CENTRAL GIRLS RIP NERINX HALL; SC BOYS WIN LEAGUE TOURNEY

Cape Girardeau Central High girls basketball coach Paula Watkins was expecting an extremely tough challenge from Nerinx Hall, rated seventh among large schools in the St. Louis area.

Watkins' Lady Tigers answered the challenge -- and then some. Central stormed to a 34-18 halftime lead and routed the Markers 62-40 Friday night at the Tiger Field House.

The Lady Tigers improved to 11-2 while Nerinx Hall fell to 13-3.

"I'm tickled to death," said an excited Watkins. "We knew we'd have to step up and the girls really did.

"We were ready for a good challenge tonight. My kids were fired up and ready to go."

Nichole Thiele paced the Lady Tigers offensively with 22 points. Also in double figures were Laura Lukens with 16 and Elizabeth Kunz with 11.

Nerinx Hall got 14 points from Meghan Mulvihill, 13 from Leslie Chadwick and 10 from Maggie Kellett.

Central led 21-9 after one quarter and 34-18 at halftime. The Lady Tigers were outscored 11-2 in the third period as their lead was sliced to 36-29, but Central iced the victory with a 26-11 fourth-quarter edge.

"The first half was as good a basketball as I've seen us play," Watkins said. "We were intense, we played good defense, our press did the job, we ran the ball well on offense.

"We let down in the third quarter. I think we got tired a little bit tired. But we picked it back up in the fourth quarter."

Central will be right back in action today as the Lady Tigers visit Scott City for a 1 p.m. JV start.

Meanwhile, Nerinx Hall will remain in the area to face Jackson today in a 1 p.m. JV start.

Notre Dame 65

Twin Rivers 41

BROSELEY -- In a late game from Thursday night, Notre Dame used a big second half to win on the road.

The Lady Bulldogs (10-4) led just 35-31 at halftime but outscored Twin Rivers 30-9 in the second half.

Randi Senciboy paced the Lady Bulldogs with 23 points and Tracy Blattel had 13.

"We had a really good second half," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "It was one of our best passing games of the season."

Notre Dame is right back in action today at New Madrid County Central. JV action begins at 2 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Scott City 68

Delta 62

DELTA -- Scott City staged a furious rally Friday night as the Rams repeated as champions of the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament.

Third-seeded Delta led the top-seeded Rams by as many as 18 points in the first half. Scott City was still down 34-25 at halftime and 48-43 after three quarters, but they outscored the Bobcats 25-14 in the final period.

The Rams (17-1), who have not lost a Scott-Mississippi Conference game in two years, were led by Jon Beck with 21 points and Dustin Cauble with 20.

Delta (10-6) got 27 points from Garrett DeBrock and 11 from Jeremiah Cook.

"Delta came out and played great," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "DeBrock was hitting everything. But I told our guys just to settle down. We didn't need any 10-point plays. We just had to play our game."

Oran captured the tournament's JV championship with a 57-54 win over Scott City.

St. Vincent 66

Windsor 62

PERRYVILLE -- St. Vincent played yet another close game Friday night and this time the Indians came out on top.

The Indians (4-10) have seen nine games decided by 10 points or less. They have been on the short end of most of those contests.

"We play everybody close," said St. Vincent coach Bruce Valleroy.

Jonathan Wengert poured in 31 points to lead the Indians.

"He had a great night," Valleroy said.

Leopold 61

Oak Ridge 49

OAK RIDGE -- Leopold broke away in the second half to beat host Oak Ridge Friday night.

The Wildcats (4-6) got 21 points from Matt Beussink, 10 from Scott Engelen and 10 from Lariedon Engelen.

Oak Ridge (2-9) was led by Kirt Ruehling with 18 points and Aric Curry with 12.

The teams were tied 23-23 at halftime but a 17-8 third-quarter edge gave Leopold the lead for good.

Marquand 79

Zalma 46

ZALMA -- Marquand continued its sensational season by routing host Zalma Friday night.

The Tigers (11-3 overall, 2-0 Mississippi Valley Conference) got 25 points from Dusty Stevens, 13 from Jeremy Reimler, 11 from Brandon Settle and 11 from Doug Thomas.

Zalma (0-10) was led by Terry Hendrix with 15 points and Adam Wallace with 14.

Charleston 61

Shelbyville 46

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Charleston advanced into the championship game of the Pepsi-Superman Classic by taking down the defending Illinois Class A state champion Friday night.

Howard Biles scored 21 points, Larico Coleman had 17, Rashad Oliver added 11 and Nick Pratt had 10 to pace the Blue Jays past Shelbyville.

Rich Beyers, who has already signed with the University of Illinois, paced Shelbyville with 16 points.

Charleston will play Paducah (Ky.) Tilghman at 8 tonight for the tourney title.

FRESHMEN BASKETBALL

Central Tournament

Cape Central's freshmen suffered a 43-42 overtime loss to New Madrid County Central Friday night in their own tourney.

Central fell to 9-3 despite 23 points from Ross Conner.

Friday's other semifinal saw Jackson beat Sikeston 58-39 as Levi Bollinger scored 16 points and Torie Meyer had 11.

The tournament will conclude today at Central plays Sikeston at noon for third place and Jackson faces New Madrid at 1:30 for the title.