High school girls' basketball: No. 5 Lady Bulldogs collect third straight unbeaten SMC title

MOKANE - The state-ranked South Callaway Lady Bulldogs pulled off perfection again in procuring another Show-Me Conference championship.

Junior center DeLaney Horstman logged a game-high 20 points and South Callaway made a third straight unbeaten run to the SMC title by lambasting Linn 73-31 to end the regular season Tuesday night.

The Lady Bulldogs (22-2, 8-0 SMC) have won six in a row and 18 of their last 19. South Callaway is ranked fifth in Class 3 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

"This team is one that has worked its tail off for this (title)," Lady Bulldogs head coach Darren Humphrey said. "As the season progressed, we witnessed a tremendous amount of growth in each player.

"Because of that and a tremendous amount of determination, they were able to win their third consecutive Show-Me Conference championship - undefeated in that quest each year."

South Callaway raced to a 23-8 lead after one quarter Tuesday night and outscored Linn 20-10 in the second quarter to establish a 43-18 advantage at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs followed up by outscoring the Lady Wildcats 21-9 in the third quarter to make it 64-27.

Horstman was one of four players to reach double figures for South Callaway. Sophomore guard Raegan Brown produced 18 points, sophomore forward Hailee Potter tallied 15 and junior guard Paige Clubb added 13.

"Offensively, we were able to have a great night," Humphrey said. "The girls saw the floor well and because of that, got really high-percentage shots."

Aushara Hostetler paced Linn with 13 points.

The Lady Bulldogs are the third seed for the stacked Class 3, District 9 Tournament next week at Eldon. Third-ranked California is the No. 1 seed, followed by fourth-ranked Southern Boone at No. 2.

South Callaway squares off against No. 6 seed Father Tolton in the quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. Monday.

"Districts, as always, is a true test," Humphrey said. "Having three teams ranked in the top 10 in the state - in the same district - is a challenge. Even being seeded No. 3, I can't help but feel confident going into it.

"This team has been there before and has the talent and the heart to play well, no matter who we face."