District Roundup: Lady Indians land first-round upset

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bismarck 57, St. Vincent 54

BISMARCK – Junior forward Brilee Henson scored a varsity best 28 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as Bismarck sprang a first-round upset on its home court Saturday afternoon.

Alyssa Sago finished with 15 points, and the sixth-seeded Lady Indians connected seven times from long range to take down St. Vincent 57-54 in the Class 2, District 3 tournament.

Bismarck (6-17) won the second quarter 21-9 to surge ahead 30-24 at halftime, and will face conference rival Valley in Tuesday’s semifinal round.

Savannah Tate drained a key 3-pointer in the final stanza and chipped in eight points. Bismarck held on after its lead dwindled to two in the closing seconds.

Jackie Verseman tallied 20 points for St. Vincent (13-12).

Valley 64, Meadow Heights 21

BISMARCK – Hefty offensive output from two sophomore guards helped propel No. 2 seed Valley to a leisurely 64-21 triumph over Meadow Heights in Class 2, District 3.

Lexie Black netted 26 points and went 7-of-9 from the line, and the Lady Vikings advanced to tangle with tournament host Bismarck in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Madison Lucas converted 6-of-6 free throws amid 20 points as Valley (16-8) bolted to a 40-13 halftime advantage and held the Panthers to six points in the second half.

Sammantha Miles scored 10 points and Hope Dietiker added nine for Meadow Heights (1-22).

Ellington 49, Valle Catholic 31

BISMARCK – Raquel Couthren scored 22 points and fifth-seeded Ellington controlled the second half to surge past Valle Catholic 49-31 in Class 2, District 3.

Grace Stroup tallied nine points and Kara Loyd had eight for the Whippets (9-15), who hopes to repeat a regular season triumph against Viburnum in a semifinal rematch on Tuesday.

Valle Catholic (6-20) unofficially shot 22 percent from the field and could not overcome 20 turnovers, but still tied the game at 25-25 on a basket by Kaydi Heil early in the third quarter.

Ellington answered with an 11-2 run and pulled away.

Sydni Basler paced the Lady Warriors with 11 points and Taylor Siebert notched nine.

Viburnum 52, Kingston 17

BISMARCK – Senior Emily Parker was dominant inside with 26 points, and top seed Viburnum eliminated Kingston 52-17 in the Class 2, District 3 tournament.

Kinsley Payne had 10 points and Alexis Payne chipped in nine for the Blue Jays (13-11), who advanced to face Ellington in the semifinal round.

Viburnum claimed a narrow 15-10 lead through one quarter, but limited Kingston (1-22) to seven points over the next 24 minutes.

Taylor Wallace paced the Lady Cougars with seven points.

Arcadia Valley 80, East Prairie 25

SCOTT CITY, Mo. – Arcadia Valley shot a blistering 56 percent from the field and smashed East Prairie 80-25 in the Class 3, District 2 opening round.

Briar Johnson tallied 19 points and five steals as the second-seeded Lady Tigers (17-9) advanced to face Woodland in Monday’s semifinal round.

Arcadia Valley, which surged ahead 28-6 after one quarter and enjoyed a 45-15 lead, got 10 points each from Jerrika Brockes, Megan Williams and Makayla Moise.

Kinsey Phelps and Jaesa Brockes chipped in eight points apiece, and Rebecca Buffington had six assists. AV was a modest 11-of-24 from the line.

West County 80, Hancock 29

FESTUS, Mo. – Courtney Callahan and Cheyenne Young each recorded double-double efforts, and West County dismantled Hancock along the glass for an 80-29 rout in Class 3, District 3.

The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs (19-7) surrendered just one field goal over the first 13 minutes, and will face Grandview in the semifinals on Monday.

Carson McKee shared game-high honors with 19 points for West County, which eased to a substantial 42-12 lead at intermission.

Callahan totaled 19 points with 11 rebounds while Young compiled 11 points plus 14 boards. Allee Drennen added eight points and Alyssa Roever had seven.

April Turner tallied 15 points and Lillian Vaught netted 10 for Hancock (4-19).

Central 83, Bayless 22

FESTUS, Mo. – Jessica Shockley scored 15 points and reigning state champion Central rested its starters throughout the second half of an 83-22 rout of Bayless in the Class 3, District 3 tournament.

The Lady Rebels (25-1) blitzed their opponents for a 38-0 lead as the first quarter concluded, and coaxed 32 turnovers while moving into the semifinal round to face Herculaneum on Monday.

Olivia Casey scored the game’s first 11 points after connecting three times from beyond the arc, and had 14 points while junior Peyton Bradley added 12 on four triples.

Central shot 53 percent in the first half to lead 57-6 at intermission. Freshman Kimmy Wallen chipped in nine points and Callie Thurston netted eight plus a game-high 10 rebounds.

Mariah Smith scored 10 points and Asia Cunningham totaled eight for Bayless (4-23).

BOYS BASKETBALL

West County 75, Hancock 70

FESTUS, MO. – West County survived an upset bid from much-improved Hancock, and reached the Class 3, District 3 boys semifinal round with a narrow 75-70 victory.

Parker Forshee and Jacob Meinershagen each scored 20 points after combining for no baskets over the first 12 minutes of action, and the third-seeded Bulldogs sank 31-of-40 free throws.

Roger Vance carried the early offensive burden and compiled 17 points with eight rebounds for West County (18-9), which draws St. Pius next on Tuesday night.

Four players fouled out in the fourth quarter for Hancock (11-13), which lost to West County by more than 50 points in last year’s tournament matchup.

Sophomore Jeremiah Turner netted a game-high 26 points, and put the Tigers ahead 63-62 at the line with 2:50 remaining.

Jared Jones responded with a driving layup, and Meinershagen added two free throws on the next West County trip, but Ta’Shaun Davis banked in a tying 3-pointer for Hancock with 1:56 to play.

Meinershagen extended a 71-70 edge at the line, and Forshee sealed the win on a transition layup after the Bulldogs made a defensive stop.

Turner created the game’s largest spread at 24-12 from long range, and restored a 29-20 Hancock lead on a driving scoop in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs opened the third period on an 11-0 run to lead 42-36. Vance increased the margin to 49-42 with his second putback of the quarter.

Davis had 14 points and Jreice Harrington contributed 12 for the Tigers.

Central 75, Bayless 38

FESTUS, Mo. – Brandon Wagner scored 17 points, Jake Bridges tallied 15 and top seed Central romped past Bayless in first-round action at the Class 3, District 3 tournament.

Holden Mayberry added 12 points off the bench and Tyler Stewart ended with 10 for the Rebels (25-2), who advanced to play Grandview in the first semifinal game on Tuesday.

Wagner and Bridges combined for four 3-pointers during an 18-7 start. Central pushed the margin to 30-15 when Wagner drained his fourth triple, and made 14-of-18 free throws as a team.

Bayless (3-23) trailed 43-19 at halftime and received 16 points and nine rebounds from senior Dionte McDonald, including a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter.

Senior forward Drew Harlow supplied 15 rebounds plus seven points, and his putback sparked a 9-0 Central run out of the intermission.

Charleston 77, Arcadia Valley 41

SCOTT CITY, Mo. – Demarcus Sharp scored 25 points and top seed Charleston shot 51 percent to dump Arcadia Valley 77-41 in the Class 3, District 2 tournament.

Charleston (18-9) made 17-of-20 free throws and led 48-27 at halftime. Mardareyon Clark added 15 points while Dontarius Sharp tallied 11 points and six assists.

Arcadia Valley ended its season with an 8-17 record.

Brilee Henson scored 28 points as Bismarck toppled higher-seeded St. Vincent in Class 2, District 3 tournament action on Saturday.