Scott City girls basketball team tames host Saxony Lutheran

Saxony Lutheran never found an answer for Melanie Lacey and Katie Hogan.

Lacey scored 20 points and Hogan added 19 and eight blocks to help the top-seeded Rams hand the fourth-seeded Crusaders a 54-37 loss in the semifinals of Class 3 District 3 girls basketball tournament Monday.

The Rams jumped all over Saxony Lutheran early.

Scott City forced five first-quarter turnovers and shot 7 of 14 inside the arc to build a 21-8 lead after the opening quarter.

"We knew we had to run the ball and start off strong," Hogan said. "We've been hearing a lot of talk saying that we haven't been playing hard, and that just gave us motivation to come out strong and show them that we deserve the No. 1 seed."

Melanie Lacey

The good start was a key in the Rams' preparation this week.

"That's what we've been stressing all week," Scott City coach Ricky Keller said. "Come out and lay the first punch and get into it early. Our two bigs came through, and I thought Hogan played like an all-stater tonight."

Hogan was a force on the inside and outside.

The 6-foot-2 junior buried two 3-pointers to compliment her inside game. Saxony Lutheran often had to settle for difficult jumpers because of the presence of Hogan in the lane.

Saxony Lutheran regrouped in the second quarter.

The Crusaders turned the tables and held the Rams scoreless for the opening six minutes of the quarter.

The only problem was the Crusaders only mustered three points during that stretch.

"We knew that they would kind of struggle man-to-man full court because that's what we did whenever we played them last time," Hogan said. "We knew we had to start off strong man-to-man and look for steals and box out and get every rebound."

The Rams' offensive woes were the result of Saxony Lutheran's pressure defense.

Scott City shot just 2 of 13 in the quarter, but it still led 27-15 at halftime.

"I just felt like we went cold for a stretch," Keller said. "They played box-and-one on Katie real well."

Lacey stepped up in the third quarter for the Rams. The senior netted nine of her 20 points in the third.

Saxony Lutheran scored the opening basket to trim the lead to 10, but Lacey scored nine of the next 11 points for Scott City, and the Rams went on a 17-2 run to open a 44-19 lead.

"Good championship teams put other teams away," Hogan said. "They don't let them come back in the ballgame. They put them away and win by 30. We knew we had to do that."

Scott City 21 6 17 10 -- 54

Saxony 8 7 6 16 -- 37

SCOTT CITY (54) -- Lindsey Ressel 4, Stacey Heisserer 3, Melanie Lacey 20, Katie Rhymer 2, Katie Hogan 19, Jenna Cummins 1, Andrea Gray 5. FG 17, FT 17-24, F 14. (3-pointers: Hogan 2, Gray. Fouled out: none)

SAXONY LUTHERAN (37) -- Kristy Winter 1, Regan Obermann 3, Julia Steffens 10, Lauren Hecht 11, Abby Hartmann 4, Natalie Mueller 8. FG 13, FT 10-16, F 19. (3-pointers: Hecht. Fouled out: Mueller)