Blevins near triple-double leads Ladybirds to 64-50 win at Wellsville

The North Callaway girls had several girls filling the state sheet on Monday in Wellsville.

Namely, Riley Blevins was one assist away from a triple-double to lead the Ladybirds to a 64-50 win at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wellsville-Middletown. Blevins had a stat line of a game-high 21 points, and a team-high 12 rebounds, nine assists, five 3-pointers and four steals.

Following Blevins’ efforts were Lakyn Hartley and her 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Natalie Shryock and her double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Keigan Hall led Wellsville (9-7, 1-2 EMO) with 12 points, and Hallie Guzy had 11 points.

Both teams started hot as North Callaway (13-7, 4-2 EMO) only had a six-point lead after one quarter despite scoring 25 points in the first quarter. Blevins hit four of her 3-pointers in that quarter and then the Ladybirds widened the gap with a 13-7 second quarter.

North Callaway plays at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Fayette (13-4).

Thunderbirds’ roster gains more experience in 72-34 win at Wellsville

Points were coming from everybody on the North Callaway boys’ roster on Monday in Wellsville.

The Thunderbirds scored their most points in over a month by defeating Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wellsville-Middletown 72-34, only falling short of the output of an 82-57 victory on Dec. 16. 

Levi Drake and Clayton Moore led North Callaway (5-14, 3-2 EMO) in scoring for the first time after each finished with 16 points, and season leading scorer Sam Pezold followed with 15 points and seven steals. Moore added eight rebounds to his night. Dalton Brewer scored his first five points of the season, and John Brown scored his first ever varsity bucket on a steal and score.

Cooper Henderson led Wellsville (2-12, 0-4 EMO) with 16 points, but the Tigers couldn’t keep up with North Callaway after a 21-9 first quarter in favor of the Thunderbirds.

North Callaway plays at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fayette (2-12).

Ladybirds’ team free-throw effort defeat Silex 66-59 in OT, wins Bowling Green fifth place

It took a team on Friday night with the game on the line.

The North Callaway girls earned fifth place in the Bowling Green tournament with a 66-59 overtime victory over Eastern Missouri Conference foe Silex after shooting 19-for-24 on free throws. The Ladybirds had five players each hit two free throws in the overtime period to edge the Lady Owls, who were 3-for-13 at the line.

Abrielle Burgher, Natalie Shryock, Lakyn Hartley, Riley Blevins and Kymorie Myers each drained two free throws to help North Callaway (12-7) outscore Silex 15-8 in overtime after Silex came back from a 26-21 deficit at halftime. 

Burgher finished with a game-high 22 points and led the team with five steals and four 3-pointers, hitting 50 percent from the perimeter. Shryock also shot 50 percent from the perimeter, finishing with 16 points and four 3-pointers. Hartley had 12 points, and Riley Blevins had nine points, a team-high 11 rebounds and five assists, and four steals. 

North Callaway finished with nine 3-pointers, but Silex (6-10) was close behind with eight from deep. The Lady Owls hit seven of those 3-pointers after the first half, including four in the fourth quarter, with some banking in off the glass. Maddie Isom led Silex with 14 points and two 3-pointers, and Abagail Mooney followed with 13 points.

Thunderbirds overtaken in fourth to lose 49-40 to Elsberry for Bowling Green consolation

The North Callaway boys couldn’t close out a nice cap to the week on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds lost 49-40 to Eastern Missouri Conference foe Elsberry in the Bowling Green tournament fifth-place game. North Callaway (4-14) led until the fourth quarter, when they were outscored 25-12.

Ben Dowell scored all 10 of points in the fourth quarter for Elsberry (8-11), going 7-for-8 at the free-throw line with a 3-pointers, and Nolan Wilson had 16 points for the Indians.

Isiah Craighead led North Callaway with 13 points and five rebounds, Sam Pezold had eight points, three assists and three steals, and Austin Brown had four steals and two 3-pointers.