STURGEON, Mo. - New Bloomfield junior guard Madi Craighead produced a game-high 25 points to help the top-seeded Lady Wildcats defeat the No. 8 Fayette Lady Falcons 67-42 in the opening round of the Class 2, District 8 Tournament at Sturgeon High School on Monday.
New Bloomfield (20-6) plays the No. 5 seed Sturgeon Lady Bulldogs in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Sturgeon advanced after it beat the No. 4 seed Linn Lady Wildcats in a first-round game 47-38 on Monday.
"They (Lady Bulldogs) have a lot of good size," New Bloomfield head coach Brett Craighead said. "They're big and like to throw it inside. We're going to have to play well.
"They're playing as well as anyone in the tournament. It'll be on their home floor, so we're going to have to get at it."
In Monday's game, the Lady Wildcats took a 15-8 advantage over the Lady Falcons (7-17) after the first quarter. New Bloomfield outscored Fayette 16-7 in the second period to stretch its lead to 31-15 at halftime. The Lady Falcons outscored the Lady Wildcats 14-13 in the third period, but New Bloomfield maintained a 44-29 edge.
"I don't think we shot the ball well, but we made some pretty good runs, hit shots when we needed to hit them and got on a roll," Brett Craighead said. "In the first game of districts, you just have to survive and advance."
Senior guard Baylee Garrett produced 11 points for New Bloomfield, while sophomore center Samantha Haas scored 10 points and blocked 10 shots.
Abbey Conrow led the Lady Falcons with 15 points.