By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Friday, February 05, 2010
Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 10:02 AM CST

PARK HILLS — The West County girls basketball team avoided a possible stumbling block before the MAAA Conference tournament by shutting out Central over the opening seven minutes on Thursday night.

Sophomore guard Katie Gettinger connected twice from long range while scoring a game-high 18 points, and the Lady Bulldogs stayed comfortably ahead throughout a 47-33 road win.

Gettinger scored quickly in transition and Lauren Callahan added a pair of field goals during an initial 10-0 spurt, and the West County (13-6) lead was never found in jeopardy.

The Lady Bulldogs received nine points from Paige Forshee plus six each from Ashley Dane, Courtney Richards and Callahan. Gettinger followed a jumper from Forshee with a baseline bank shot for a 22-8 halftime margin.

Central (2-17) shot just 22 percent overall after missing its first eight attempts from the field, but produced its best scoring run midway through the third quarter with seven straight points.

Senior guard Stacey Williams drained a 3-pointer and knocked down a short runner on back-to-back possessions, and freshman Briley Merritt’s jumper trimmed the deficit to 27-15.

But Forshee scored with an excellent cross-over drive and finish, capping a 10-2 West County response to close the stanza. Gettinger splashed a triple with time winding down to restore a 37-17 cushion.

The Lady Bulldogs landed a favorable No. 5 seed in the MAAA tournament after finishing 8-2 in the Small-School division, and will meet winless Kingston in an opening-round contest on Saturday.

Alison Fischbeck scored 10 of her team-high 11 points in the fourth quarter for Central, including a nice turn-around jumper in the post.

Taylor Fields tallied seven points and eight rebounds, and Erin St. Gemme scored six for the Lady Rebels.

West County  10  12  15  10 - 47

Central   3   5   9  16 - 33

SCORING:

West County - Katie Gettinger 18, Paige Forshee 9, Courtney Richards 6, Lauren Callahan 6, Ashley Dane 6. 3-point FG - Gettinger 2, Richards.

Central - Alison Fischbeck 11, Taylor Fields 7, Erin St. Gemme 6, Stacey Williams 5, Briley Merritt 4. 3-point FG - Fischbeck, Fields, Williams.