Lady Indians sent packing at Bootheel girls' tournament

SENATH, Mo. -- The Caruthersville Lady Tigers' Kyisha Ricks' 35 points nearly outscored the entire Kennett squad Monday night on their way to making a statement with an impressive 72-36 win over the Lady Indians in the opening round of the Bootheel Conference Tournament.

Kennett stumbled offensively out of the gate due in large part to a number of turnovers as it took the Lay Tribe until the 1:53 mark in the first quarter to get on the board. However in the opening period the Lady Indians' defense managed to keep them in striking distance as Caruthersville's Leola Hubbard hit a desperation long range 3-pointer to beat the buzzer, giving Caruthersville a 14-4 advantage going into the second quarter.

Both offenses picked up the pace in the second period as Kennett's Jessie Greenway knocked down a pair of jumpshots to give the Lady Tribe a spark.

However, the Lady Tigers shot lights out from the free-throw line, going 10-for-12 from the line in the first half. Rondreka Ricks also came up big for Caruthersville in the frame by tossing in all eight of her points on the night in the second quarter, helping Caruthersville on its way to a 35-17 halftime lead.

As play resumed, things got out of hand quickly for Kennett as Caruthersville's Kyisha Ricks put on one of the better offensive performances of the year as she dropped an astounding 18 third-quarter points. Another 3 from Hubbard as the quarter wound down gave the Lady Tigers a 60-25 lead going into the final quarter.

One big reason for the Lady Tribe's struggles was the absence of a freshman class that consists of several of their top varsity players due to Kennett coach Casey Bunting's decision to play her freshmen down for the junior varsity conference tournament, also taking place in Senath this week. The Lady Tribe is seeded second in the jayvee bracket.

"We kind of had to sacrifice this game tonight for the good of our program," said Bunting. "We are lucky to have several freshmen girls who make a big impact on our varsity team each night. We've decided to play them in the jayvee tournament, in hopes of a better showing at that level."

Ricks was joined in double digits by Hubbard with 12 points and Tierra Perry with 11.

Megan Walker led the Kennett offense with 10 points on the evening while Hope Sparks added eight.