Lady Cats stand tall defensively to reach district finals

By MATT KING / Daily Journal Sports Writer

SIKESTON - The Fredericktown girls basketball team played one of its best games in an already outstanding season on Thursday night, and are now one victory away from a district championship.

Timely shooting and a dominant defensive performance produced a healthy second-half lead for the top-seeded Lady Cats, who then held on for a 55-48 triumph over No. 4 Notre Dame during Class 4, District 1 semifinal action in Sikeston.

The Lady Cats will face the No. 2 seed, Dexter for the district title tonight at 6 p.m. Dexter scratched out a physical 37-31 win over Perryville in the second semifinal played on Thursday.

Fredericktown (22-4) found success in transition during the early stages of the contest. Courtney Kemp raced to the basket for a layup before firing nice outlet passes to Amy Hendrix and Betsy Royer on two more fast breaks for an early 9-6 advantage.

Kemp went on to have a huge statistical first half, scoring 16 points with numerous steals and assists. She also turned a shooting foul into three made free throws with less than one second remaining in the first quarter after Meredith Medlin tied the game with a short jumper for the Lady Bulldogs.

Kemp combined with Hendrix at the defensive end to provide constant pressure to Notre Dame's ball-handlers all evening long, while Royer quickly established herself as a force in the paint, totaling a remarkable 11 blocks on the night.

“I thought our guard play was excellent, especially defending around the perimeter,” said Fredericktown coach Lonny Sheldon, “and Betsy (Royer) was an animal inside. The effort was there from everybody tonight.”

The Lady Cats overcame a few early turnovers with selective aggression, attacking the basket when the open lanes were available to build a seven-point lead before halftime.

Notre Dame (14-12) managed to keep pace for a while, thanks to a strong effort on the offensive boards. Claudia Brauss battled for a putback, and Medlin hit a second-chance layup to bring the Lady Bulldogs to within a single point late in the second quarter.

Fredericktown, which committed just two team fouls in the first half, would pick up another key steal and answer with a transition connection from Kemp to Hendrix just before the break for a 26-22 lead.

The opening exchange of the third quarter set the tone for a pullaway by the Lady Cats. After Royer made another emphatic rejection, Johnna Tinnin scored with a baseline drive. Sharp passing on the next Lady Cats possession resulted in a triple by Hendrix.

The gap increased to double digits on a Nicki Settlemoir jumper, and Kemp converted a three-point play to make it 40-27. Settlemoir sparked the Lady Cats off the bench with eight points, including another jumper that produced the largest lead of the game at 47-31 with 5:40 left.

Notre Dame surged back to make things interesting down the stretch, led by junior Kristain Burger, who notched 10 points in the final stanza. Burger scored with a well-earned putback, then dropped in a short follow jumper after missing the subsequent free throw with 1:47 remaining to reduce the difference to 52-44.

Fredericktown was hampered by a flurry of missed free throws in the waning moments of action, but Royer successfully sank a pair following a defensive stand to seal the win.

Kemp finished the night with 22 points, five steals and six assists, while Hendrix added 12 points for the Lady Cats. Burger posted 22 points with eight rebounds, and Medlin tallied 10 points for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame 11 11 7 19 - 48

Fredericktown 14 12 15 14 - 55

SCORING:

Notre Dame - Burger 22, Medlin 10, Buessink 6, Brauss 4, Toole 2, Schumer 2, Schlosser 2.

Fredericktown - Kemp 22, Hendrix 12, Settlemoir 8, Royer 7, Brown 4, Tinnin 2.

3-point FG - Kemp, Hendrix, Medlin, Buessink.