Puxico shakes slow start at Stoddard County tourney

By DAR STAFF

Puxico overcame a slow start Monday night to beat Richland 55-45 in the Stoddard County Tournament.

"They got off to a 6-0 start and we started pressing and we established ourselves," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "I felt like it turned the game around."

Puxico's Matt Allison was the high-scorer on the night with 16 points while John Smith added 15 and David Crain finished with 13.

"(Matt) Allison did a good job recognizing defensive switches and getting us into our offense," Dowdy said.

Puxico got a win after coming off a loss to rival Bernie on Friday night. The Indians could face Bernie again in the semifinals Thursday if the Mules can beat third-seeded Advance tonight.

"We came out with much more intensity and it is nice to get a win under our belt against a quality team," Dowdy said.

In the other first-round game, Bell City beat Woodland 87-57 and will face the winner of Bloomfield and Dexter.

Zalma 64, Naylor 59

The Eagles took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter before their defense wore down in the fourth quarter and Zalma came out on top.

"We stayed ahead most of the game," Naylor coach Glen Eubanks said. "Zalma just made some plays."

Naylor's Travis Thomas led all scorers with 34 points.

While Naylor has been shooting free throws well this season, making around 70 percent of its attempts, the Eagles struggled at the line Monday, connecting on 13-of-21 attempts.

Zalma's Colton Bailey led all scorers with 25 points.

"We had trouble guarding," Eubanks said.

GIRLS

Van Buren 48, Mountain View Liberty 40

The Lady Bulldogs overcame early shooting woes to pull out a win in the fourth quarter on Monday.

Van Buren made 14-of-20 free throws in the game, with a majority of them coming in the fourth quarter.

"We struggled to make shots early," Van Buren coach Don Mabry said.

Britney Peterson led Van Buren with 13 points, making 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Whitney VanWinkle added 12 while Taylor Grant contributed 10 for Van Buren.

Greenville 76, East Carter 22

The Lady Bears got out to a big lead early and frustrated the Lady Redbirds with their defensive pressure for a road win Monday night.

"They pressed us and we had trouble with it," said East Carter coach Kacie Bradshaw.

Sara Woodgeard led all scorers with 21 points for Greenville, which took a 24-1 lead after the first quarter and led 44-9 at halftime.

Laura Nance led East Carter with six points, while Kristina Tipton added five for the shorthanded Lady Redbirds had to use the same five players for a majority of the game.

Notre Dame 69, Doniphan 48

The Donettes hung around for most of the first half before the Lady Bulldogs overpowered them for the win.

"They got hot from the 3-point line in the second half," Doniphan coach Jimbo Blackwell said. "We didn't do as well defensively in the second half."

Notre Dame's Emily Brumitt led all scorers with 23 points, including six 3-pointers and Paige Schumer added 20 points for Notre Dame (13-5).

Chelsea Swindle scored 11 points for the Donettes (10-5), who trailed by seven at the break before being outscored 21-11 in the fourth quarter.

SWIMMING

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules placed fourth Monday night in Cape Girardeau.

Notre Dame scored 202 points, Jackson had 149.5, St. Vincent High School had 104 and the Lady Mules finished with 84.5 points in the night.

"The girls swam pretty fast," Poplar Bluff coach Beth Lewis said. "It is hard to be competitive with only eight girls."

Poplar Bluff's Lauren Decker finished second in the 100-backstroke with a time of 1:15.71. Decker also placed third in the 500-freestyle with a time of 6:45.28, passing her old personal best of 6:47.77.

Kayla Huett placed third in the 100-freestyle for the Lady Mules with a time of 1:10.96, breaking her personal best of 1:11.43.

In the 400-freestyle relay, the team of Decker, Huett, Hannah Crites and Jordan Widman finished in fourth place with a time of 5:00.17, breaking their previous best time of 5:02.84. Crites also earned a fourth place finish of her own in the 100-breastsroke with a time of 1:31.45. In the 200-individual medley, Crites placed fifth and broke her personal best time of 2:58.78 with a time of 2:57.57.