Donettes overtake Tigers

Strong 3-point shooting and stifling defense in the second half allowed Doniphan to come away with a 42-35 road victory Monday night over Cape Central.

Senior Karri Thomas paced Doniphan with 22, including six 3-pointers. Doniphan as a team had nine 3-pointers.

Central (2-8) managed just 10 points after halftime as it struggled to find open shots against the Doniphan's man-to-man defense.

The Tigers hit several shots early on, jumping out to a 15-6 lead in the first quarter. Doniphan used a pair of 3-pointers to pull even, 23-23, late in the second quarter, but Erica Schabbing scored in the final seconds to put the Tigers ahead 25-23 at halftime. Thomas, the only Donette to finish in double figures, scored 17 of her points in the first half.

Doniphan (7-3) came out in the third quarter and stepped up their defense. The Dons moved ahead 33-32 by the close of the quarter and held Central to three points in the final eight minutes.

The final score, 42-35, ended up being Doniphan's largest lead of the night..

"We had too many unforced turnovers," said Central coach Amy Blattel. "Against a good team you can't have errors like that. Defensively, we played well. We just need to take care of the ball better."

Schabbing led the Tigers with 11 points, center Jessica Johnston added 10 and Megan McDonald had eight.

"We found a way to win," Doniphan coach Jimbo Blackwell said. "I thought we played a lot smarter in the second half. We did a good job of limiting McDonald's driving."

Doniphan was held scoreless in the second half.