Breaking down the Lady Royals Christmas Classic

Saturday starts a week of hoops at Twin Rivers High School for the annual Lady Royals Christmas Classic. The action starts on Saturday with eight games on the schedule.

Admission is $5 each day.

The second round is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday with games at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both days. The semifinals are Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The LRCC will conclude on Dec. 23 with four games. The consolation championship is at 1 p.m., the seventh-place game is at 2:30 p.m. and the third-place game is at 4 p.m.

The tournament championship is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Twin Rivers High School.

Saturday’s Schedule

10 a.m. | No. 1 Doniphan vs 
No. 16 Senath

The Doniphan Donettes have made a habit of dismantling teams so far this season as they cruised through the Lady Dawg Classic at Van Buren and took down familiar foe Liberty in the final. The Donettes have skill at multiple positions, including freshman guard Carsyn Hagood and senior forward Kenzie Redus leading the way this season. Senath-Hornersville is 3-4 on the year with wins over South Pemiscot and East Prairie. The Lady Lions’ other win came in a forfeit against Caruthersville in the Al Jackson Classic.

11:15 a.m. | No. 8 Poplar Bluff vs 
No. 9 Greenville

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules are 1-7 so far this season under new head coach Soley Dugas but they’ll be looking to start the LRCC on the right foot when they take on Greenville in the first round. The Mules’ lone win this season came against New Madrid County Central in their opener of the SEMO Conference Tournament at NMCC. The Greenville Lady Bears are 4-4 on the year but winners of three of their last four with victories over Campbell, Bloomfield w/Richland and Van Buren.

12:30 p.m. | No. 4 Neelyville vs 
No. 13 Hayti

The Neelyville Lady Tigers are 3-2 on the year as they recently snapped a two-game skid with a dominant 79-11 win over Campbell. The Lady Tigers are also scheduled to take on Hayti in the first game of 2024 on Jan. 2 on the road. The Lady Indians are 3-4 on the year and have also have a victory over the Lady Camels on their resume. Hayti started the year 2-1 before falling to Portageville in the final of the Al Jackson Classic.

1:45 p.m. | No. 5 Portageville vs 
No. 12 Malden

The undefeated Portageville Lady Bulldogs come into the LRCC with a seven-game winning streak to star the season. Portageville already has three wins over teams in this year’s Classic. The Green Wave are also on a winning streak with Malden winning its last four games, including a victory over Charleston on Thursday.

3 p.m. | No. 2 East Carter vs 
No. 15 Naylor

The East Carter Lady Redbirds are one of a few teams coming into the LRCC undefeated as they’re 5-0 on the season with wins three-straight victories away from home, including wins at Liberty and South Iron. The Naylor Lady Eagles have already played 11 games this season after they took on Van Buren on Friday night. Naylor has wins over Puxico and Koshkonong.

4:15 p.m. | No. 7 Twin Rivers vs
No. 10 Piggott (Ark.)

The host of the action next week, the Twin Rivers Lady Royals, are winners of four-straight games as Michael Snider and company have just two blemishes on their record this season. The two losses of Twin Rivers (Bunker and Portageville) have a combined record of 10-2 on the year. Piggott is 3-5 on the year and coming off of a win over Armorel (Ark.) on Tuesday.

5:30 p.m. | No. 3 Kennett v s
No. 14 New Madrid County Central

The Kennett Lady Indians will have a rematch of a recent victory when they take on New Madrid County Central. Kennett beat NMCC 60-23 on Dec. 7. Kennett is coming off of a loss to top-seeded Doniphan on Thursday. The Lady Eagles will be looking for their first win on Saturday as they’re 0-8 on the year, including a loss to Saxony Lutheran on Thursday on the road.

6:45 p.m. | No. 6 Dexter vs 
No. 11 Holcomb

The Lady Bearcats will take on Holcomb after falling to Sikeston on Thursday as Dexter will look to bounce back against the Hornets. The Holcomb Lady Hornets are 4-3 on the year and winners of four of their last five after dropping their first two games to start the year. Dexter is 3-0 against Holcomb 
since 2020.