win."

Lauren Mills had 18 points as the only player in double figures for Sturgeon (1-3).

North Callaway will square off against either No. 6 seed Hallsville or No. 7 Harrisburg for fifth place at 5 p.m. Friday.