Doniphan overpowers Kelly girls in Class 3

~ The Hawks' season ended with a 58-23 loss.

The Kelly Lady Hawks ran into a hot team in the Doniphan Donettes at Poplar Bluff High School on Wednesday night.

Behind early hot shooting and pressure defense, Doniphan cruised to the 58-23 sectional win over Kelly and will move on to the quarterfinals on Saturday night. The Donettes will take on Career Academy at 6:30 p.m. at the Farmington Civic Center.

Doniphan hit six 3-pointers in the first half and forced Kelly to commit 18 turnovers in the half. The Donettes 2-2-1 full-court press befuddled the Lady Hawks the entire half.

Doniphan put the contest to rest early, as the Donettes went on a 19-2 run starting late in the first quarter and ending midway through the second. Kelly trailed 46-14 at the half.

When asked about the pressure applied by Doniphan, coach Rod McQuerter of Kelly admitted problems arose for his team, but McQuerter believed several teams have struggled with Doniphan's pressure.

"The entire area of Southeast Missouri has problems with Doniphan's pressure," said McQuerter. "We were no exception tonight. Give them some credit, coach [Jimbo] Blackwell has his team well prepared, and they get you out of what you want to do. They had an excellent game plan tonight."

Doniphan was never challenged after the huge explosion in the second quarter and coasted to the sectional victory, the second straight victory over Kelly in this round of the playoffs.

Morgan Davis led the Donettes with 24 points and hit three 3's in the contest. Davis played sparingly in the second half as Doniphan built the huge lead.

Angela Rodgers, Adja Jones and Jaysa Blackwell all chipped in with seven points for Doniphan.

"They were hot tonight and hit some big shots to put us down early," said McQuerter. "Our girls gave maximum effort on defense, but they have so many weapons. Tough to just key on one player. Davis is a great player and hit some tough shots early. I thought we defended her well, but players like Davis just find a way to score."

Kelly did not have a player crack double digits in the contest. Sarah Ruff led Kelly with seven points.

Kayla Cissell and Leigh Ann Buchheit chipped in with four points apiece.

Kelly ends its season at 20-9.