Both Raiders and Lady Tigers win fifth by five

By DONN ADAMSON/Daily Journal Sports Editor

PARK HILLS - The fifth-place games were played Saturday afternoon and both games were decided by five points. The Arcadia Valley Lady Tigers made 10 three-pointers and were able to hang in there for a 67-62 victory over the North County Lady Raiders, and the North County Raiders made a fourth-quarter comeback to overtake the Fredericktown Blackcats, 53-48.

GIRLS

The Lady Tigers were unable to hold down North County's Brittany Hedgcorth in the first quarter, allowing the senior to score four baskets, but freshman Cassie Wallker bettered Hedgcorth with three twos and a three. Five more points by Brandi Bennett gave the Lady Tigers a 16-12 first quarter lead.

Fouls played a big part in the second quarter with 21 free throws being shot in the eight minutes. The Lady Raiders pulled to within two points of the Lady Tigers , partly due to a three-pointer by Ashley AuBuchon, but in the third quarter, the Lady Tigers went wild from beyond the arc.

Arcadia Valley made six three-pointers in the quarter with Bennett scoring half of them. North County countered with Hedgcorth scoring eight from the field and two from the line, and Carissa Wood was 4-4 at the line with six points in the quarter. The Lady Tigers jumped out to an 11-point lead

The Lady Tigers were able to stay aheadby making 9-11 free throws and by a three, Bennett's sixth three-pointer. North County kept it close with two threes by Jennelle Eddings, and the Lady Raiders drew to within two points in the final seconds of play. Missed free throws by Arcadia Valley gave the Lady Raiders a last gasp of air, but a missed shot had the rebound go out-of-bounds in favor of the Lady Raiders.

The Lady Tigers made a free throw and Dorcas Williams rebounded the second for a putback to end the game.

Arcadia Valley, 11-11, will play next at Central on Monday, and North County, 9-13, will host Festus on Monday.

Arcadia Valley 16 13 24 14 - 67

North County 12 15 15 20 - 62

SCORING:

Arcadia Valley - B Bennett 24, K Walker 22, T Franklin 15, D Williams 4, M Reichert 2.

3-Pointers - B Bennett 6, K Walker 3, T Franklin 1.

North County - B Hedgcorth 24, C Wood 9, J Eddings 8, A AuBuchon 7, K Pilliard 4, B Kirkpatrick 4, A Hinch 3, H Motley 2, A Poston 1.

3-Pointers - J Eddings 2, A AuBuchon 1.

BOYS

The Fredericktown Blackcats made a third-quarter surge to gain a five-point lead that they maintained halfway through the fourth quarter, but North County's depth on the bench began to take its toll and the Raiders pulled ahead to stay for a 53-48 win.

Kevin Foster made five threes in the game to keep the Blackcats close to the Raiders, and D.J. Hinkle scored seven of the Blackcats' 16 points in the third quarter.

North County made the best of their free-throw shooting making scoring 21 of their 53 points from the line with their leading scorers, Kyle Hawkins (7-8) and Derrick Padgett (6-8) scoring 13 of their 24 points on free throws. The Raiders were 10-12 in the fourth quarter.

North County, 13-10, will play next on Tuesday at Festus, and Fredericktown, 7-15, will host St. Vincent on Monday.

Fredericktown 9 13 16 10 - 48

North County 11 12 10 20 - 53

SCORING:

Fredericktown - K Foster 17, D Hinkle 15, M Francis 7, J Clauser 5, J Williams 2, E Skaggs 2.

3-Pointers - K Foster 5, M Francis 1.

North County - K Hawkins 12, D Padgett 12, R Blankenship 11, C Peterson 7, C Moss 5, K Hathman 4, A Blunt 2.

3-Pointers - K Hawkins 1, C Moss 1.