FULTON - In the third meeting of the season between the schools, the William Woods University women's basketball team held Missouri Baptist to just six field goal makes in the second half en route to a 63-41 win. Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) finished one block shy of a school single-game mark with eight and was in sight of a triple-double with eight points and eight rebounds on the evening as well.

The game didn't get off to the most auspicious of starts for the Owls, as Missouri Baptist controlled the opening tap and jumped out to a 5-8 lead. A pair of 3-pointers from the Spartans bookended a second-chance layup from Iesha McDaniel to build the margin.

But WWU bounced back, uncorking an 18-4 run to turn a three-point deficit into an 11-point advantage. The run was sparked by the first of three first-half rejections by Aubuchon, as she swatted the ball into the hands of Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.). Andrews found Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) in transition for the layup to put the Owls in fron 9-8 with 16:12 on the clock and WWU never trailed again in the game.

It wasn't smooth sailing all the way for William Woods, however, as the Spartans threatened to close the gap going into halftime. After rolling to a 23-12 lead with 11:47 to go, WWU didn't score for nearly seven minutes, as MBU whittled away at the lead.

The Spartans came as close as 23-21 with 5:10 to go, as Mandy Kirby rattled home a pair of free throws, but the Owls rediscovered the range and took a 29-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. French kept the Spartans from closing to a single point, with a huge block on a Kirby 3-pointer with 1:42 left.

In the second half, the Owls just overpowered the Spartans, keeping MBU off the board for the first four minutes of the period and allowing just 10 points on two field goal makes over the first 10:00. As the Owls coasted to the win, MBU was able to manage a consolation bucket with 32.4 seconds left.

All but three WWU players scored in the contest, with Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) leading all scorers with 12. Andrews chipped in 10 on the night, with Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) leading the Owls to a 43-34 rebounding edge as she grabbed 10. Taylor was one point shy of a double-double with her nine point effort.

Aubuchon nearly missed equaling a record that has been held since 1988, as she came up one block shy of Lana Unnewehr's nine-rejection outing against Fontbonne from December 2, 1988.

William Woods advances to the semifinal round of the AMC Postseason Tournament, and will host #3 seed Williams Baptist on Friday night. Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

PARK HILLS - Riley Owens dropped in a layup for the Park Hills Central Lady Rebels in the first 30 seconds of Wednesday night's Class 4 Sectional matchup with the Dexter Lady Bearcats - it would be the Rebels only lead for the rest of the night.

Despite a sluggish start, the Lady Bearcats were able to keep their Show Me Showdown hopes alive with a 64-49 victory. Even with playoff experience, head coach Chad Allen attributed his young team's slow start to nerves.

"It looked like we came out a little nervous, which is to be expected a little bit. We tried to rely on Brittany Harris most of the first half, and we weren't very aggressive offensively," he said. "Give Park Hills credit - I thought they came out and really battled hard. I thought conditioning was a big factor, a big key to this game."

Harris was the lifeblood of the Bearcat offense, accounting for over 50 percent of her team's first half points on the way to a 25 point, 14 rebound double-double.

"She put us on her shoulders in the first half," Allen said of the junior. "We got into halftime and talked about it for a little bit, said we couldn't keep relying on Brittany. I thought the girls responded really well, and looked much more aggressive in the second half."

The Lady Bearcats took the lead on a Harris layup at 5:08 in the first, and never gave it back. Alison Jarrell knocked down a three late in the first to push the 'Cats to a 15-11 advantage.

Briley Merritt hit a trey for Park Hills at the 5:15 mark in the second, but Jarrell answered on the next possession. A three point play from Mackenzie Jones pulled the Rebels within one with just over 40 seconds left in the half, but Erika Cobb buried a three to put DHS up by four at the half.

The Lady Bearcats, much like in Friday's Class 4, District 1 Championship game against Notre Dame, came out with another level of intensity on the defensive side of the court in the third quarter.

"[Our defense was great], especially in that third quarter; we limited them to four points," Allen said of the second-half defensive resurgence. "I thought we really got after it defensively, and a lot of it came down to conditioning. We wore Park Hills down, especially going up and down the floor so much in the first half, and I thought that was the biggest key to our win tonight."

A layup from Harris and trey from Hannah Noe sparked the Lady Bearcats' offense in the second half, and a deep two from Mollie Whitehead late in the frame nudged the 'Cats to a 49-34 advantage heading into the fourth.

Katelynn Frazier dropped in four points in the fourth quarter, and had a chance for a three point play, but just missed the free throw. Jarrell knocked down her third trey of the contest at the 3:45 mark, and the Lady 'Cats were able to run their delay game for the rest of the contest to take the 64-49 win.

Owens and Skaggs combined 34 of the Rebels' 49 points in the contest. Allen noted the duo as his squad's defensive focus in the game.

"We talked about them all week, about how we were going to limit them," he said. "Owens is so hard to stop - one on one, she's so hard to stop. She's a good shooter, and she's very fast - I'd say she was as fast as [Summer] Burger from Notre Dame, just a lot bigger. It was tough for our guards to handle her, but they did a good job."

With the win, the Lady 'Cats will advance to the quarterfinal round of the MSHSAA Class 4 bracket, where the will face off against Miller Career Academy - Miller picked up a 69-56 win over Pacific in their sectional matchup. The Phoenix were able to hand the Lady 'Cats their first loss of the season in the finals of the Farmington Invitational Tournament on Dec. 3.

"They're big, and last time we played them we got beat by 17," Allen said. "We didn't play well that game, so hopefully this time we can give them a better game. There's no doubt in my mind that we can beat them, but we'll have to be much more aggressive offensively."

The Bearcats and Phoenix will rematch on Saturday, March 3 at the Farmington Civic Center. The winner of the contest will move on to the final four and play in the Show Me Showdown, held at Mizzou Arena.

Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

The Dexter Middle School 'boys of spring' are ready to take the field for another season of baseball.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Lady Bearcats, fresh off their second straight Class 4, District 1 title, are hitting the road tonight to take on the Park Hills Central Lady Rebels in MSHSAA Sectional action.

The Lady 'Cats have been hard at work preparing for the 20-7 Lady Rebels since their big win on Friday night over rival Notre Dame.

"We've just been working on preparing for Park Hills, going over all their offensive plays," LBB head coach Chad Allen said after Tuesday's practice. "They are pretty skilled offensively. They shoot well from the perimeter, they have a couple girls that are pretty quick and can take you off the dribble. They don't have a lot of size, but they are really scrappy and like to get after you."

"They'll definitely be a tough team," he added. "We'll have to show up and be ready to play."

This year's Lady Rebel squad is quite similar to the Lady Bearcats from last year - several of their key contributors are freshman, and they flew under the radar on their way to the Class 4, District 2 championship.

"They're young, just like us. They have a freshman point guard, Mackenzie Jones, and she's really composed and really tough. You wouldn't think she was a freshman based on how she plays," Allen noted. "Sydney Skaggs, a 5'10" freshman, she's long and lean and very active. She's a great shooter, and both of them are good players. It's like our girls were last year - they improved so much over the course of the season, and that's what these girls have done."

"They lost four games early on, and really started improving as a team. A lot of that was getting those freshman experience, which is the same thing that happened to us last year," he continued. "They're getting experience, and it's definitely paying off."

The roles will be reversed in the sectional matchup from last season, when the Lady Bearcats took on a seasoned Farmington squad. This time, the Lady Bearcats are the seasoned veterans, while Park Hills enters the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.

"I think that helps. I always feel that getting experience in playoff games will help you the next year," Allen said. "For us, getting in that sectional game last year, it was a learning experience. Farmington put it on us, but they had a lot of experience and seniors on that team last year. Heading into sectional play this year, we've got that experience from last year, and hopefully it will help us get through this game."

Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. from Bob Sechrest Field House on the campus of Mineral Area College.

If you can't make it to the game, you can get quarterly score updates (cell phone signal permitting) on our Facebook or Twitter pages!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

HAYTI - The Bernie Mules kicked off the 2012 Class 2, District 1 tournament with a bang on Monday night, as they dismantled the Senath-Hornersville Lions in a 72-24 blowout.

The Mules buried three treys in the first quarter - two from Troy Kirkpatrick and one from Sam Turner - on their way to a 16-4 lead after the opening frame.

The second quarter saw the Lions put together their highest scoring effort of the game, but Bernie's tenacious defense held them to nine points. A nine point effort from David Baker capped off a 20 point second quarter to give Bernie a 36-13 lead at the half.

The Mules were hot-handed again in the third quarter, with treys from Kirkpatrick and B.J. Jennings. Baker put together a 10 point effort for a 58-18 Bernie advantage moving into the fourth.

Despite the running clock the Mules were still able to drop 14 points in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to threes from Kirkpatrick and Matt Vernon, on their way to the lopsided 72-24 final score.

Kody Wright led the Lions with six points in the contest.

Baker paced the Mules with 27 points; Kirkpatrick and Turner rounded out Mules in double figures with 18 and 11 respective points.

“It was a good start to the post-season," head coach Brad Botsch said. "I thought our guys came out and played very hard on the defensive end and had the right mindset from the get-go."

The Mules will advance to the semifinals, where they take on the Holcomb Hornets; it will be the third time this season the Mules and Hornets have met, and Bernie holds a 2-1 advantage on the season series.

"We now need two really solid practices to get ready for a very good and well-coached team in Holcomb, Botsch noted.”

The Mules and Hornets are set to meet in Class 2, District 1 Semifinal action on Thursday night at Hayti High School; tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Photo Above:
Head coach Brad Botsch addresses the Mules during a timeout in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. (SMT file photo by Andrew Cato)