Kelly girls demonstrate considerable progress, close gap on Sikeston

~ After suffering two double-digit losses, the Hawks nearly beat the Bulldogs.

The Kelly girls basketball team lost to Sikeston for the third time this season on Thursday.

But the Hawks played much better in a 62-58 loss than it did in its last meetings with the Bulldogs.

The Hawks (5-4) had lost 70-34 to Sikeston in the Twin Rivers Tournament just before the holiday break. They had lost 70-58 to Sikeston at the Chaffee tournament earlier this year.

"Our girls played with focus, passion and a positive attitude tonight," Kelly coach Rod McQuerter said after the game. "Sikeston is a good team, and we are now focused on getting better in time for districts."

Freshman guard Katee Moore made six 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 26 points. Freshman center Debra Hall had 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Brittany Ponder had nine assists with seven points and three rebounds.

"We play 10 freshmen and sophomores, so we have to be patient and let them come along at their own pace," McQuerter said.

Closing the gap on Sikeston was a sign of progress.

A different challenge

Scott City on Thursday added to its winning streak -- now at six games -- by beating Richland 56-42.

The Rams finished the first quarter leading just 8-6 and were ahead 18-12 at halftime, as the Rebels employed a slowdown style.

Richland coach Jeff Jennewein thought that was his team's best chance to steal a victory from the Rams (8-4).

"They're big, they're well coached, they play hard and it's tough to come into a place like this and get a 'W,'" Jennewein said. "I thought it might have been the best way."

Richland held the ball for minutes at a time in the first quarter. Six-foot-5 sophomore Alex King helped Scott City pick up the pace in the second quarter with eight of his team's 10 points, and the Rams used their defensive pressure to get some baskets in the third period.

"You tell your kids to be disciplined in a game like that and it tests your discipline as a coach, too," Scott City coach Lance Amick said. "Our kids played a very disciplined game. We did a nice job of winning possessions and executing our game plan."

Scott City dished 17 assists in the game.

Role player

Farrell Wasson had zero points Friday night in the Scott City boys basketball team's 66-43 victory at Chaffee.

But the 6-5 senior's effort didn't go unnoticed by Rams coach Lance Amick.

"Farrell Wasson gave us some big minutes when Alex [King] got in foul trouble," Amick said. "Our bench guys did a good job."

While Rynn Eskew came off the bench to score nine points, Wasson made his presence felt on the boards and with some of the inside presence that resulted in several blocked shots for the Rams.

After King picked up his second foul less than 4 minutes into the game, Landon Hill replaced him but had to leave less than three minutes later with a bloody chin. Wasson finished out the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half, which ended with Scott City leading 27-15, and played several minutes of the second half while forward Ryan Modglin rested after putting up a team-high 20 points.

Wasson did provide an offensive spark the previous night against Richland, scoring the the first eight points of the fourth quarter for the Rams as they bumped their lead to 19 poins.

Role players II

Central reserves Kourtney Lewis and Tyler Terry had just three points apiece Saturday in the Tigers' 67-55 victory against Parkway South at the Tiger Shootout.

But Central's subs played solid defense and helped Central rally from a 31-22 halftime deficit.

"Many of those guys that came off the bench, they usually don't get many minutes, but they really gave us some good minutes," said junior Darnell Wilks, Central's leading scorer with 20 points.

Added Central coach Derek McCord: "Kourtney Lewis, Tyler Terry and Derek Walker -- they really stepped up there in the second half."

Gaines hits for 33

Woodland dropped a 75-55 decision to Dexter on Friday night, with Seth Gaines scoring 33 points for the Cardinals in defeat.

It marked the fifth time Gaines accounted for more than 50 percent of the scoring for Woodland (4-7).

"He (Gaines) does a lot for us on offense," Woodland coach David Mirly said. "He needs to work on his defensive positioning a little bit more and rebound a little bit more, but on offense he creates offense for himself off the dribble and he can knocked down shots from the outside.

"But the big thing he did tonight was that he got his teammates involved," Mirly added. "He gave them an opportunity to step up, and at times we did and at times we didn't, but at least he gave them the opportunity to step up and we need that."