Bluff defense topples ND in 2A-4A showdown

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A dry second quarter helped seal Notre Dame's fate Monday against Poplar Bluff in a battle of two ranked girls basketball teams.

Notre Dame made just one shot from the field in the quarter -- part of a 35-percent shooting night -- in helping Poplar Bluff to a 30-15 first-half lead.

Notre Dame, No. 2 in Class 2A, is 11-2. Poplar Bluff, No. 1 in 4A, is 16-1.

"Poplar Bluff plays a lot of pressure defense and I'm sure that had something to do with it," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said. "We tried to hurry shots and we weren't patient enough to get good shots."

Deana McCormick scored 13 points, Lisa Millham 12 and Ashley Millham's 10 for Notre Dame, now 2-1 as a new member of the SEMO Conference. Poplar Bluff is 4-0. The meeting was the third between the schools this season with Poplar Bluff winning twice.

CAPE CENTRAL 52, TWIN RIVERS 38

Central pulled away from a one-point halftime lead to win its 11th game. Sarah Hyslop scored 17 points and Megan McDonald 12 for Central (11-4).

"We changed our lineup for the second half, but the big thing was that we started to click defensively," Central coach Sheila Midgett said. "We started out a little slow."

KELLY 49, SCOTT CITY 34

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Kara Scherer scored 14 points and Kelly Essner 11 in a Scott-Mississippi Conference win.

Kelly (12-2, 4-0) blew open a 1-point halftime game with a 17-4 third-quarter edge. Loren Groves had 19 points for Scott City.

ORAN 51, WOODLAND 26

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Maria Eftink's 29 points complemented a tough first-half defense in Oran's win. It was 26-8 at halftime.

Teresa Hodges added 11 for Oran (7-3). Kandice Abner had 11 for Woodland (4-10).

PERRYVILLE 37, HERCULANEUM 35

HERCULANEUM, Mo. -- Perryville was held to two points in the fourth quarter but held on in a Jefferson County Conference win.

Emily Amberger had 11 points and Amanda Nuyt 10 for Perryville (9-7, 3-0).

HILLSBORO 54, ST. VINCENT 48

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Nicole Hadler scored 22 points in a close Jefferson County Conference loss.

Danielle Schremp added 14 points for St. Vincent (5-8, 0-3), which led 21-20 at halftime.

Boys Scott-Mississippi Tournament

DELTA, Mo. -- Second-seed Scott County Central and third-seed Scott City advanced to a semifinal showdown with first-round victories.

Scott County dispatched of No. 7 Kelly 66-55; Scott City breezed past No. 6 Chaffee 65-35.

Chris Johnson led Scott County with 17 points, Chris Pullen had 16 and Terrance Williams 15. For Kelly, Tyler Schlosser had 18 points and Barry Ziegler 12.

Scott City (7-8) got 15 points from Andy Beck, 13 from Chad Weatherspoon and 10 from Tyler Ward. Andrew Horrell had 10 for Chaffee (2-11).

The final first-round game will be today between No. 4 Delta and No. 5 East Prairie. The winner meets top-seeded Oran at 6 p.m. Thursday. Scott Central and Scott City follow at 9.

-- From staff reports