First State Community Bank Holiday Classic Day 1

Cape Central's Emani Summers makes a pass during the Tigers' 51-44 win over Oak Ridge in the First State Community Bank Holiday Classic on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Clay Herrell ~ cherrell@semoball.com

The opening day of the First State Community Bank Holiday Classic featured four contests that began at 11 am on Saturday at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Cape Central 51, Oak Ridge 44

The Cape Central Tigers opened the tournament with a 51-44 win over the Oak Ridge Blue Jays.

For much of the first-half it was a back-and-forth affair as despite leading for the majority of the half, Cape Central could never gain separation.

“I think we’re just really young,” Cape Central coach Aaron Lee said. “At the varsity level when you’re playing five freshman you’re going to have those ups and downs.”

The Tigers led 12-9 after the first quarter and despite a 6-2 burst to open the second from Oak Ridge to keep the game close, the Tigers still entered halftime with a 24-23 lead.

Out of the locker room at halftime the Tigers appeared to be a completely different team.

They ramped up the pressure defensively and on top of that, Emani Summers took over offensively by getting to the rim at ease.

“We decided to make them put it on the deck,” Lee said. “When you make teams handle it they tend to play a little bit differently. What we have to do is sustain that same level of energy.”

Summers poured in 13 of her 27 points in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 42-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We need Emani to actually be more selfish,” Lee said. “She tends to try and be a really good distributor as well and we need her to be more selfish off the dribble.”

Cape Central would use the third-quarter momentum to cruise to the finish line.

Following up Summers’ big night was Jamie Dawson-Ide with 12-points. Also contributing with Abby Davenport with 6-points.

Oak Ridge was led by Reagan Howe who had 24-points in the loss for the Blue Jays.

Oak Ridge (6-4) moves into the consolation bracket and will take on Cairo at 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18, at the Show Me Center.

Cape Central (4-3) advances to the quarterfinals where the Tigers will take on No. 1 seeded Delta at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Kelly 87, Cairo 51

The Kelly Hawks cruised in their opening round matchup with Cairo as they downed the Pilots 87-51 on Saturday.

It didn’t take long for the Hawks to get going as they out scored Cairo 25-10 in the first quarter to take control.

“It sets the tone for us,” Hawks coach Matthew Blissett said. “I really want to set the tone defensively and that’s one of the things I’m trying to get the girls to understand so we can create some offense from that.”

It appeared as if Kelly was going to run away with the contest but the Hawks were out scored 11-2 to begin the second quarter to cut the lead to six.

The Hawks responded to the early run by going on a run of their own as they proceeded to out score the Pilots 20-3 to enter halftime with a 47-24 lead.

“I think I might have put some subs in,” Blissett said. “I put in Macy and Gwen at the two guard spots and they created a big spark for us.”

Kelly’s 23-point halftime lead quickly ballooned to 30 early in the third quarter as the Hawks kept their foot on the gas to lead 73-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Hawks’ relentless attack to the rim led to the Pilots having multiple players foul out and they were forced to play 5 on 4 for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

Leading the Kelly attack on offense was Jada-Lynn Griggs and Brooke Dirnberger who both posted 16-point outings in the win.

Also contributing for the Hawks was Kayleigh Holman with 12 points, Gwendolyn Essner with 11 and Kristin Grogan with 10 points.

Kelly (6-1) advances to the quarterfinals where the Hawks will battle No. 4 seeded St. Vincent at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Scott City 64 , Scott County Central 43

Game three of the afternoon featured the Scott City Rams and the Scott County Central Bravettes.

It was the Rams walking away victorious as they downed the Bravettes 64-43 on Saturday.

Early on the two teams traded blows as Scott City opened the game on a 10-2 run before the Bravettes responded with a 16-4 run to close the quarter to lead 18-14 after the first quarter.

It didn’t take the Rams long to settle in during the second quarter though as they got rolling again offensively to lead 33-28 entering the locker room at halftime.

Much of the third quarter saw both teams struggling to take control as the Rams expanded their lead to as many as 10 halfway through the frame.

Scott City’s lead would sit at 9 heading into the fourth quarter as the Rams led 45-36.

The 9-point lead would be more than enough for the Rams as they hung on to beat the Bravettes.

Offensively, Scott City was led by Mackenzie Lawless who had 20 points in the win.

Also contributing was Lilyan Landis with 13 points, Gracie Karrenbrock with 11 points and Logan Schiwitz with 10 points.

On the opposite end, the Bravettes were led in scoring by Alysa Adams who had 15 points in the loss.

Scott County Central (4-5) moves to the consolation bracket where the Bravettes will battle Meadow Heights at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18, at the Show Me Center.

Scott City (7-3) advances to the quarterfinals where the Rams will take on Jackson at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Woodland 44 , Meadow Heights 30

After a tightly contested first half the Woodland Cardinals prevailed over the Meadow Heights Panthers on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Cardinals trailed the Panthers 20-19 entering the locker room at halftime.

The turning point however was the third quarter where the Cardinals won the quarter 13-4 to gain control of the contest.

Woodland would hang on to the 32-24 lead it entered the fourth win to win by 14.

The Cardinals were led by Addyson Massa who poured in 16 points in the win.

Mallary Barks also contributed 15 points while Rhodie Long put in 9 points.

On the opposing end, Meadow Heights was led by Rachel Hellebusch who posted a 13-point outing despite the loss.

Meadow Heights (3-4) will take on Scott County Central in the consolation bracket at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18, at the Show Me Center.

Woodland (7-2) advances to the quarterfinals where the Cardinals will battle the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Saxony Lutheran High School.