Twin Rivers

BROSELEY — A slow and steady game plan helps the Doniphan Donettes pick up an impressive win on the road. After trailing in the first couple of innings, the Donettes exploded with a rampage of hits to get a dominant 17-5 win on Thursday over the Twin Rivers Lady Royals...

Four of the top female basketball players at Twin Rivers High School are currently immersed in the Royals’ softball season, however, for three of those athletes, the basketball off-season can’t drift too far out of their minds. Twin Rivers has made a habit over the past decade-plus of not just competing for MSHSAA District basketball championships, but winning them.

Winter sports have come to an end in Southeast Missouri and for many of the schools in the area, successful seasons. New Madrid County Central won the Class 3 State Championship and the Notre Dame girls and Jackson boys each captured fourth in the state in Class 5 and 6, respectively...

PORTAGEVILLE – There was no shortage of senior standouts, who competed in the highly-competitive 2023 MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 girl’s basketball tournament recently, but for the fans who are skeptical as to what the future holds for these teams, they need not worry.

PORTAGEVILLE – After losing by 18 points (51-33) in last year’s MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 championship game to Twin Rivers, the Portageville girl’s basketball program set their sights on the Royals for the past 365 days.

PORTAGEVILLE – Over a four-year stretch from 2018 to 2021, the Portageville High School girl’s basketball team won a total of 36 games and zero MSHSAA District championships.

The adage that experience is valuable is a common refrain for a reason: Because it’s true.

PARK HILLS, Missouri — The Park Hills Central Rebels and the Poplar Bluff Mules combined to score 177 points Thursday night. Unfortunately for the visiting Mules, they came out on the short end of a 96-81 decision at the hand of one of the best teams in Class 4...

NAYLOR — Home was very sweet for the Naylor Lady Eagles Tuesday night. Facing sixth-seeded Southland in the first round of the Class 1 District 1 Tournament, the third-seeded Lady Eagles topped the Lady Rebels 69-33. Third-seeded Naylor was led by Harley Sullivan with a game-high 34 points and Chloe Mitchell with 21 points...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Caruthersville used its superior athleticism to defeat Twin Rivers in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School on Monday, Feb. 20. Isaiah Rodgers finished with a game-high 34 points for the second-seeded Tigers (15-4) in a 73-56 win...

VAN BUREN — The fourth-seeded Van Buren Bulldogs defeated fifth-seeded Cabool 44-32 in a thrilling matchup in the first round of the Class 2 District 2 Tournament Monday night. “We were excited to get on the court and grind it out.” said Van Buren’s Benjamin Hawkins. “The team was the reason we won. We kept each other up and we’re at a point in our season where we finally found our chemistry.”...

Tipping off Monday, the newest edition of the state high school basketball postseason will begin with the boys taking center stage.  A number of area teams will begin their quest in first-round contests while a small group has been awarded byes into the semifinals with only two wins needed to advance to their respective sweet 16s. ...

BONNE TERRE, Missouri — The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules got a big game from Madelyn Eads and pulled away in the second half for a 52-35 win over the North County Lady Raiders Friday night. Poplar Bluff (11-13) led just 19-18 at halftime, but extended its lead to 34-28 after three quarters. However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Lady Mules, who outscored host North County 18-7 to come away with the win...

ELLSINORE — Kasen McCarty and Hunter Croy each scored 15 points and teammate Micah Thompson added 14 as the East Carter Redbirds defeated Eminence Redwings 62-58 here Tuesday night. The game was neck-and-neck throughout, but East Carter's strong offensive efforts gave them the edge they needed to come out on top...

GREENVILLE — The Clearwater Tigers boys basketball team were involved in the two best games of the Ozark Foothills Conference tournament as they first pulled off an opening round upset of No. 3 Neelyville last Saturday. Fast forward to Thursday’s third-place game against the No. 4 Twin Rivers Royals and the No. 6 Tigers waged another memorable contest — but this time Clearwater didn’t have enough to make it two-for-two...

GREENVILLE — It ultimately came down to one team making its shots and the other not being so lucky. The top-seeded and state-ranked Greenville Bears found themselves in a battle with No. 4 seed Twin Rivers Tuesday night in an Ozark Foothills Conference tournament semifinal before they flexed their muscles and high IQ shooting prowess...

The weather did whatever it could to disrupt things in the region and other parts of the country, but it couldn’t put a dent in the Ozark Foothills Conference’s plans. The newest edition of the conference basketball tournament will go on as planned as of Wednesday as both seven boys and the same number of girls programs will once again vie for bragging rights in Southeast Missouri...

BROSELEY — Homecoming meant a little more to Twin Rivers Friday night if only for the big reason of trying to leverage the Royals into a better seed for the upcoming Ozark Foothills Conference tournament. Of course, visiting East Carter also had designs of bigger and better as the two OFC rivals went toe-to-toe for four riveting quarters in front of a packed house...

BROSELEY — The Doniphan Donettes know what’s at stake this year and in their search for girls basketball state hardware, they are aware of one key ingredient in reaching that goal: Consistency. Regardless of who they play, Doniphan knows that good, bad, or great or poor the opponent must be vanquished and how it plays out must see the team play at a high level...

BROSELEY, Mo. — After trailing 25-21 through three quarters, East Prairie’s offense exploded for 36 points in the final quarter. The Eagles (13-5) completed the dramatic comeback to win 57-43 at Twin Rivers (9-10) on Tuesday, Jan. 23. “We struggled offensively for three quarters,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. ...

By SETH WEEKS Contributing Writer ELLSINORE — The East Carter Lady Redbirds had three players score in double figures as they rolled past Ozark Foothills Conference rival Twin Rivers 74-24 Monday night. Brooklyn Kearbey led East Carter with 19 points, while Breanna Dohleman followed behind with 16 and Parker Golden finished with 13...

NEELYVILLE — it may have been a little brisk weather-wise in Southeast Missouri Friday night, but it was a cauldron of rising temperatures inside Neelyville High School. Amidst some hot tempers and hotter momentum swings, it was the host who had the biggest momentum at the most pivotal times to fight off a feisty challenge by visiting Twin Rivers in a 69-56 win...

KENNETT – The Kennett Lady Indians basketball program (13-5) experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat at home Thursday night after facing off against two different teams in one night. Kennett's junior varsity team took a shellacking from Jackson, falling 54-25, while the varsity squad stood strong against the Twin Rivers Lady Royals (8-9) to win 36-28, picking up the varsity team’s tenth-straight win along the way...

JACKSON, Mo. — The Jackson Indians held the Poplar Bluff Mules scoreless from the field in the opening period to build up a big early lead on the way to a 67-47 win Tuesday night in SEMO Conference action. Jackson led 14-1 after the opening period, but the Mules (6-8) cut it to 28-20 by halftime. However, Poplar Bluff could get no closer the rest of the way and Jackson outscored the Mules 39-27 after halftime...

*Note – this poll was based on action finalized on Wednesday. We return for week two of the new Power 8 poll – a ranking based on pure performance and not what classification, sport or gender. Feedback will always be welcome and can be directed to sports@darnews.com...

NEELYVILLE — The Neelyville Tigers defeated the Clearwater Tigers 93-69 at home Tuesday night in an Ozark Foothills Conference contest. Preston Goodnight led Neelyville’s scoring with 21 points, with Casen Stephens putting in 17 points in the victory...

DONIPHAN — The Doniphan Dons defeated the Twin Rivers Royals 56-43 in a home game Friday night in which tough defense and offensive patience turned out to be the difference. In a matchup of two teams each dynamic scorers on each side, the game promised to be a close, back-and-forth struggle from the outset, and the contest played according to script — except when it came to scoring...

KNIGHTSTOWN, Indiana — Kaylee King scored a game-high 39 points to lead the Ellington Lady Whippets past the Twin Rivers Lady Royals in the gymnasium made famous by the 1987 movie “Hoosiers.” It was the second 39-point performance by King, who also scored 39 to lead Ellington to a win at East Carter on Tuesday...

There is a lot of the fictional Hickory High School from the famed movie “Hoosiers” in Ellington High School, while there is a tad bit, but much less so, in the bigger Twin Rivers High School. However, today, there will be a lot of the Royals and Whippets gaining exposure to the Huskers, who (sort of) once won the iconic one-class boy’s basketball state championship in Indiana...

DEXTER – The trajectory of the Twin Rivers High School girl’s basketball program this winter is following the same path as it has for several seasons in its recent history.

DEXTER – As the clock ticked down in the final seconds of Dexter’s convincing 57-35 girl’s basketball victory over Twin Rivers on Tuesday at the Bearcat Event Center, fourth-year Dexter coach Eric Sitze sat alongside assistant coach Jamie Rowe and was very animated with his gestures regarding his team’s offensive execution.

DONIPHAN — Max Owen and Emmitt Jones combined for 46 points and the Doniphan Dons opened the new year with an 80-61 win over Mountain View Liberty Tuesday. Owen (24 points) and Emmitt Jones (22) led the Dons to victory. Doniphan was down in the first quarter, but came back and took the lead from Liberty...

It was two laborious weeks of high school basketball, one each on the boys and girls sides, and I am only speaking from a reporter’s perspective, so I can only imagine the work it took for people at Twin Rivers, Bloomfield and Poplar Bluff high schools to host events that brought in plenty of teams and spectators...

As the sports world put the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic behind it in 2022, several teams and individuals in this area rose to the top in their respective sports. From history-making achievements on the hardwood to first-in-school-history performances on the diamond, this year proved itself to be a memorable one for local sports fans...

BLOOMFIELD — The Dexter Bearcats survived a last-second 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim to defeat the Malden Green Wave 55-53 in the first semifinal game of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Thursday. The Bearcats will play for the tournament championship at 8:30 p.m. Friday against Doniphan, who defeated Kennett in the late semifinal. Malden will play Kennett for third place at 7 p.m. Friday...

BLOOMFIELD — The Dexter Bearcats showed East Prairie why they are the top seed in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament in their quarterfinal matchup Wednesday. The Bearcats scored 14 out of 15 points to close the first half on the way to a 59-23 win over the ninth-seeded Eagles in the the tournament's first quarterfinal of the day...

BLOOMFIELD — Big meals and NFL football took up plenty of the Christmas holiday for numerous people over the holiday weekend — and it’s likely the Doniphan Dons basketball team had many, if not all, enjoy themselves. So, a sluggish start as the No. 3 seed in this week’s 66th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament would be understandable and predictable...

Thick. That would be a good word to describe just how vast the talents go in this year’s boys Bloomfield Christmas basketball tournament that tips off Tuesday morning. When a team enters the field as a No. 12 seed with a 6-2 record, that is arguably the best word to illustrate what this year’s field promises...

It’s impossible to leave behind the Lady Royals Christmas Classic without stating the obvious: Twin Rivers High School is a class act. The lengths and efforts the members of the athletic department went to put on another showcase event to highlight the excellence girls basketball can bring to our sports universe were as top-notch as it gets...

By ALAN DALE Sports Editor Ask anyone in Broseley who is a girls basketball fan about Twin Rivers senior Hannah Bader and the opinion is unanimous: That girl could play. For Bader, who has spent her final prep season trying to do what she can for the Lady Royals in her final chapter on their court, having fought back to play following a catastrophic knee injury that wiped out her 2021-22 season, she’d say the same thing...

After losing three straight games, the Notre Dame Bulldogs broke out of their funk with a 63-38 win on the road against Scott City on Tuesday. Both teams utilized the three-point line in the first quarter. The Rams made three 3-pointers but the Bulldogs made four from the arch to go on an 18-13 lead. Kolton Johnson scored six of his 11 points in the opening period on a pair of 3-pointers...

BROSELEY — It was a good evening to be one of the top four seeds at the Lady Royals Christmas Classic. The top four seeds — Doniphan, Dexter, East Carter and Neelyville, respectively — all won their quarterfinal matchups by more than 20 points on average, with the closest game being a 59-43 win by No. 3 East Carter over 11th-seeded Holcomb...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A 17-point second quarter paced the Notre Dame Bulldogs in a 46-30 win over the Poplar Bluff Mules on Thursday night at Notre Dame Regional High School. Both teams struggled offensively to begin the game with Notre Dame leading 8-3 after one quarter of play...

The Lady Royals Christmas Classic will be a lot of people’s jam next week. That’s because the 16-team event is kind of a big dealio and that’s why some of the better programs in Southeast Missouri partake in a tournament that might be the best thing these young women see that replicates the intensity and workload of a March postseason...

CLARKTON — The East Carter Redbirds outlasted Risco 71-68 in overtime in the first round of the Clarkton Christmas Tournament Monday. East Carter outscored Risco 12-9 in the extra session. The Redbirds leading scorers, Kasen McCarty (23 points) and Micah Thompson (20), accounted for nine of East Carter’s 12 overtime points...

ELLSINORE — The East Carter Lady Redbirds improved to 4-0 on the season as they defeated the visiting Mountain View-Liberty Lady Eagles 73-64 Thursday night. “This was a physical game for us, but we're continuing to show our mental toughness and it's paying off,” East Carter coach Angela Rodgers said. ...

NEW MADRID — The Dexter Lady Bearcats used superb free throw shooting, high-pressure defense and were able to capitalize on second-chance opportunities during a 76-34 win at New Madrid County Central on Monday. “Our energy was good,” said Dexter coach Eric Sitze. “But I’d like to see us move our feet a little bit better and keep the basketball out of the paint. We got a lot of girls involved offensively tonight, so that was good for us.”...

PIEDMONT — The East Carter Lady Redbirds jumped out to a 22-point lead after the opening period and never looked back as they rolled to a 73-22 win over the Clearwater Lady Tigers Thursday night. East Carter (2-0) led 28-6 after the first quarter and extended its lead to 48-16 by halftime. The Lady Redbirds led 66-20 by the start of the fourth quarter...

Oak Ridge (3-1) won three quarters at home on Tuesday night to get past Puxico (0-3) with a 40-31 win. Sophomore Reagan Howe led the Bluejays with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the win, both team highs. Oak Ridge is next in action at home against Grandview at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday...

This week's Holcomb Invitational Tournament is proving to be not just many players' first venture into varsity basketball, but it's also a test that will shed a glimpse into what the season might look like come February. Monday night brought about four games that all finished within a ten point margin and the tournament could be anyone's to claim...