Central girls basketball team routs Kennett, advances to district semis

SIKESTON, Mo. -- In a season full of ups and downs, the Central girls basketball team picked a perfect time to put everything together.

The Tigers opened up a 15-point lead after one period and coasted to a 58-33 victory over Kennett in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday at the Sikeston Field House.

The win earned the fourth-seeded Tigers (9-17) a return to Sikeston for a district semifinal date with top-seeded Dexter at 6 p.m. today.

"We have to not worry about who we're playing," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "We have to come out and play like we're capable of playing and not worry about who's on the other side of the court. We're going to focus on us and focus on coming out and playing our game the way we know how to play."

Central scored the first 10 points of the contest as the turnover-prone Indians (12-13) helped fuel the Tigers' attack. Kennett's 10 first-quarter miscues contributed directly to 11 points for Central and helped the Tigers build a 19-4 lead after one quarter. The Tigers continually made the extra pass, often finding teammates wide open for uncontested shots in the lane.

"When we do that, we play well," Shirrell said. "The nights that we pass the ball well are the nights we play well."

It reached 30-11 after Central's Sydney Tollison, who led all scorers with 19 points, came up with a steal and driving layup that finished off her own seven-point run with about three minutes remaining in the first half.

Central's Madison Daum drives to the basket as Kennett's Sydney Patton defends during the third quarter of a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday, March 2, 2015 in Sikeston, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"It's really fun," Tollison said. "When Madison Daum gets a steal, then I'm already at the other end of the court, and she passes it and I get a layup. It's really fun when we all play together."

Daum, who added 16 points, said the Tigers had two good practices leading up to Monday's game.

"Coach really was pushing that we need to drive, we need to do this and do that," Daum said. "I think that carried over and really helped out a lot."

Kennett pulled within 13 points at 36-23 early in the third period, but the Tigers continued to aggressively attack Kennett's full-court press, which led to easy layups or trips to the free-throw line. A putback by junior forward Bailey Manley, who finished with eight points, upped Central's lead to 46-25 with two minutes remaining in the third period.

"We're very capable of handling that pressure on any given night," said Shirrell. "Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. And I thought tonight they handled it really well."

Kennett coach Jordan Penn said the early deficit proved too much for his young squad to overcome.

"They just wanted it more than we did early," Penn said. "We made more young mistakes like we've done all year long. We've shown some signs all year that we can overcome them, but tonight we just didn't. When you dig yourself that big of a hole against a team that wanted it as bad as Cape did, it's hard to come back."

Central's Moriah Terry tries to shoot as Kennett's Kayton Harris knocks the ball away during the third quarter of a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday, March 2, 2015 in Sikeston, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Shirrell, who has three seniors on her squad, has had to incorporate several new faces into her lineup this season. With several freshmen and sophomores playing key minutes, the Tigers have been annoyingly inconsistent.

Shirrell hopes that trend is over.

"We have three seniors on our team -- one of them that has varsity experience," Shirrell said. "So we are young. We've got some young kids that have played up a few years. So that's always a concern when you have young kids. But this year we've been able to get those kids some time on JV, so that's really helped. Some of them stepped up tonight."

Kennett 4 13 10 6 -- 33

Central 19 14 15 10 -- 58

KENNETT (33) -- Dakayla Duckworth 4, Hadley Hilburn 2, Kate Shetley 3, Kayton Harris 5, Heidi Shetley 15, Jazzie Hudson 4. FG: 14. FT: 4-11. Total fouls: 17. (3-pointers: K. Shetley 1. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (58) -- Abby Shupert 4, Sydney Tollison 19, Bailey Manley 8, Kassidy Pannier 5, Madison Daum 16, Abbie Reece 5, Moriah Terry 1. FG: 24. FT: 7-17. Total fouls: 13. (3-pointers: Tollison 2, Pannier 1. Fouled out: none.)