Kelly holds off East Prairie; SHS falls to Delta

Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Kelly's Londyn Backfisch drives around an East Prairie defender Monday night (Photos by Josh Mills, Staff)

CHAFFEE--The 31st Annual Chaffee Lady Devils Invitational Tournament got underway on Monday evening, in an exciting night of high school girls basketball.

Kicking off the night, was the No. 1 seed Kelly Lady Hawks flying by the No. 8 seed East Prairie Lady Eagles, by a score of 62-32.

For the Lady Eagles, it was a battle to the end, as they held close to the Lady Hawks until late in the game, when Kelly pulled away to a substantial lead.

"Our girls played hard," East Prairie head coach Steven Douglas said. "The girls kept their heads. We missed a few open shots, but overall I wasn't disappointed--I thought it was a good effort."

For Kelly, it was another impressive showing from starters Londyn Backfisch, Sarah Ruff, Debra Hall and Kayla Cissell. The four combined for 54 of the Lady Hawks' 62 points. Backfisch led all scorers on the night, with 19 points.

Sikeston's Monika Gray-El blocks Delta's Alison Burger

"We played every play like it was our last," Kelly head coach Rod McQuerter said. "They play hard every game. I told our girls, we respect every one of our opponents--East Prairie came out with a good game plan."

On the losing end, East Prairie was led by Rianon Threstier, who scored 14 points for the Lady Eagles.

Kelly advances to face Scott City on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in the winner's bracket, while East Prairie falls to the loser's bracket, where they fill face Chaffee, also on Wednesday night, at 7 p.m.

Game two provided the most entertainment for the crowd Monday night, as No. 4 seed Scott City squeaked by the No. 5 host-team Chaffee Lady Devils, 42-40.

Chaffee trailed most of the game, and with under 20 seconds to play, leading-scorer Amber Kirk hit a three-pointer, to tie the game at 40. Kirk hit three three-point baskets in the game.

With 11 seconds left to play, Scott City drove the length of the court, and hit a field goal to go ahead by two, and would hold on to the lead for the duration of time for the win.

The Lady Rams were led by Beth Razer, who score 13 in the victory.

Scott City, as previously stated, will take on Kelly, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Chaffee will battle East Prairie at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

To cap off the evening, No. 2 seed Delta survived a late fourth quarter rally from No. 7 seed Sikeston, to go on to win by a score of 54-45.

Sikeston trailed by 14 at the half, but pulled back to within eight points before the final buzzer sounded, eventually losing by nine.

"The recognition of the press got better," Sikeston head coach Homer Jackson said. "That was one of the things we did good. I was pleased with the way they continued to fight."

Delta provided a powerful offensive front in Jodi Menz, Taylor Smith and Sara Blattel. Menz and Smith each scored 15, while Blattel added 11. The three combined for over 75 percent of the Lady Bobcats points.

On the other end of the court, Sikeston's Keyarra Blissett led her squad with 14, along-side Monika Gray-El, who also had 14 points in the losing effort.

The Lady Bulldogs' ultimate goal now is to get to the consolation game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

"We still have two games to go, to get to play Saturday," Jackson added. "(We have to) play well to win."

"As we move towards districts, I'm hoping the work we're putting in, will pay off," he added.

Sikeston will next square-off with the loser of the No. 3 seed Scott Central and No. 6 seed Oran game. The game is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: