NEOSHO, Mo. — Fort Smith Northside girls basketball dominated St. Joseph Lafayette in the second half on the way to a 47-19 win in the semifinals of the Neosho Holiday Classic on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies advance to face North Kansas City in the girls championship game set for 5 p.m. at Neosho High School.
Fort Smith Northside held a 20-15 lead at the intermission before outscoring St. Joseph 27-4 in the second half. The Grizzlies limited the Irish to two points in each the third and fourth quarters, holding St. Joseph to 21 percent shooting for the game.
The Grizzlies dominated points in the paint 26-4 and outscored St. Joseph 21-0 in points off turnovers. The Irish had 18 turnovers to the Grizzlies’ 11.
Yonni Releford had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead Fort Smith Northside, while Erianna Gooden and Brenna Taylor each had eight in the win. Gooden had seven rebounds, while Taylor finished with six boards.
Lafayette was led in scoring by Jazlyn King and Modesta Wilhelmsen’s six points apiece.
Lafayette takes on Neosho in the third-place game at 2 p.m. at Neosho High School.
HUNTSVILLE (ARK) 64, STOUTLAND 36
Huntsville took a hold of the momentum early and never relinquished it on the way to a lopsided win over Stoutland on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Neosho Holiday Classic.
Huntsville, which never trailed in the win, built an 11-4 lead after the opening period before pushing the lead to 12 points by halftime. Huntsville put the game away after outsourcing Stoutland 17-6 in the third period.
Huntsville won the turnover battle 28-19, and also outscored Stoutland in points off turnovers, 36-15. Stoutland struggled on the glass, getting outrebounded 36-28, which led to a 16-6 advantage by Huntsville in second-chance points.
Huntsville had three players in double figures, led by Alissa Pillow and Carlie Howerton’s 15 points each. Howerton had six rebounds, while Pillow had four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Emily Buchanan added 14 points in the win.
Raegan Henry led Stoutland with 13 points and 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double, while Schona Looney closed the loss with 10 points and five rebounds.
East Newton takes on Huntsville in the consolation finals at 2 on Thursday.
EAST NEWTON 55, HUNTSVILLE JV (ARK) 34
East Newton dominated the middle quarters on the way to win in the consolation semifinal round of the Neosho Holiday Classic on Wednesday.
After taking a two-point lead following the first quarter, East Newton outscored Huntsville JV 17-9 in the second period and 14-3 in the third quarter to build an insurmountable lead on the way to the win.
The Patriots had the advantage in points in the paint (26-16), points off turnovers (28-9) and second-chance points (19-6).
Shaw Coburn led East Newton in scoring with 15 points to go along with three steals and two rebounds. Alyssa Coffey finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Mykenna Kirk led Huntsville JV in scoring with 15 points, while Kylee McCubbin added nine points and six rebounds.
East Newton takes on Huntsville in the consolation finals at 2 on Thursday.
