Steelville stops Lady Vikings with 22-0 run

By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

CALEDONIA — Steelville rattled off 22 unanswered points over a span of 11 minutes, and qualified for the consolation final of the Valley girls basketball tournament by ousting the host squad 51-25 on Wednesday night.

Freshman guard Emi Santhuff scored 17 points and Liv Santhuff tallied 14 for the Lady Cardinals (1-1), who forced 22 turnovers in the victory. Liv Santhuff sparked the decisive run with a pair of three-pointers.

Valley (0-2) led on three occasions during a first quarter that ended in a 10-10 tie. But the momentum swung entirely to the Steelville side after Lady Vikings junior Jessica Crocker picked up her third foul.

Crocker carried the Valley offense with a game-high 23 points, and also collected eight rebounds with four steals. Steelville limited the remaining Lady Vikings to just one field goal and led 22-12 at halftime.

Steelville  10  12  14  15 - 51

Valley  10   2   5   8 - 25

SCORING:

Steelville - E Santhuff 17, L Santhuff 14, Hammonds 6, Martin 4, Callahan 4, Woods 2, Keeven 2, Mabe 2. 3-point FG - L Santhuff 3, Santhuff, Hammonds.

Valley - Crocker 23, Johnston 2. 3-point FG - Crocker.

Bunker 39, Kingston 33

CALEDONIA — Junior Danielle Swiney posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday, and eighth-seeded Bunker rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Kingston 39-33 at Valley.

Bunker (1-1) converted 15-of-25 free throws and closed the contest with an 18-3 scoring run as three Kingston players fouled out. The Lady Eagles will meet Steelville today in the tournament fifth-place game.

A putback by Erin Knott put Bunker ahead to stay with 2:11 remaining, and Mataya Stacy scored with a steal on the ensuing possession. Kingston (0-2) missed its final seven shots from the field.

Lindsay Govero netted 14 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and grabbed eight rebounds for the Lady Cougars. Her baseline jumper gave Kingston a 30-21 as the third quarter expired.

Emilee Dicus added six points with blocked four shots, and Becky Brown tallied 10 boards in the loss.

Bunker   9   8   4  18 - 39

Kingston  10  12   8   3 - 33

SCORING:

Bunker - Swiney 14, Stacy 9, Hill 5, Knott 5, Bland 3, Crites 3.

Kingston - Govero 16, Dicus 6, Brown 4, Missey 2, Goff 2, Guenther 2.

POTOSI TOURNAMENT

Potosi 51, Arcadia Valley 31

POTOSI — The Potosi girls basketball team snapped a 24-game losing streak that dated back to February 2007 on Wednesday night with an impressive defensive shutout in the first quarter setting the tone.

Sophomore Ashley Thompson scored 20 points for the eighth-seeded Lady Trojans in an emphatic 51-31 upset over Arcadia Valley in the consolation bracket at the Potosi Tournament.

Potosi (1-1), which will meet Central for fifth place on Friday, held an 8-0 lead through eight minutes before erupting for 25 points in the second quarter for a 33-16 halftime advantage.

Freshman Lyndsey Portell connected three times from three-point range while netting 14 points during the second period, and Ashley Duncan added six points in the victory.

Sixth-seeded Central edged Festus 39-35 in the other consolation game played on Wednesday night.