MOKANE - The No. 2 seed Lady Bearcats pulled away in the second half, outscoring the No. 7 Ladybirds 36-22 during that span in the first round of the South Callaway Tournament on Monday night.
Hermann (5-5) jumped out to a 14-2 lead after one quarter, but North Callaway (1-9) outscored the Lady Bearcats 12-8 in the second quarter to make it 22-14 at halftime. Hermann stretched its advantage to 39-26 by outscoring the Ladybirds 17-12 in the third quarter, then distanced itself by outscoring North Callaway 19-10 in the fourth quarter.
Freshman guard Abrielle Burgher led the Ladybirds with a game-high 13 points and four assists, while junior forward Kyanne Kellerman chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
Junior guard Mackenzie Eaker also had eight points for North Callaway.
"The girls played hard - we couldn't put it in the basket in the first quarter, but then we played a lot better and cut the lead to three in the third quarter," Ladybirds head coach Morgan Beamer said. "Hermann then pulled away with its depth.
"We passed up too many open shots - we have to start shooting more. You have to score to win."
Maya Wideman paced Hermann with 12 points.
North Callaway plays No. 6 seed New Bloomfield in the consolation semifinals at 5 p.m. today in the high school gym. New Bloomfield tumbled to No. 3 seed Montgomery County 75-44 in first-round play Monday night.