Thursday Hoops: Valle holds off West County; Farmington rolls past Central

By MATT KING

mking@dailyjournalonline.com

STE. GENEVIEVE – Valle Catholic answered a strong first quarter by West County with a favorable second, and secured a 64-58 home victory in girls basketball action on Thursday evening.

Reece Weiler compiled 15 points and Adalyn Lipe added 13 to propel the Lady Warriors, who rallied for a 28-25 halftime lead and managed to hang on late.

Josie Berkerey, from co-op partner school St. Paul, provided 10 points for Valle Catholic (7-11). Mara Hoog and Hayden Vaeth tallied seven each.

Maylee Merrill continued her recent offensive tear for West County (11-8), quickly amassing 16 of her 29 total points within an opening 18-9 run. She was also 7-of-10 from the line.

Weiler, Lipe and Hoog each netted two field goals in the second period to spark the Lady Warriors.

The Lady Bulldogs used 15 points from Alyssa Ludwig and eight more from Olivia Turner.

Farmington 56, Central 26

FARMINGTON – Madison Clay scored a game-high 16 points, and Farmington kept its conference title hopes alive on Thursday night with a convincing 56-26 triumph over Central.

Trinidy Brawley also powered the Knights with 15 points while Lila Roth, Kate Jenkerson and Ella Scott chipped in six each.

Farmington (14-4, 3-1) allowed only three points during the third quarter to turn a 23-13 halftime edge into a 37-16 advantage, and carries the top seed for the MAAA Tournament next week.

The Knights can claim a share of the Large School title along North County and possibly Potosi by defeating Fredericktown in a Feb. 23 make-up game.

Karli Layton netted 11 points for Central (6-12, 0-4).

Bismarck 77, Jefferson 40

BISMARCK – Ashley Hawkins surpassed 1,000 career rebounds, and generated a game-high 26 points as the Bismarck girls rolled past visiting Jefferson 77-40 on Thursday.

Karlee Dickey steadily poured in 20 points for the Lady Indians, who expanded their 41-30 halftime lead by outscoring the Blue Jays 36-10 the rest of the way.

Grace Randazzo finished with 13 points, and Halie Dickey had 12. Bismarck (14-2) was in front 23-14 after eight minutes.

The fifth-seeded Lady Indians have won nine in a row, and will face Arcadia Valley in the first round of the MAAA Tournament on Monday at Mineral Area College.

Senior forward Halayna Loyd highlighted Jefferson (8-14) with 13 points. Olivia Lee added eight while sinking 6-of-6 free throws.

St. Pius 48, Arcadia Valley 39

FESTUS, Mo. – Arcadia Valley had reason to feel relieved when all-state guard Braelyn Turnbough returned to action shortly after limping to the bench in pain on Thursday night.

The Lady Tigers were not so fortunate, however, when the hustling pursuit of a loose basketball in the left corner resulted in a violent collision between sisters Lillie Adams and Annabelle Adams.

Teammates Callie Hinkle and Addison Gallaher eventually fouled out, leaving AV with two remaining starters, and St. Pius seized control in the fourth quarter to claim a 48-39 victory.

Career scoring leader Brooke Blankenship dominated the paint down the stretch, and netted 18 points with 15 rebounds and five blocks. Linley Gass tallied 10 points for the Lancers.

St. Pius (13-7) regained the lead to stay when Farmington transfer Kenzie Tucker made a putback late in the third quarter, and posted a 17-12 edge in the fourth.

Turnbough used her creativity to work around defenders, and also drained a 25-footer while amassing a game-high 19 points in defeat.

Hinkle and Gallaher each sank two 3-pointers, and Arcadia Valley (12-6) briefly moved in front 27-26 – despite being short-handed – on a subtle fake and layup by Turnbough.

A defensive first quarter concluded in a 7-7 tie, and St. Pius carried a 20-17 lead into intermission. The pivotal scary moment for AV occurred with 1:32 remaining until the break.

Lillie Adams walked slowly toward the sideline, dabbing some blood from her face, and remained in concussion protocol for the remainder of the game.

Annabelle Adams was helped to the bench, unable to put weight on her left ankle. AV is scheduled to open the MAAA Tournament against Bismarck on Monday.

Ste. Genevieve 54, Windsor 39

IMPERIAL, Mo. – Aleah Filer converted 9-of-12 free throws, and tallied 15 points as Ste. Genevieve seized a 54-39 road triumph over Windsor on Thursday.

The Dragons allowed a single field goal in the second quarter to lead 23-12 at halftime, then posted a decisive 21-9 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Emma Goodwin notched 11 points, and Vivian Haines finished with nine for Ste. Genevieve (6-12).

Haley Rose exploded for 17 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter, and helped Windsor (10-10) chip away to within 33-30.

Paige Lorella had seven points in defeat.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Valle Catholic 61, Central 46

PARK HILLS – Valle Catholic gained separation from Central in the fourth quarter, and picked up a 61-46 road victory after both clubs struggled from the perimeter on Thursday night.

Evan Viox compiled 15 points with six rebounds for the Warriors, who carried a 31-21 halftime lead and maintained a similar 37-27 margin after three periods.

Alex Staab and Brody Bertrand each ended with 12 points as Valle Catholic (10-8) earned its fifth straight win. Malachi Fallert chipped in nine points, and Phillip Naeger added eight.

The Warriors were unofficially 2-of-20 from long range compared to 2-of-11 by the Rebels.

Isaiah McLaughlin paced Central (2-16) with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Cooper Bess was back in the lineup, and netted nine of his 13 points in the final stanza.

St. Paul 73, Marquand 63

PATTON, Mo. – St. Paul completed its first Mississippi Valley Conference journey with a third-place finish on Thursday night.

Porter Urling exploded for 31 points, and the Giants avenged a lopsided December loss by defeating Marquand 73-63 in the rematch.

Caiden Canania provided 16 points, and St. Paul (6-15) landed four players in double figures as Aiden Morris and Shawn Luba notched 11 apiece.

The teams will play their regular-season conference game on Feb. 16.

Eminence 53, Bismarck 47

BISMARCK – Mason Foster scored 13 points within a balanced attack on Thursday night as Eminence emerged with a 53-47 road victory at Bismarck.

Jett Spurgin and Brendan Barnes dropped in 11 points each, and Logan Sullivan sank three 3-poiners for the Redwings.

Eminence (12-6) broke ahead 28-19 at halftime before Bismarck (9-12) rallied to within 39-37 entering the fourth quarter.

Austin Dunlap gave the Indians a game-high 19 points after connecting four times from long range.

Ean Bone contributed 13 points, and August Martinez added 10 more.

Miller Career 70, Ste. Genevieve 51

STE. GENEVIEVE – Rashad Butler poured in a game-high 18 points, and Miller Career defeated Ste. Genevieve 70-51 in a rare meeting between the programs on Thursday night.

Cam Nelson netted 13 points, Jayke Haynes added 11 and Marquise Molton ended with 10 as the visiting Phoenix landed four players in double figures.

Miller Career (12-9) surged to a 17-7 lead after one quarter, and outscored the Dragons 24-11 in the third to break open a 29-19 halftime contest.

Jeffrey Hunter posted 17 points, and Eli Bennett provided 15 to pace Ste. Genevieve (11-7).

Broden Kreitler had 11 for the Dragons, who possesses the No. 3 seed for the MAAA tournament and will face either North County or Bismarck in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday.

Steelville 74, Kingston 50

CADET – Malakai Bruno provided 21 points, and Steelville beat Kingston 74-50 following a dominant first half on Thursday night.

Hunter Starbeck finished with 17 points while Landon Rutledge and Blaze Alexander chipped in eight apiece for the Cardinals.

Steelville (9-11) established leads of 25-15 through one quarter and 41-20 at halftime.

Brady Thompson had 14 points to power Kingston (9-11), which faces Valle Catholic in the first round of the MAAA Tournament on Saturday.

Joey Hahn tallied nine points, Ashton Piel tossed in eight more, and Myles Maness contributed seven for the Cougars.