Prep girls basketball: Cold-shooting S-C falls to Kewpies, takes 3rd at home showcase

For 10 minutes and 35 seconds on Saturday, the Smith-Cotton Lady Tigers gave the 10th-ranked team in Class 5, Hickman, a run for its money.

However, the other 21:25 belonged to the Kewpies, who won 55-39 to secure second place in the Smith-Cotton/McDonald’s Lady Tiger Classic basketball tournament.

Parkview, of Springfield, beat Bishop Ward 65-30 earlier in the day to win the tournament with a 3-0 record. Parkview beat Hickman 58-49 on Friday night.

Parkview’s Aubrey Buckley was voted the tournament’s MVP, and teammates Brooke Hawkins and Karissa Lanham made the all-tournament team.

Elena Sharp, Jack Greer and Lexi Hope represented S-C. Emily Miller and Cherish Walton represented Hickman and Bishop Ward’s Taylor Williams was the final all-tournament pick.

After making only 3 of 17 shots in the first half, the Lady Tigers went 5 for 7, including two 3-pointers, in the third quarter to close their gap to 14 points (41-27) with one quarter to play.

“Probably one of the biggest changes (at halftime) was the mental change,” S-C interim head coach Derek Skaggs said, “and we went a little bit to the half-court 1-3-1 (defense).”

S-C continued its momentum into the fourth quarter, making 7 of 8 free throws to cut Hickman’s lead to 41-35 with 5:25 left in the game.

Greer and Hope were the catalysts in the second half. Greer scored 10 of her team-high 20 points during that stretch, and Hope scored all 10 of her points after halftime.

The Lady Tigers played better defensively in the second half.

“Obviously, when your offense starts clicking, your defense is going to click,” Skaggs said. “You like to hope that your defense is your primary weapon.”

The Kewpies (16-3) righted the ship in the final 5:25, as S-C committed eight fouls down the stretch. They made 4 of 6 free throws in the final 2:58 to finish off the Lady Tigers. Hickman scored 14 of the final 19 points.

Hickman held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the first 4:11 of the game, while building a 7-0 lead.

“We went through all of our zone offenses,” Skaggs said. “We weren’t moving much. Just not focused and ready to take care of business on the offensive end, moving a lot of kids in and out off the bench trying to find something to spark us.”

Inconsistency continues to be a problem for the Lady Tigers.

“That’s our focus right now, putting two halves together,” Skaggs said. “It’s like I told them, we played with them in the second half. We can’t build a hole for ourselves. A couple of games we’ve done that. We’ve got to get over doing that and see what happens. Give ourselves a chance.”

Walton scored six of her game-high 21 points in the first quarter, and the Kewpies led 17-7 after one quarter. Greer scored all seven of the Lady Tigers’ points in the first.

Miller scored six of her 14 points in the second quarter, and the Kewpies led 31-12 at halftime.

The Lady Tigers (10-7) continue their six-game homestand Monday when they host Lee’s Summit North. Versailles visits S-C on Tuesday, and Helias comes to town Thursday.