Day: December 2, 2021

 

DIAMOND, Mo. — Second-seeded McAuley Catholic overcame an early deficit and rode a strong second half to a 54-47 victory over sixth-seeded College Heights Christian on Wednesday night in a semifinal contest of the Gem City Classic at Diamond High School.

With the win, the Warriors (3-0) will meet top-seeded Diamond in the championship game at 4 on Saturday. 

“I’m proud of the way my girls battled tonight,” McAuley coach Mike Howard told SoMo Sports. “Playing  our rival this early in the season is very difficult for several reasons. We play each other so much that we know exactly what the other team is going to do. They are very well-coached and John (Blankenship) always has his team ready to play us. They are a great bunch of girls and they worked their butts off tonight, so I applaud their efforts. I’m so proud of my girls though for overcoming adversity early on in the game and for the way they stepped up in the second half.”

This one was close all the way. 

College Heights led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and the Cougars were clinging to a 21-19 lead at the break.

But McAuley outscored CHC 14-9 in the third period to go up 33-30. The Warriors finished strong, outscoring the Cougars 21-17 in the final frame. 

Sophomore guard Kloee Williamson poured in a career-high 25 points to lead McAuley. 

Williamson made nine field goals, with two 3-pointers, to go along with five free throws. She scored 18 points in the second half, with 10 in the fourth period. 

Also for the Warriors, Kayleigh Teeter scored 11 points, Avery Eminger had 10 and Kennedy DeRuy chipped in six. Eminger scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. 

“We had several role players step up when they focused on taking away Kennedy and Kayleigh,” Howard said. “Kloee knocked down some big shots in the right moments and Avery Eminger made some key baskets and secured some timely rebounds down the stretch.”

Three players scored in double figures for College Heights (1-2). Junior guard Jayli Johnson led the way with 14 points, while freshman Libby Fanning had 11 and junior Addison Lawrence added 10. 

College Heights will play East Newton for third place at 1 p.m. on Saturday. 

 

DIAMOND 42, EAST NEWTON 38

In another close semifinal, Diamond got past East Newton 42-38.

Host Diamond advanced to the championship game, while fourth-seeded East Newton will play CHC for third place.

Makenna Braiser scored nine points for East Newton, while Kylee Cole added eight and Josie Guinn had seven.

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Webb City and Carthage had different results on the opening night of the Lady Tigers Basketball Invitational.

In Wednesday’s pool play action, Webb City rallied in the second half to beat Waynesville 34-24, while tourney host Carthage suffered a 51-42 setback to Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber. 

Down eight at halftime, Webb City outscored Waynesville 25-7 in the second half. 

“We got off to a slow start offensively, but picked it up in the second half,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “We played solid defense, which allowed us to stay close until we were able to start scoring the ball better.”

Waynesville led 8-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers extended their lead to 17-9 at halftime.

But the Cardinals outscored the Tigers 9-3 in the third period to pull within two, 20-18, entering the fourth quarter. 

Webb City finished strong by winning the fourth quarter 16-4.

Kate Brownfield scored 11 points to lead Webb City (2-0), while Ripley Shanks added nine points. Malorie Stanley scored six points and Kylie Jennings chipped in five points.

Breona Hurd scored 11 points for Waynesville.

Webb City takes on Sunrise Christian at 7 on Thursday night. 

Unlike the Cardinals, the Tigers were unable to dig out of an early hole.

Har-Ber doubled up Carthage in the first quarter, as the visitors led 20-10. 

The hosts trailed 29-20 at intermission and 39-33 at the end of the third quarter. Har-Ber outscored Carthage 12-9 in the final frame to secure the win.

Kianna Yates led Carthage with 20 points. Landry Cochran added seven points.

Caylan Koons scored a game-high 30 points for Har-Ber, including all 12 of her team’s fourth quarter points.

“Too many early turnovers put us in a hole to start,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “However, I’m proud the girls battled back and cut it down to three points midway through the fourth quarter. We are gaining valuable experience with each game we play. Har-Ber is a tough team much like the teams we face in the COC. We will learn from tonight’s game and be better on Friday.”

In Thursday’s other game, Miller meets Har-Ber at 5:30. 

Carthage (1-2) returns to action at 7 on Friday night against Miller.