ASHLAND, Mo. - The No. 7 Fulton Lady Hornets couldn't make up ground after trailing 13-4 and fell to the No. 5 Hallsville Lady Indians for fifth place at the Southern Boone Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Fulton (2-16) was unable to close the gap despite playing on nearly even terms with Hallsville over the final three quarters. The Lady Hornets were down 23-14 at halftime and 32-23 to start the fourth quarter.
"We came out sluggish in the first quarter," Fulton head coach TJ Quick said. "With an opportunity to bring home some hardware and to have an effort like that, it was disappointing.
"We spent the rest of the game trying to dig out of that hole."
Senior guard Dionne Vaughn guided the Lady Hornets with 19 points and junior guard Shawnie Hempfield finished with seven points and 11 rebounds. Fulton shot a dismal 26 percent from the field and a miserable 47 percent at the free-throw line.
"We were just kind of off today," Quick said.
Hannah Stephens delivered a game-high 27 points to spark Hallsville.
The Lady Hornets play at North Central Missouri Conference opponent Marshall at 6 p.m. Monday. Fulton is 0-7 in the NCMC.