Rachel Crader is the editor of semoball.com. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in May of 2009 before spending the summer covering the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Highlights from Rachel's days in college include having a class down the hall from Chase Daniel and having NCAA wrestling champion Ben Askren hold the door open for her at Brady Commons, Mizzou's student center. She spent time covering Mizzou basketball, softball and baseball while working for the Columbia Missourian and is excited to return home to Southeast Missouri to cover local sports for semoball.com.

Rachel has covered three Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournaments for the Southeast Missourian and semoball.com, and she'll see you courtside again this year.

Notre Dame and Sikeston set up district final

Posted Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 11:11 PM

While I don't think there is anyone who could claim to be surprised by Wednesday night's outcomes -- Notre Dame and Sikeston both easily defeated their semifinal opponents -- there is still a lot of excitement now that an all-Bulldogs rematch has officially been set for the Class 4, District 1 final.

The teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. I'll be there to Cover It Live for the 12 people who would rather stay home, the unfortunate people who live too far away to come and the people in the stands with smart phones. (Perhaps I'll be there for the people who can't make it into the gym as well. Does anyone see that happening?)

I'm happy that the game is being played on a neutral site since I think both teams have pretty significant home court advantages at their own gyms. I'm sure both teams will bring big crowds and expect a fantastic atmosphere. For those who have attended these games in the past, it's just another installment to look forward to, but it will be a first-time experience for me.

Sikeston's Will Holifield, who suffered a concussion in a loss to Scott County Central a few weeks ago, looked healthy in Wednesday's win over Dexter. Notre Dame's Luciano Starling was fighting a flu bug on Wednesday, but he'll have a day to get recover. I hope this means both teams will be a full strength on Friday night.

For what it's worth (and I'm not sure it's worth anything at all), Notre Dame was more impressive from start to finish on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs jumped in front of Perryville early and pretty much had their way with the Pirates, getting what they wanted offensively and forcing turnover after turnover.

Sikeston took a while to get going against host Dexter, but its pressure bothered the Bearcats more and more as the game wore on and the outcome was never in doubt in the second half.

Sikeston has been ranked ahead of Notre Dame in the state rankings the entire year despite the fact that Notre Dame won the team won the only regular-season matchup between the two schools. Here is the box from that Dec. 18 game, which was played at Notre Dame. That being said, Notre Dame was awarded the top seed in the district.

Notre Dame 66, Sikeston 61

Sikeston 9 19 11 22 61

Notre Dame 17 13 12 24 66

SIKESTON (61) -- JuQualin Wiggins 16, Will Holifield 15, Corey Porter 16, Darryl Howard 6, Eli Jackson 4, Janeil Hatchett 2, Niquavious Dixon 2. FG 19, FT 20-33, F 23. (3-pointers: Holifield 4. Fouled out: Jackson)

NOTRE DAME (66) -- Jacob Tolbert 19, Liam Maher 17, Matt Helle 13, Nick Koeppel 7, Alex Carroll 4, Luciano Starling 4, Dylan Essner 2. FG 19, FT 24-34, F 28. (3-pointers: Maher 3. Fouled out: Starling)

The consensus among Sikeston fans at the time was that Sikeston played it's worst game of the season (at least up to that point) against Notre Dame. I wasn't there, but I wouldn't doubt that theory held some truth. Some nights teams play bad. That being said, Notre Dame has a way of bringing out those nights in its opponents.

Not that any of that matters now. There will be no excuses Friday night, which is what makes this matchup in this game so awesome.

If you want to see a replay of tonight's live coverage go here: http://semoball.com/coveritlive

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IT'S ON!

-- Posted by NDstudent13 on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 10:41 PM

after seeing both teams play tonight... We have this locked down.

Go ND

-- Posted by nd_fan_4_life on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 10:56 PM

I'm not making a prediction for the championship game but if I were a Sikeston fan I might bring an entire rabbit with me to the game instead of a rabbit's foot. Hey Crader I wonder what MSHSAA would think about this? Is there anything in the guidelines that prohibits fans from bring rabbits to state playoff games? I might have to go by the pet store after class tomorrow and buy Bugs Bunny.

-- Posted by drawmules on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 10:57 PM

I'm guessing animals aren't allowed in the Bearcat Activity Center (that was the official name, right?), drawmules, but I'd be shocked if MSHSAA had any rules for this particular situation.

-- Posted by Rachel Crader on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:13 PM

Crader if I cannot take a rabbit to the Bearcat Activity Center can I keep a rabbit on my display picture for semoball?

-- Posted by drawmules on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:24 PM

Rachel Crader's response:
Absolutely.

I believe it's actually the Bearcat Event Center.

-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:34 PM

I think you're right, Farmboy. "Activity center" didn't sound quite right.

-- Posted by Rachel Crader on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:37 PM

Crader is Cape Central's center available for the Jackson game tommorow night? Is Cape Central going to keep this information a secret? I cannot wait to watch tommorow night's game.

-- Posted by drawmules on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:45 PM

I don't know the status of Jackson center Henrie Williams or Cape Central guard Kevin Casasola. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow night.

-- Posted by Rachel Crader on Wed, Feb 24, 2010, at 11:57 PM

ND-72

SIKE-58

-- Posted by DonaldTrump on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 7:44 AM

ND-72

SIKE-58

-- Posted by DonaldTrump on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 7:44 AM

Crader, why is a 41 point win over Perryville more impressive than a 25 point win over Dexter?

-- Posted by yah-yah on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:13 AM

Rachel Crader's response:
I don't think that a 41-point win over Perryville is more impressive than a 25-point win over Dexter. More importantly, I don't think that will matter Friday night. What I was saying was that I thought Notre Dame played better from start to finish in its game. But again, I don't really think that will matter Friday night.

I just looked at the game story and saw that ND was 8-16 (50%) from the free throw line. That's uncharacteristic of them. Sikeston was 7-11 (64%). Sikeston will need to shoot that well Friday night, if not better.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:22 AM

When was the last time a team OTHER than Sikeston or Notre Dame was involved in the championship for this district? Isn't this the fifth or sixth year in a row the two have met for the title?

-- Posted by Cully Bryant on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:25 AM

This is the 5th year in a row. Both teams have won 2 a piece. Sikeston in 06, ND in 07 & 08 and Sikeston in 09.

-- Posted by mandm96 on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:42 AM

I was wondering that myself yah yah. Dexter is vastly better than Perryville and Sikeston beat them by 25 on their home floor. Sikeston had a slow start but dominated from that point on. It doesn't matter, but I found that interesting.

-- Posted by semohoops on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:49 AM

No excuses here, but Dexter was without the services of its point guard and probably best ball handler and second leading scorer Brandon Stoker last night.

-- Posted by Dexter Native on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:53 AM

Even so, Dexter is still way better than Perryville.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 8:59 AM

yah-yah

I just posted the following on a different thread, but it goes along with your thoughts...

Interesting thought.....Sikeston now has beaten Dexter by 41, 31, and 25. Yet, many people on semoball thought Dexter had a chance to beat Sikeston...and rightfully so. As I have said many times...when you are dealing with 16, 17, and 18 year old boys you never know what can happen. Yet, ND beat Sikeston ONCE this year by 5 points, at home, and NO ONE thinks Sikeston can beat ND. Interesting.....

-- Posted by Rocket689 on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 9:18 AM

I think from some of the conversations i heard was that ND seemed to have been playing better as of late and Sikeston had struggled a bit. I think Dexter would have had to have a near perfect game and kept the turnovers at a minimum to win last night. That obviously did not happen. Perhaps Dexter will get some revenge on S-town tonight as the Lady Bearcats play the Lady bulldogs at 7:30.

-- Posted by Dexter Native on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 9:35 AM

Yeah, I think the only people that are giving Sikeston a fighting chance are Sikeston fans. I think Sikeston will pull it out IF they can shoot decent from inside 10 feet and IF they can shoot 65% or better from the free throw line.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 9:36 AM

Rocket,

Good point. Add to that ND's very good start in their first meeting, holding Sikeston to a 9 point first quarter. After the first, Sikeston outscored ND the rest of the way. I still think ND has the advantage, as I've posted numerous times before, but I can't imagine any sane person thinking this game will be a cake walk for either team.

-- Posted by Cully Bryant on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 9:37 AM

In the first meeting Sikeston had only a few practices with full squad under their belt b/c of football. Many of the players still had football legs. I am looking forward to a much better matchup this time. Should be a great game!!!

-- Posted by PBDC on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 10:21 AM

I'd say ND's victory would be considered more impressive because the game really was never in doubt. The Sikeston game, on the other hand, was an 8 point game at halftime, and Dexter was missing their starting point guard.

I was surprised that Dexter didn't seem to be bothered by the press too much last night. Sikeston turned up their intensity in their half-court defense in the 2nd half, which caused Dexter to have to rush some shots (2-12 in the third quarter), but I think Dexter actually had more turnovers in the first half. Most of the first half turnovers seemed to be Dexter trying too hard to force the ball inside to Flannigan in situations where he had NO chance of getting a hand on the ball.

-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 4:00 PM

Farm, do you think that Dexter is easily better than Perryville? If so, then Sikeston's win was equally as impressive.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Thu, Feb 25, 2010, at 4:43 PM

I'm starting to wonder if it matters...http://mosports.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=251&tid=131833752&mid=131833752&sid=946&style=2

-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 12:21 AM

I think, in order to knock off Borgia, you'll have to catch them on an off night. Also, St. Clair is horrible. They finished the year 8-18.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 7:54 AM

Here is my assessment of the game. First of all, rebounding is going to be key...it always is. However I think the big stat tonight is going to be not just how well these teams shoot free throws, but how many. Odds are ND will knock theirs down and Sikeston will have trouble with theirs. It has been that way all season for both teams so I really doubt it is going to change for this one game. However in this game I think what matters more than anything is HOW MANY each team shoots. Typically big district games like this, especially in SEMO, the officials let the kids play and don't call the games as tight. What happens is you don't see a whole lot of free throws from either team taken. Last years district title game saw a combined 11 free throws taken by both teams and in 2008 there was only 24. In Notre Dame's two biggest wins this year (SCC and Sikeston) they were able to get to the line several times (36 and 34 respectively) which allowed them not only to take the lead but maintain it to the end. They have proven all year long to be a team that gets to the line, maybe more so than any other team in the area. However in 3 of their losses this year they only had 17 attempts or less.

Another thing that getting to the line does is slow the game down to a methodical pace. Sikeston does a lot of their scoring in spurts, whether its off turnovers or just when they get into a rhythm. You keep Sikeston out of sync and force them to work in the half court they have problems. Thats a lot easier to do that when the game is stopping several times because of fouls and free throw attempts.

Because of all this I think the amount of times ND is able to get to the line will decide this game. Anything less than 20 and Sikeston wins. Anything more than 25 its likely that Notre Dame does. Flip a coin for anything in between. While my head knows ND is playing better right now, my gut tells me that the officials swallow their whistles and let the teams play. That happening favors Sikeston who I have a feeling is going to win this one. (Sorry Farmboy06)

However its just a game.....anything can happen. ND might not shoot a free throw all game and still win by 20....but I wouldnt bet on it.

-- Posted by Crash Davis on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 1:08 PM

Sikeston should be the favorite as they have pretty well dominated every opponent throughout the season (excluding SCC). Also have been ranked top 5 state all year and along with that comes high expectations. Sikeston by 10-15.

-- Posted by indian73 on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 2:19 PM

Beating a weak schedule and being state-ranked...always a good indicator of a winner.

-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 3:33 PM

Sikeston won handily over Poplar Bluff, Charleston, NMCC(2x),Kennett and Bernie some of the toughest comp we have here in semo. Give them some credit. I agree being state ranked sometimes carries little weight(ask Kennett) but Sikeston has a solid team that knows how to win. I'm by no means counting ND out....the ball bounces funny ways and they could very well win the game.

-- Posted by indian73 on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 5:01 PM

Who won the game????? Sikeston!

-- Posted by Jeff on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 9:14 PM

Beating a weak schedule and being state-ranked...always a good indicator of a winner.

FarmBoy06...We have beaten alot of good teams in southeast missouri..Now we are the CHAMPS..our rankings hold..and to all of the people ssaying scott county is that much better than us is unreal..if Will wouldve played the whole game i think the outcome wouldve been different..any team can win on any given night..but we only have 3 losses..we are superior in SEMO..Congrats to ND on the season

-- Posted by respectthegame on Fri, Feb 26, 2010, at 10:12 PM

That was in response to a trash-talking Sikeston fan. I never made a prediction on the game. How many losses you have on the season means nothing in districts or beyond. Good luck to the Bulldogs from here on out, the road won't be an easy one by any means.

-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Sat, Feb 27, 2010, at 12:41 AM

This aint WHAT YOU WANT!!!

WHAT????

-- Posted by kingjames on Sat, Feb 27, 2010, at 1:18 AM

sikeston didnt beat cape central!!!

-- Posted by dukefan30 on Sat, Feb 27, 2010, at 8:44 AM

Cape didn't beat Jackson!!! Nice try though, dukefan30. Stay classy.

-- Posted by yah-yah on Sat, Feb 27, 2010, at 9:13 AM

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