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Portageville holds off Lady Tigers to reach Lady Royals Christmas Classic finals
BROSELEY — The Neelyville Lady Tigers were looking to get back into the championship game of the Lady Royal Christmas Classic for the first time since 2019, but the Portageville Bulldogs had other plans.
The Bulldogs made a fast start hold up as they took a 57-49 game over the Lady Tigers in Friday’s semifinal.
Neelyville was playing from behind for most of the game and couldn’t get over the hump.
“We gave the ball away too many times,” said Neelyville coach Becky Hale. “We knew they were athletic and we had to rebound and drive the lane and we didn’t do any of that.”
Parker Ernst led the Tiger offense with 17 points while Anna Lack had 13.
Meanwhile, Portageville was led by Taryn Irby, who dropped 19 points with four 3-point field goals to her credit, while Gloriaha Farmer had 11 points.
“We talked about controlling the tempo and I felt like we did a good job of that,” Portageville coach Kellye Fowler said. “We were able to get some steals that turned into easy buckets for us, but what was big for us was that we were able to contain their pressure.”
Neelyville tried to come out aggressive, but the Bulldogs were ready for it as they were able to play with the lead, only holding Neelyville to within a possession at most.
“We knew they were aggressive and cause some chaos,” Fowler said. “I felt like the girls did a good job of staying calm from the get-go.”
Despite the offensive output from the Bulldogs, Neelyville was able to keep pace and was only down by five points at halftime as Portageville went into the locker room up 29-24.
In the second half, the Bulldogs were able to hold Neelyville to only six points as Portageville went up 42-30 going into the final eight minutes.
Neelyville tried to make one last push in the fourth, but was unable to catch up as Portageville was able to salt away the game.
The Bulldogs will face another aggressive team Saturday night in Doniphan for the Lady Royal Christmas Classic championship.
“It’s going to be a lot of the same,” Fowler said. “We’ll have to be able to handle the ball and not turn it over. Doniphan plays real fast and we’ll have to guard because they’re able to shoot the ball really well.”
As for Neelyville, the Lady Tigers will face Poplar Bluff in the third-place game.
“We’re going to have to take care of the ball better (on Saturday) or else it won’t work out for us,” Hale said.
Saturday's third-place game will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
In the consolation bracket, Holcomb handled New Madrid County Central 52-40 and will face Malden for the consolation championship after the Green Wave defeated Greenville 47-44 on Friday.
In the fifth-place bracket, Kennett defeated East Carter 60-56 and Twin Rivers handled Dexter 54-39. The consolation final between Holcomb and Malden will begin the day at 3 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the fifth-place game between Twin Rivers and Kennett at 4:30 p.m.