High school girls' basketball: Lady Bulldogs reach title game at South Callaway

MOKANE - South Callaway senior guard Paige Clubb knocked down a game-high 23 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the top-seeded Lady Bulldogs bolted past No. 4 New Haven 55-33 in the semifinals of the South Callaway Tournament on Wednesday night.

The victory was the fourth in a row for South Callaway (7-1), which received a first-round bye. The Lady Bulldogs will face the winner of Wednesday night's second semifinal - either No. 2 seed Hermann or No. 3 Montgomery County - for the tournament title at 4 p.m. Saturday.

South Callaway - which is the defending tournament champion - rolled to a 59-38 win at home over Hermann on Dec. 30 and held on for a 50-48 victory at Montgomery County on Jan. 5.

"It feels really good (to be playing for tournament title)," Lady Bulldogs head coach Daniel Burns said Wednesday night. "Every game is important for the girls, but the South Callaway Tournament is one that they have on their radar.

"We're looking forward to playing either of these teams again."

South Callaway jumped out to a 17-7 lead after one quarter Wednesday night and outscored New Haven 18-10 in the second quarter to widen its advantage to 35-17 at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs were on top 44-22 entering the fourth quarter.

Senior center DeLaney Horstman also logged 13 points for South Callaway.

McKenzie Wilson and Brenna Langenberg both scored nine points for New Haven (5-5).

"This was probably our most complete defensive game of the year so far," Burns said. "We were hustling around in our zone and our communication across the board was good.

"We also did a good job of keeping the ball out of the high post and contesting shots."