WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Class 4/District 8
Basketball Semifinals
at Moberly Area Community College
Mexico girls 62, Kirksville 42
Mexico boys 61, Hannibal 55
Both MHS teams play Moberly
for first place Friday, girls at 6 p.m.
and boys at 7:30 p.m.
Winners advance to next Wed.
sectionals in Jeff City
Now that the preliminaries are over, the stage is set for what should be two pretty good district championship games.
Top seed Moberly and runner-up Mexico will play not once but twice Friday night at Moberly Area Community College in the Class 4/District 8 finals to decide who advances to the March 3 basketball sectionals at Jefferson City.
Mexico and Moberly boys and girls both lived up to their higher seedings Wednesday night in the semifinals of the six-team, all-NCMC district field.
The Lady Bulldogs beat Kirksville for the third time in four meetings by a 62-42 margin, while the Bulldogs followed with a 61-55 triumph over Hannibal, giving them a 2-1 edge in that season series.
State-ranked at No. 10 in both polls, Moberly posted a 49-27 decision over Boonville girls and a 51-34 victory over Kirksville boys.
The Spartans stand at 17-8 and the Bulldogs at 18-8, the Lady Spartans at 22-3 and the Lady Bulldogs 18-7. The girls title will be decided starting at 6 p.m. and the boys beginning at 7:30.
Mexico girls last won district in 2006 and boys in 2003. Highlights from their most recent action follow below in the order of when games were played.
MEXICO GIRLS: The Lady Bulldogs scored their game’s first nine points before a turnover-prone Kirksville squad, playing without injured standout Jackie Bishop, called time. Mexico led 13-6, 33-19 and 48-32 at the quarters in extending their latest winning streak to four games.
The only downside for Mexico was Sherrell Cooks leaving the floor late in the opening period with a knee injury which was to be examined today.
“We’re pleased with the win. We felt pretty much in control and turned a lot of their turnovers into points,” MHS coach Ed Costley said. “We got a good effort from everybody and I thought we adjusted well with Sherrell out; without her, we don’t have a lot of size.”
The Lady Bulldogs placed three players in double figures, starting with Danielle Ingrum’s game-high 21 points. She connected on six points in the first quarter and converted eight of 10 foul shots by game’s end to go with four steals.
Kelsey Creed and Erika Miller provided strong support with 10P each, Creed hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and Miller leading Mexico on the boards with 5R plus 3A.
Rounding out the significant stats for the Lady Bulldogs were Brooke Costley 8P/3A, Erin Slay 6P, Delaney McNeil 5P and Anne Baker 2P. Mexico shot 48 percent from the field, hit 14 of 19 free throws overall and made only a dozen turnovers.
Regarding a rematch with Moberly, Costley was not surprised. Mexico is 0-2 against the Lady Spartans this year.
“Both teams are deserving of playing in the finals. You could kind of see it working out that way from the start of the season,” he said. ‘It could be a game of runs and how each team responds to them.”
MEXICO BOYS: Ahead 18-13 after one period and 26-24 after two, the Bulldogs played an even better second half to hold off Hannibal and get back on the winning track.
“We played a pretty good all-around game,” MHS coach Brennan Scanlon said. “We knew it probably would be close like our other games with them.”
After failing to score in the first half, Dillon Shoemaker delivered down the stretch with seven points in the fourth quarter; Austin Reed put in 6P and Ta’Juan Williams 5P in the final period for clutch support.
Mexico made good on 11 free throws over the closing eight minutes and outpointed Hannibal 17-9 in that department overall.
Reed paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 19P, going 9-for-11 at the line. Williams added 13P, Shoemaker 9P and Regan Mudd 8P. Completing the scoring were Colby Willer 4P, Tyus Williams 3P, Kurt Loyd 3P and Sam Kelly 2P. Ta’Juan Williams pulled down 8R, while Kelly handed out 5A. Mexico is 1-1 against Moberly this season.
“We’re going to give it our best shot,” Scanlon said about a rematch with the Spartans and all-stater Brennen Hughes, back in action after a recent suspension. “We’re healthy, we’re playing well again and we have nothing to lose. We’re going to give it our best shot.”
