Meadow Heights slips past Scott City in consolation game in Holiday Classic

Emma Cook scored 15 points and Taylor Cureton added 13 -- including four free throws in the final nine seconds -- as Meadow Heights held off Scott City 39-34 in a Kelso Supply Holiday Classic consolation semifinal Thursday afternoon at the Show Me Center.

Meadow Heights (3-6) led 6-0 early, then watched as Scott City went on a 14-2 run to open a 16-8 lead midway through the second period. But the Panthers battled back to knot the score at 30-30 after three periods.

"We got up 6-0 early, then we went stone cold," Meadow Heights coach Mark Verticchio said. "That's been our problem all year."

"We were all forcing shots pretty much," Cureton said. "Once we settled down and started making our shots again we got back up in the groove."

Alicia Kern led Scott City (1-8) with 17 points.

"We didn't rebound particularly well, and we fell flat there at the end," Scott City coach Ricky Keller said. "We've just got to maintain that intensity level throughout the game."

Scott City 5 13 12 4 -- 34

Meadow Heights 6 9 15 9 -- 39

SCOTT CITY (34) -- Shea Martin 3, Lindsey Rendleman 1, Macy Hall 3, Natalie Woods 3, Alexis Spriggs 7, Alicia Kern 17. FG: 12, FT: 8-12, F: 17. (3-pointers: Hall 1, Spriggs 1. Fouled out: none.)

MEADOW HEIGHTS (39) -- Kylee Whitnener 2, Caitlin Cook 4, Taylor Hotop 5, Emma Cook 15, Taylor Cureton 13. FG: 12, FT: 10-16, F: 12. (3-pointers: E. Cook 3, Cureton 1, Hotop 1. Fouled out: Hotop.)

Perryville 44, Sikeston 41

After trailing most of the game, Perryville outscored Sikeston 14-9 in the final period and rallied for a 44-41 victory.

With her team trailing by two, Perryville's Desiree Brown found an open spot in the lane, took a pass and turned it into a three-point play to give the Pirates (4-3) their first lead since midway through the first quarter at 42-41 with 12 seconds left. Perryville's Natalie Gremaud capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining.

Gremaud led all scorers with 13 points despite being plagued by foul trouble throughout the second half.

"We finally made some free throws," Pirates coach Vicki Lohmann said. "When the free throws go down, you chip away at that lead very slowly."

The Pirates were 14 of 21 from the line compared to just 2 of 11 for Sikeston, which saw its 21-15 halftime lead trimmed to 32-30 heading into the final period.

"The first half we missed free throws and missed layups," said Sikeston coach Matt Schonhoff. "The lead at halftime, we feel, should have been a lot bigger. We need to capitalize on those things."

Freshman Erica Peet led Sikeston (0-6) with 11 points.

Sikeston 13 8 11 9 -- 41

Perryville 10 5 15 14 -- 44

SIKESTON (41) -- Hayli Chapman 3, Aleah Little 8, Michala Nichols 8, Trenice Greer 2, Yolanda Johnson 9, Erica Peet 11. FG: 19, FT: 2-11, F: 20. (3-pointers: Chapman 1. Fouled out: none.)

Perryville -- Natalie Gremaud 13, Ahnie Hoff 1, Kaycee Erzfeld 5, Allison Moldenhauer 6, Libbie Schnurbusch 2, Aimee More 2, Cheyenne Davis 2, Desiree Brown 12. FG: 14, FT: 14-21, F: 15. (3-pointers: Erzfeld 1, More 1. Fouledout: none.)

-- From staff reports