Semoball

LADY ROYALS CLASSIC: NMCC cruises by Clearwater; Portageville struggles against Twin Rivers

New Madrid County Central's Tylei Wofford-Byrd attempts a layup during a girls' basketball game against Clearwater in the first round of the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic, at Twin Rivers High School, in Broseley, Mo. on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. (Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat)

BROSELEY, Mo. — Sometimes teams can struggle when they play in the first game of a tournament.

That was not the case for the No. 1-seeded New Madrid County Central girls’ basketball team, as they trounced No. 16 seed Clearwater, 63-5 in the first round of the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic on Saturday.

Committing to defense was the most crucial piece to the Lady Eagles’ puzzle. NMCC (6-2) forced 27 turnovers in the first half to lead 49-3 at the break.

Using a stingy press attack, the Lady Eagles made it challenging for the Lady Tigers to create any positive momentum.

After junior Tiffany Williams converted an and-one attempt to tie the game at three, NMCC proceeded to go on a 56-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter.

"We've been talking about starting better," NMCC head coach Toby Heeb said. "I thought, against Malden, we got on track, and that first-quarter started a little better. We knew going into this game would be one of these situations, but coming out and starting early, getting off to a good start right away, and mostly having a killer instinct is what we talked about a lot."

The run mercifully ended for Clearwater just under 10 seconds into the fourth, after Williams hit her second field goal of the game, making it 59-5.

NMCC had three players reach double-figures in the scorebook.

Senior Shakyra Wright led the team with 17 points, while senior Alivia Hartman had 16, and senior Ayannah Ruff pitched-in with 11.

The Lady Eagles take on the winner of No. 8 seed Naylor and No. 9 seed Kelly in the quarterfinals, on Monday, at 3 p.m.

Kelly is a Class 4, District 1 opponent for NMCC.

“It’s going to be a tough game regardless of who we play,” Heeb said. “We’ve matched up with Naylor two years in-a-row over here, and they’re always a tough matchup. There is some familiarity there; they know us and know what we’re bringing to the table.

“A lot of familiarity with Kelly. They know us well; we play in the regular season. So, regardless of who we got, we know it’s going to be a difficult game because they’re going to scout us well and have a good game plan.”

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NMCC292010463

CLEARWATER (5) — Tiffany Williams 5. FG 2, FT 1-3, F 8. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

NMCC (63) — Shakyra Wright 17, Alivia Hartman 16, Ayannah Ruff 11, Jalicia Johnson 6, Allisia Hester 5, Jimmya Caldwell-Newson 4, Tylei Wofford-Byrd 2. FG 27, FT 5-16, F 5. (3-pointers: Wright 2, Ruff, Hester. Fouled out: none)

Twin Rivers 57, Portageville 20

Twin Rivers Abbey Hester shoots the ball during a girls' basketball game against Portageville in the first round of the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic, at Twin Rivers High School, in Broseley, Mo. on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. (Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat)

BROSELEY, Mo. — Heading into the 2020-2021 season, Portageville head coach Kellye Fowler knew there would be struggles throughout the season.

Those struggles showed on Saturday against No. 2 seed Twin Rivers in the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic. The No. 15-seeded Bulldogs fell 57-20.

“Twin Rivers is battle-tested,” Fowler said. “They’re a good team, they work hard, and they put a lot of pressure, and we haven’t played anybody like that this year. You can’t apply that type of pressure in practice when you haven’t seen that kind of pressure, so I think it was a good learning experience for us, but we weren’t ready for it today.”

Twin Rivers' defense allowed eight points in the first half, as they took a 45-8 advantage into halftime.

"We knew they were a young team," Twin Rivers head coach David Crockett said. "We were trying to help ourselves. I felt like we didn't play as well defensively as we're capable of, even though they only scored eight points. I feel like we were still not in the passing lane; we weren't reading, and we were sitting on our heels early. I think we got better, but with an 11:15 game, it was a little different for everybody, and we had to readjust. Overall, I'm proud of my girls and came and did what we planned to do."

Senior Jalynn Williams led Twin Rivers with 17 points, while senior Abbey Hester had 16 and junior Brianna South 15.

Freshman Laney Stone and junior Akiyah Jordan led Portageville (1-4) with seven points each.

The Bulldogs take on the loser of Holcomb and Malden on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

"It's a Bootheel Conference matchup either way, so it's someone that we're going to see later in the year," Fowler said. "Both are stronger teams that are in our conference, and we're going to have to be ready to work, but I think it will be a better matchup.”

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PORTAGEVILLE (20) — Laney Stone 7, Akiyah Jordan 7, Addison Richie 2, Jayla Weddington 2, Lily Priggel 2. FG 9, FT 1-10, F 11. (3-pointers: Jordan. Fouled out: none)

TWIN RIVERS (57) — Jaylynn Williams 17, Abbey Hester 16, Brianna South 12, Hannah Bader 6, Taylor Watson 4, Brannaugh Priest 2. FG 22, FT 10-12, F 10. (3-pointers: Williams 3. Fouled out: none)

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