Semoball

Top-seeded Doniphan hopes to end drought; No. 2 Dexter seeks to add to LRCC record

Dexter's Kate Nichols (4) attempts a 3-pointer against New Madrid County Central on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter. Dexter received the No. 2 seed and Doniphan the top seed for the upcoming Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classic girls basketball tournament. (DEXTER STATESMAN/Kyle Smith)

DEXTER — The Doniphan Donettes hope to end a 15-year dry spell at the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classic.

The Dexter Bearcats hope to add to their trophy collection with a tournament-best 11th championship in the event’s 23-year history.

The tournament’s 16 coaches believe both will have an opportunity to achieve those goals, voting Doniphan the top seed and Dexter second for the tournament, which begins Saturday, Dec. 18 at Broseley.

“I kinda knew it would come down to us and Dexter,” Doniphan coach Adam Epps said. “Their record’s not as great right now, but they also play a lot tougher teams to start the year. They’re in that SEMO Conference Tournament, and we’re in the Lady Dawg.”

East Carter was seeded third, Naylor fourth, Neelyville fifth, Greenville sixth, New Madrid County Central seventh, Hayti eighth, Kennett ninth, Twin Rivers 10th, Charleston 11th, Kelly 12th, Holcomb 13th, Portageville 14th, Malden 15th and Chaffee 16th.

The Donettes (3-1) finished third in the Lady Dawg Classic at Van Buren, after losing to Mountain View Liberty in the semifinals.

The Bearcats (2-2) placed fourth in the SEMO Conference Tournament after beating Cape Central 51-47 in the first round.

Dexter coach Eric Sitze hopes playing in the SEMO Conference Tournament will help his team in the 16-team, double-elimination LRCC.

“Playing back-to-back nights, you’re always going to learn a lot about yourself,” Sitze said. “We’ve already played in a tournament this year. Hopefully, that SEMO Conference experience will help us a little bit in this tournament.”

The Bearcats are coming off a 67-17 rout of defending tournament champion NMCC.

“We’ve had a pretty good start to the season,” Sitze said. “We’ve got a lot of kids back from last year. Once that tournament starts, the seeds don’t matter. You’ve got to show up and play every night.”

The Donettes return four starters from last year’s team that finished 21-5 and placed third in the LRCC.

“We’ve got a good group,” Epps said. “We lost our point guard (Olivia Kreutz). That was kind of a big deal.”

Seniors Bailey Carson, Sydni Speck and Timber Turner return, but juniors Gracen Kirby and Alli Skaggs have been sidelined by injuries.

Juniors Brooke Klepzig and Makenna Monaghan and a pair of underclassmen will help fill the void.

“We’re still trying to figure each other out,” Epps said. “We’ve got some younger kids: a freshman (Madilyn Redus) who’s going to play a bunch (and) a sophomore big girl (6-1 Kenzie Redus) who’s going to play a bunch. They’re getting confident. We’ll throw them in the mix. We’ll see how they do.”

The Bearcats return leading scorer Dulcie Pullen, as well as fellow seniors Magi McBride and Avery Neely from a team that finished 9-15 a year ago. Junior Caitlin Giles is back. Sophomores Abbie Lloyd and Allison Turnbo and freshman Kate Nichols are seeing significant minutes.

“We finished fifth last year,” Sitze said. “The goal is to play four nights and try to get to that championship game and try to get that experience, playing those big games with big crowds and getting that big atmosphere. That’s a lot of fun for those kids.”

Here are the first-round matchups for Dec. 18:

No. 1 Doniphan vs. No. 16 Chaffee, 9 a.m.

No. 8 Hayti vs. No. 9 Kennett, 10:30 a.m.

No. 4 Naylor vs. No. 13 Holcomb, noon

No. 5 Neelyville vs. No. 12 Kelly, 1:30 p.m.

No. 2 Dexter vs. No. 15 Malden, 3 p.m.

No. 7 NMCC vs. No. 10 Twin Rivers, 4:30 p.m.

No. 3 East Carter vs. No. 14 Portageville, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Greenville vs. No. 11 Charleston, 7:30 p.m.

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