The West Prairie/Southeastern high school girls basketball team won its opening game before suffering a pair of losses in action from the 43rd Lady Tiger Classic that started Friday at Beardstown.
The Cyclones started play Friday evening, facing Staunton in battle of the Nos. 16 and 17 seeds.
WP/SE needed overtime before chalking up a 46-39 victory.
“That win showed me a lot about our team,” said WP/SE coach Grant Bland.
The contest was close throughout with the Cyclones leading 14-12 after the initial eight minutes and 25-20 at halftime.
The Bulldogs rallied in the third period, outscoring WP/SE 11-5 in taking a 31-30 advantage.
The two teams managed just a combined 13 points in the fourth frame, leaving the contest deadlocked at 37-37 forcing overtime.
In the extra session, WP/ SE outscored Staunton 9-2 in securing the victory.
Madelynn Sullivan topped WP/SE with 20 points, including six 3-pointers.
Kara Stephens finished with a double-double as she added 12 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Payton McGrew with seven points and Alivia Barkley with five points and four rebounds.
McGrew also finished with seven rebounds and four assists.
Josie Hodges rounded out the Cyclones scoring with two points.
Kaliana Buehler and Anna Machota topped Staunton (7-6) with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Cyclones returned to the court a short time later Friday to face topseeded and unbeaten Brown County.
After a slow start, the Hornets erupted for 24 points in the second period and never looked back in posting a 62-23 victory.
WP/SE trailed 7-3 after the opening stanza before the Hornets stung the Cyclones, outscoring them 24-12 in the second frame in building a 31-15 halftime lead.
Brown County upped their lead to 50-22 entering the final quarter.
Stephens topped WP/SE with 11 points.
Sullivan and McGrew added five points each, followed by Hodges and Addy Stanberry with one point apiece.
Kenzie Kassing and Hope Ingram paced Brown County (11-0) with 23 and 14 points respectively.
Kassing scored 12 of her points in the second period, while Ingram scored 11 of her in the middle periods.
Dropping into the consolation bracket, the Cyclones returned to action Saturday, facing Dwight.
The No. 9 seeded Trojans took an early lead and maintained the upper hand throughout in recording a 58-46 victory.
Dwight improved to 12-4 on the season, while West Prairie/Southeastern moved to 7-7.
“We really didn’t know about this team coming into it,” said Bland of Dwight. “We knew they had some shooters coming into it.”
The Trojans raced out to a 24-10 lead after the initial eight minutes as Mikayla Chambers scored 15 points.
The Cyclones cut into the deficit in the second frame, outscoring Dwight 18-13 in trailing 37-28 at halftime.
Chambers scored 10 of Dwight’s 13 points in the third quarter as the Trojans increased their lead to 50-36 entering the final period.
“At the beginning I just didn't know if we were ready for the physical battle that we were going to be in,” said Bland. “But we made the adjustments and hung with them throughout the game.”
“We got down big early,” he added. “But to crawl all the way back to a six-point deficit (in the second half), I was very proud of them. I was glad we stuck with it right to the very end.”
Sullivan topped WP/ SE with 19 points, while Stephens added 11 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones.
Barkley scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds, followed by McGrew with five points and Hodges with two.
WP/SE finished 7-of-18 from the free throw line. Chambers topped Dwight with 30 points. The Cyclones returned to action Monday, facing Pittsfield (2-12) in consolation play.
A victory would propel them into Tuesday’s final day against the winner of the game between Beardstown and Triopia/Meredosia-Chambersburg/Virginia.
“Being able to handle a little more physicality was nice to see,” said Bland. “Especially when (Dwight) was doing that to us in the fullcourt for most of the game.”
“At the same time, it showed us some things we need to work on too,” he added. “I’m really excited to see how we can progress from here moving forward.”
WP defense
