LRC: Top seeds roll, stay unbeaten

BROSELEY -- The 12th annual Lady Royals Holiday Classic is set up for an interesting week.

Five of the eight quarterfinalists are still unbeaten with 5-0 Kelly facing 6-0 Charleston in the quarterfinal round Monday. Top-seeded Dexter, second-seeded Portageville and Naylor also advanced with wins Saturday to stay perfect.

Even the tournament Cinderella, 13th-seeded Clearwater, only has one loss after knocking off Neelyville, the fourth seed.

"This tournament is anybody's tournament," Greenville coach Diane Meyer said.

The Lady Bears advanced with a 51-33 win Saturday over host Twin Rivers.

Top seeds rolled Saturday with Dexter, Kelly, Naylor and Charleston winning by an average of 39 points before Portageville finished the night with a 56-24 victory against Sikeston.

The Lady Bears (5-3) led 10-5 after one quarter then pulled away in the second by crashing the offensive glass. The Lady Bears scored nine second-chance points during a 14-7 run to end the first half.

"That's one of our strengths," Meyer said of rebounding. "I think we passed the ball really well (and) we took the right shots."

Tara Porter scored 22 points to lead Greenville while Andrea Becker added 12 and Kaylin Becker scored 10.

Chelsea Crain scored 14 points to lead Twin Rivers (3-4).

"Every win gives us a little more confidence," Meyer said. "Hopefully we'll be playing better towards the end of the tournament, that's when it counts anyway."

The final game Monday night will be a rematch of last season's MSHSAA Class 3 sectional playoff in which Greenville won 67-60.

This time the Lady Bears are the underdog as the seventh seed.

"This next game is going to be a big one for us," Meyer said.

Midway through the afternoon, just before the Kelly-Malden game, Twin Rivers honored former coach Jeff Walk with a jersey that read '356' for the number of wins by the Lady Royals during his 20-year career.

Dexter 74, East Carter 20

Four Lady Bearcats reached double figures in scoring in the tournament opener Saturday.

Katelyn Heil scored 18 points to lead Dexter (8-0) while Jill Temples added 15. Ashlee Taylor scored 13, Cathryn Heil added 10 and Abbie Warren scored eight.

Tiffany Baker scored eight points for East Carter.

The Lady Bearcats opened the tournament with a 21-7 first quarter and led 44-11 at halftime.

Kennett 44, Doniphan 39

The Lady Indians stormed back in the third quarter and held off the Donettes in the matchup between the eighth and ninth seeds Saturday.

Doniphan led 22-15 at halftime but trailed by one at the start of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Alexandra Brown scored all five of her points in the final frame and Kennett hit 4-of-9 free throws while Doniphan missed a pair of one-and-one opportunities.

Jerica Wheeler scored 12 points to lead Kennett (4-2).

Kadie Civils led Doniphan (2-2) with 16 points while Erin Pennington added 10.

Naylor 62, Senath 38

Cheyenne Ragsdale scored 24 points to lead the Lady Eagles into the quarterfinals Saturday.

The 5-8 senior scored eight points in the second quarter as Naylor (4-0) turned a five-point, first-quarter lead into a 33-24 advantage at the half.

Moriah Goodrum hit a pair of third-quarter 3s and finished with nine points for Naylor.

Kelly 68, Malden 28

Debra Hall scored 23 points as the Lady Hawks cruised into the quarterfinals Saturday.

Londyn Backfisch added nine of her 11 points in the first half as Kelly (5-0) built a 39-13 lead by halftime.

Jennifer Miller scored seven points to lead Malden, which scored just five second-quarter points.

Charleston 57, New Madrid 19

A power outage in the second quarter slowed the Lady Jays only briefly.

Jerquawnda Sherrell scored 10 of her 21 points in the second quarter for Charleston, which turned a one-point deficit into a 24-13 halftime lead.

The power went out with 4:51 left in the half but quickly returned, delaying the game for 15 minutes.