Sikeston defeated Central 40-39 in the first round Tuesday night

The Central girls basketball team had just three fewer turnovers than the number of points they scored in its first-round game of the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center.

"I don't think we came out ready to play at the beginning," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "I thought our effort at the end was good, but it was not enough at that point. Turnovers killed us."

The fifth-seeded Tigers (0-4) committed 36 turnovers and remain winless on the season after a 40-39 loss to fourth-seeded Sikeston on Tuesday night.

"We had 36 turnovers and you shouldn't have that," Central junior Maddie Daum said. "We just need to take care of the ball."

The Tigers struggled against the Bulldogs' full-court press throughout most of the game, but they were able to force some turnovers of their own in the fourth quarter and had the momentum swing in their favor in a game that was tied six times.

With 4 minutes, 45 seconds left in the game, Alice Bellodi got a steal and passed it down the court to Daum for an easy layup to give Central a 33-32 lead.

Bellodi and Daum connected on the exact same play on the next possession and extended the lead to three points.

Another steal by Bellodi led to Morgan Duschell being fouled going in for a layup with just under four minutes left to play. Duschell made the first free throw to make it 36-32.

Central’s Tramonee Stewart shoots against Sikeston’s Ariana Beard during their first-round game of the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic on Tuesday at the Show Me Center. Sikeston won 40-39. (Fred Lynch)

Bellodi struck for yet another steal on Sikeston's next possession, and Central took a timeout with 3:09 left in the game.

"Whenever we just kept getting steal after steal after steal, that's when the momentum kept building," Daum said. "Then we took a timeout and things kind of shifted, and it just shifted in the wrong way."

It looked like Central was going to continue to widen the gap, but the Tigers turned the ball over following the timeout and wouldn't score again for nearly three minutes.

Sikeston's Mikala Nichols knocked down a 3-pointer at the top of the key to pull the Bulldogs to within 36-35 with 2:38 left.

Central followed with a back-court violation and then fouled on defense.

Sikeston's Tyra Bonner made one free throw to tie the game 36-36 with two minutes left.

The teams remained tied until 10 seconds were left. Sikeston's Erica Peet, who finished with 13 points, broke the deadlock with a putback for a 38-36 Sikeston lead. Peet was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.

Shirrell told her players that they needed to push the ball down the court during a timeout before the free throw, but the Tigers committed their 36th and final turnover by throwing the ball out of bounds.

"Every turnover counts," Sherrill said, "and in a tight game like that they become more important than in a blowout ballgame. It was just us taking care of the ball and missed opportunities."

Central fouled to try to stop the clock and get the ball back and Nichols hit both free throws to make it a four point game. Kelly Morton hit a 3 at the buzzer for the final score.

Morton and Daum finished with 11 points apiece for the Tigers. Kassidy Pannier added seven.

"We had a few kids that played hard," Shirrell said. "And that's what we've got to get everybody to understand -- is that they've all got to play hard together because it takes the whole team. Overall, I don't think as a team we played as hard as we should, but individually I thought we had some pretty good effort."

Central will face eighth-seeded Scott City at 4 p.m. today, while Sikeston will play top-seeded Saxony Lutheran at 7 p.m. today at the Show Me Center.

"Looking forward to a good game," Shirrell said. "If our kids come out and play like they're capable of we should be fine."

SIKESTON 5 12 10 13 -- 40

CENTRAL 7 10 12 10 -- 39

SIKESTON (40) -- Dominique Roach 4, Tyra Bonner 6, Larysa McClellon 1, Mikala Nichols 14, Erica Peet 13, Tyeshia Mitchell 2. FG: 13. FT: 8-10. Total fouls: 18. (3-pointers: Bonner 1, Nichols 1. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (39) -- Morgan Duschell 1, Alice Bellodi 2, Kelly Morton 11, Kassidy Pannier 7, Maddie Daum 11, Bailey Bliss 2, Deja Stewart 5. FG: 11. FT: 11-15. Total fouls: 19. (3-pointers: Morton 1, Pannier 1. Fouled out: Tramonee Stewart.)