Lady Rebels to play in own semi-finals

PARK HILLS — The Central Lady Rebels kept themselves on track to repeat as champions of the girls portion of the Bob Sechrest, Jr. Central Christmas Tournament as they advanced to the semi-finals with a 71-57 win over the Ste. Genevieve Hunters in their opening game on Thursday.

Freshman Megan Skaggs turned in a stellar performance to lead the Lady Rebels in scoring and rebounding with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Central had three players scoring in double figures with 15 points from Mackenzie Jones and 12 from Olivia Casey.

The Lady Rebels (6-2) started on a fast-scoring pace as they logged 23 points with eight players scoring in the first quarter to lead the game from start to finish. Briley Merritt scored all six of her points in the quarter, and Tristen Jordan and Jones both nailed  a three. 

The Hunters could not keep up despite three-pointers by Erin Martin and Morgan Grither. Martin would score four threes in the game to lead the Hunters in scoring with 18 points.

The Lady Rebels gained the services of their sophomore forward Sydney Skaggs who had been absent all of December due to injury.  She was able to score five points in the game and pull down six rebounds in her limited playing time.

The second quarter saw Megan Skaggs take over the offensive efforts for the Lady Rebels as she scored 10 of Central’s 17 points in the quarter. Tristen Jordan and Megan Skaggs both scored three baskets in the third quarter as Central continued to pull further ahead in each frame. The Lady Rebels had several extra chances to score as they pulled down 20 rebounds off of their own glass.

Central will face Fredericktown in a semi-final game on Saturday at  5:30 p.m., and Ste. Genevieve will play at 11:30 a.m. against Potosi in a fifth-place semi-final.

Ste. Genevieve  14 13 14 13 – 57

Central  23 17 19 12 – 71

SCORING:

Ste. Genevieve – Erin Martin 18, Morgan Grither 9, Paige Porter 8, Monica Inman 7, Katie Palmer 6, Paige Schmelzle 4, Regan Zerwig 4.  3-point FG – Martin 4, Grither. (FT: 10-17).

Central – Megan Skaggs 21, Mackenzie Jones 15, Olivia Casey 12, Tristen Jordan 9, Tia Jordan 6, Briley Merritt 6, Sydney Skaggs 5, Kate Sisk 2.  3-point FG – Jones, Tr. Jordan. (FT: 7-11).