North Callaway's final games before Christmas break had a different feel on Thursday night at home. The Ladybirds gave up a nine-point lead halfway through the third quarter to lose to Hallsville 46-44 after Clara Quintana scored the go-ahead bucket with 14 seconds left and a last-minute 3-pointer was short. The Thunderbirds followed that with their second meeting with Class 4 No. 10 Hallsville and lost to the Indians for the second time 77-47 after allowing a 36-point first quarter that had eight 3-pointers.
The Ladybirds (6-4) held off Hallsville's advances when the margin was cut to about four points as they either found a 3-pointer or find a cut to the rim. Riley Blevins led with 16 points, six rebounds and three 3-pointers, Natalie Shryock had 13 points, four 3-pointers and two blocks, and Abrielle Burgher finished with eight points. Hallsville had most of its points come from the post in Quintana's 20 points and Emily Stockcamp's 12 points. The Lady Indians (4-5) outrebounded North Callaway 28-22 and had 13 offensive boards.
"They made more plays than us down the stretch," head coach Andrew Klein said. "They shot a high percentage from the field because they got good looks in the middle. We just didn't do a good job stopping the penetration."
The Thunderbirds (3-6) had another rough first quarter after allowing 22 points to Eastern Missouri Conference and district foe Montgomery County on Tuesday. The Indians (8-1) finished with 13 3-pointers and spread the perimeter scoring around to eight different players. Isiah Craighead led North Callaway with 18 points and a block, Sam Pezold had 16 points, five steals anf four 3-pointers, and Levi Drake had six points. Hallsville was led by Zach Jouret's 15 points and three 3-pointers, Isaac Stinson's 12 points and Cameron Cox's 10 points. Xavier Stinson had nine points but led the effort on the boards to help Hallsville outrebound North Callaway 31-12, putting the Indians offense in running mode for much of the game.
"We wanted to try to use a ball-control offense, but we took way too many quick, rushed, contested jumpshots," head coach Matt Miller said. "Against a team like that, it's as good as a turnover."
After each team has a break, the Ladybirds play at Sturgeon (5-4) at 4 p.m. Dec. 28 and the Thunderbirds play at South Callaway (4-4) at 8 p.m. Jan. 2.
Look for the full stories on the Mexico website tomorrow and in the Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
