Twin Rivers hands Lady Tribe first loss

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Jerica Wheeler (5) puts up a shot as Twin Rivers defenders Christa Dillinger (right) and Tori Cole (second from left) guard her while Kennett's Caroline Shetley awaits the rebound during Monday's Lady Royals Christmas Classic quarterfinal at Broseley. [Click to enlarge]

"This game allowed us to look at what we need to improve upon," Kennett coach Casey Bunting said. "A few easy baskets here and there -- and better set-up in our offense -- and we may have a different game."

The Twin Rivers Lady Royals made sure that didn't happen, forcing 23 turnovers and getting five 3-pointers from Chelsea Crain to upset the second-seeded Lady Tribe in the quarterfinals of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic here Monday night.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Veronica Amos (center) is pursued by Twin Rivers defenders during Monday's Lady Royals Christmas Classic quarterfinal. [Click to enlarge]

The Lady Royals focused especially hard on Kennett's guards Monday, including standout point guard Jerica Wheeler.

"We wanted to make sure (Jerica) gave it up and didn't get it back ..." Twin Rivers coach Kelly Null said. "(We wanted to) force it out of their hands."

Twin Rivers (6-3) never trailed Monday night, taking the lead for good when Kelsey Snider's trey snapped an 8-all tie with 1:34 left in the opening period.

However, it was Crain that did the most damage downtown, draining a 3 early in the second quarter to put her team up 18-9, then draining three more in the third period to turn a six-point lead into a 12-point lead (49-37) with 2:08 remaining in the quarter.

"Obviously hitting three 3s in a row is a lift on the scoreboard, but it was also a momentum lifter," said Null. "She's just like a little bundle of energy. She's so tiny but she never gives up and she never quits. ... It fired all the other girls up when she did so well. They were about to jump out of their skin just wanting to get to her and give her a (high five)."

While the Lady Tribe had rallied from halftime deficits to win its last two games, Twin Rivers made sure it didn't happen Monday night after taking a 30-23 lead at the half.

"It was a little bit comfy but I know how we are," Null said. "I know we can relax and I knew that Kennett wasn't going to quit ... Seven (points) is not cushy at all. We wanted to continue to run what we were running but make a few adjustments."

Kennett (8-1) did not give up, cutting the Lady Royals' lead to four points twice in the fourth quarter -- the last time when Brittney Williams' bucket made it a 55-51 game with 4:16 to go -- but could get no closer.

"They were overloading us at the bottom, but we kind of made a little tweaking to our defense towards the end," said Null, "and it helped to keep the ball out of the middle."

Crain and Stephanie Jennings led Twin Rivers with 15 points apiece, while Snider added 14 and Mallory Douglas finished with 10.

Kennett got a game-high 19 points from Veronica Amos, while Wheeler chipped in 12 and the duo of Williams and Alexandra Brown finished with 10.

The Lady Tribe faces Charleston in an elimination game this evening at 5 p.m., with the winner playing for fifth place on Wednesday.

"Charleston is a fast paced, very athletic team," said Bunting. "The game against Charleston will give us a glimpse of some of the competition in the district tournament."

Said Brown: "We've got to step it up. We got tired at the end. They kept pushing and we didn't give up, but we didn't play our best."

In Saturday's first-round contest, Kennett rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a 53-50 win over No. 15 Sikeston.

One of the keys in the Lady Indians' win was their defense on Asia Liggons and Keyonna Blissett, holding the duo to just nine points in the second half after they combined for 22 in the opening two periods.

Wheeler led the way with 20 points, while Amos finished with 10.

Lady Lions advance in consolation play
The Senath-Hornersville Lady Lions bounced back from a tough loss in Saturday's first-round contest with a monster game from Seleena Neal to take a 59-30 win over Clearwater and advance into today's consolation semifinal against Doniphan.

The Lady Lions (4-5) got 33 points from Neal and outscored Clearwater 46-18 over the final three periods to win going away.

McKenzie Harris added nine points for Senath-Hornersville, who will play either Greenville or Malden on Wednesday with a victory over Doniphan.