By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - The Lady Bearcats will return to the Class 4, District 1 championship game after cruising to a 76-32 win over the Ste. Genevieve Hunters on Thursday night.

LBB's full-court press caused problems for the Hunters all night, as the Lady 'Cats forced over 30 turnovers in the game.

"Coming into this game, we definitely wanted to try to put a lot of pressure on Ste. Gen., and I thought the girls did a great job of that tonight," LBB head coach Chad Allen said We wanted to try to make it a fast paced game, and we scored a lot off turnovers. I thought the girls really executed and did a good job tonight."

A layup from Hannah Noe put the Lady 'Cats on the board within five seconds of the opening tip, and they never looked back. A pair of offensive rebound and putbacks from Brittany Harris and a trey from Alison Jarrell pushed the Lady 'Cats to a 19-7 lead after the first quarter.

Erika Cobb knocked down a three to give the 'Cats a 24-10 lead at the 5:20 mark; three point plays from Cobb and Noe increased the lead to 33-13 at the 2:15 mark. An eight point effort from Paige Patterson helped LBB to a 41-15 lead at halftime.

LBB pulled back into their half-court defense in the second half, but still held the Hunters to singe-digit scoring totals in both the third and fourth quarters. Freshmen Katie Reiker and Breana Bowers both saw playing time in the second half in relief of the starters.

LBB dominated the glass all night, and outrebounded Ste. Gen. by a 32-12 tally. Harris and Patterson both did a great job inside on Jasmine Kuehn, holding hte 6'1" post to just six points.

"Ste. Gen. definitely has some size, but we did a good job of shutting Jasmine Kuehn down, and limiting her inside," Allen said. "Most of their points came from the perimeter; we did a great job defending inside tonight."

In Thursday's nightcap, the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs faced off against second-seed Notre Dame. Sikeston kept the game much closer than their regular-season contest, but ultimately fell 63-56.

The Lady 'Cats will square off against Notre Dame Friday night in the Class 4, District 1 title - a rematch of last year's title game, and the third time this season the teams have met. The squads split the regular season series, with LBB taking a 65-57 victory back in November, and the Bulldogs earning a 52-51 win on their home court earlier in February.

"We've been working on quite a bit of stuff against Notre Dame, trying to prepare for them," Allen said. "We've worked on things that we faced against them last time for the last couple weeks; the girls are definitely prepared. Now it's just a matter of coming out, executing defensively, and running your offense."

Tipoff for the Girls Class 4, District 1 Championship game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with the Boys Championship between Sikeston and Notre Dame tipping off at 7:30.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Class 4, District 1 Tournament has been in full swing this week from the Sikeston Field House.

Tuesday night saw the opening round of the Girls bracket, with Ste. Genevieve taking on Perryville and Sikeston facing Fredericktown in the nightcap. The Dragons cruised to a 48-31 victory, while host Sikeston had an upset scare by Fredericktown; the Lady Bulldogs were able to squeak out a one point, 47-46 win.

The top-seed Dexter Lady Bearcats are set to get things underway tonight (Thurs., Feb. 23), when they face off against Ste. Genevieve; the Dragons are the only district opponent the Lady 'Cats didn't face in the regular season. "I know our girls are going to be focused this week," LBB head coach Chad Allen said. "Ste. Gen. beat Farmington earlier this year, and they're a good team. We can't overlook anybody, and we're going to have to go in there and play hard."

The Lady 'Cats look to defend their Class 4, District 1 Title from a year ago, still utilizing a starting lineup typically composed of three underclassmen. Despite their youth, the squad was able to put together a 19-4 effort in the regular season.

"I think we've improved on a lot of aspects of the game; our guard play has gotten better throughout the year," Allen said of his squad. "Our inside presence has gotten better as well; Paige [Patterson] has really come a long way in the last year. A lot of it is gaining confidence; they've played more and are building confidence."

Tonight's nightcap will feature the No. 2 Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs and the No. 4 Sikeston Lady Bulldogs. Notre Dame picked up a 71-42 victory over Sikeston in their regular season meeting on Jan. 12.

The Championship Game was locked in on Wednesday night in the Boys bracket; Notre Dame (No. 10 in the state) slipped by Fredericktown in a 70-60 decision, while Sikeston (No. 2 in the state) hammered Perryville, 82-55.

Notre Dame and Sikeston will square off tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 24) in a rematch of last season's C4D1 title matchup; Sikeston cruised to a 66-52 victory during their 30-0 State Championship campaign last year.

Tonight's Girls semifinal contests are set to get underway with Dexter vs. Ste. Gen. at 6:00 p.m., and Notre Dame taking on Sikeston at 7:30.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

HOLCOMB - The Bernie Mules and Holcomb Hornets faced off for the third time this season on Tuesday night. The Hornets were in the middle of a 14 game win streak, but an outstanding offensive performance from David Baker led the Mules to a 56-48 win.

Baker was the only Mule to hit a shot from the floor in the first quarter, and scored 11 of Bernie's 13 points in the frame. The Hornets were able to hold a 15-13 lead after the opening eight minutes.

Troy Kirkpatrick hit a pair of threes in the second. Sam Turner added another trey for the Mules late in the second to give Bernie a 27-24 lead at the break.

Kirkpatrick knocked down another three in the third, but a six point effort from Jamie Massey nudged the Hornets to a one point advantage heading into the final frame.

A trey from B.J. Jennings, coupled with a 12 point effort from Baker drove the Mules to a 56-48 victory against their Class 2, District 1 rival.

“It was nice to see our kids get a win tonight. They work hard and I felt were really bought in and focused all night," Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said. "As inexperienced as we are, we don’t have much wiggle room as far as mental lapses go and still be able to compete and win. Tonight, we did a good job of executing and playing with poise.”

Baker paced the Mules with 29 points, while Kirkpatrick and Turner netted 11 and nine, respectively.

Massey led the Hornets with 24 points; Michael Glover added 11.

The Mules will be back in action on Thursday night, when they return home to take on the Caruthersville Tigers. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

Photo Above:
David Baker puts up a shot over Jamie Massey during the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. The two players accounted for half of their respective teams' offensive production on Tuesday night (SMT File photo by Andrew Cato).

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- With the funeral of former Palm Beach Atlantic University head baseball coach Gary Carter slated for Friday, February 24th, the Sailfish baseball team has decided to postpone its weekend series at Eckerd College. The Sailfish and Tritons have agreed to reschedule the contest for the weekend of May 4-5, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Friday night will be a first pitch of 7 pm with a double-header beginning at 1 pm on Saturday.

Palm Beach Atlantic (5-2) will play its regularly scheduled contest on Tuesday, February 21st versus Florida Memorial University. The two teams will battle at Palm Beach Gardens High School beginning at 7 pm. Admission is free.

Following Tuesday’s game versus the Lions, the Fish will have off until Wednesday, February 29th when they take on Mercyhurst College at 6 pm. The game versus the Lakers will take place at the Santaluces Complex in Lantana, Florida.

Friday’s funeral service for Carter is open to the public and will be held at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens with the service scheduled to begin at 7 pm.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - Inconsistency has been a key term for the Bearcats in the last several games. A great effort in the third quarter carried the 'Cats to a six point lead heading into the fourth quarters, but three straight turnovers led to an 8-0 run for Fredericktown that ultimately ended Dexter's season in a 54-50 loss.

Poor free throw shooting and an offensive performance that left more to be desired in the fourth quarter proved to be the Bearcats Achilles' Heel in the loss.

"We turned it over three straight times in transition, and never got shots," head coach Rob Nichols said of the early fourth quarter. "They got back in it right there; we had a six point lead and gave it up on turnovers. We didn't shoot the ball from the free-throw line well; we just didn't play well offensively tonight. [We were] inconsistent, and a lot of it was mental focus. When you play lethargically, a lot of it comes down to mental focus."

"I don't feel like we played really well tonight," he continued. "I don't think our mental focus was there, and it made us look like we were lethargic all night. Hats off to Fredericktown, they had a lot to do with that."

The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Black Cats fought back and took a 6-4 lead at the 4:45 mark. A 15-footer and trey from Jordan Fitts in the last two minutes tied the game at 12 at the end of the first quarter.

A three from Tyler Miller and an offensive rebound and stickback from Jake Lee gave the 'Cats a 19-18 lead at 5:40, but a three from Keith Jackson on the next possession gave the Black Cats the lead. Cody Neldon picked up his third foul with 2:00 to go in the half, and exited the game. Back to back offensive rebound and stickbacks from Lee and Miller gave the 'Cats a 28-25 lead heading into halftime.

The Bearcats transitioned into their full-court press in the third quarter, and it gave the Black Cats troubles. Dexter forced a 10-second call at 5:35, and a Miller steal led to a Fitts three a minute later. Miller knocked down another trey to give the 'Cats a seven point lead at the 2:30 mark, and Lee's two free throws after the buzzer gave the Bearcats a 44-38 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Bearcats committed three straight turnovers to open the fourth quarter; Jackson knocked down another trey and the Black Cats pulled within one at the 5:40 mark. Jackson's third hit from downtown gave Fredericktown a 46-44 lead at 4:05. A layup from Lee cut the lead to two points with just over two minutes to go. The 'Cats forced a turnover with :15 left on the clock, but a three-point attempt from Fitts fell short with six seconds left in the game. The Black Cats knocked down clutch free throws with two seconds left and set the final score at 54-50.

Fredericktown's 6'8" center, Brock Mills, terrorized the glass throughout the game, and completed a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards. Nichols noted Mills' effort as a small piece of the puzzle in the loss. "[Mills] hurt us on the glass a bit, and he scored some, but I don't think their size hurt us as bad as turnovers and a lot of missed layups did," Nichols said. "We just didn't play very well offensively."

"We went to a press, we just didn't have any energy in the first half," Nichols said of the mid-game defensive swap. "We played flat defensively in the first half, so we went to a press, and it did all right. We still didn't guard well in the half-court."

The Bearcats end the season with a 13-12 record; Fredericktown improved to 18-9 on the season, and will face the Notre Dame Bulldogs (currently ranked No. 10 in the state) in part one of Wednesday night's semifinal doubleheader.

In Monday's nightcap, the Perryville Pirates rolled to a 74-59 win over Ste. Genevive. The Pirates will face off against the Sikeston Bulldogs (currently ranked No. 2 in the state) in Wednesday's nightcap.