North Callaway girls edged out by Winfield 43-42 for third place

The North Callaway girls just couldn’t take advantage of chances down the stretch on Friday night.

The Ladybirds lost a close one 43-42 to Winfield in the third-place game of the Bowling Green Tournament, with a free throw being the difference in the contest.

Head coach Tim Turlington said North Callaway (12-10) had its chances to win as it was unable to cling to a six-point lead with four minutes to go and knock down a shot with 10 seconds left. Still, he said he thinks Winfield (13-5) played “slightly better” than the Ladybirds did at the end as they defended Winfield well most of the game.

Natalie Shryock led North Callaway with 15 points and four 3-pointers, following her 19 points and five 3-pointers on Wednesday against Elsberry. Abrielle Burgher finished with 12 points, going 4-for-6 from the field, including two 3-pointers.

North Callaway (3-3 EMO) plays at 6 p.m. Friday at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Elsberry (16-4, 4-0 EMO), who have won 15 straight after defeating Silex 39-36 on Friday night to win the Bowling Green Tournament championship.

Look for the full story in the Wednesday, February 1, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.

Ladybirds to play for third place after 48-39 loss to top seed Elsberry

The North Callaway girls took on the top seed but didn’t have enough to advance to the championship game.

The Ladybirds lost 48-39 to Elsberry in the semifinals of the Bowling Green Tournament on Wednesday night. North Callaway trailed 26-21 at halftime but fell behind by as much as 13 points in the third quarter.

Natalie Shryock finished with 19 points and five 3-pointers to lead North Callaway (12-9) in scoring and was the day’s third leading scorer among all tournament players. Riley Blevins followed with eight points, seven rebounds and two 3-pointers.

Candice Dowell finished with 13 points for Elsberry, and Katie Talbot followed with 10 points.

North Callaway went for third place at 5:50 p.m. Friday in the high school gym against Winfield.

Thunderbirds unable to repeat nailbiter in 61-52 loss vs Clopton

The North Callaway boys almost overcame a 17-point deficit last week in a 61-59 loss in Clopton but couldn’t get that close in their second meeting with the Hawks.

The Thunderbirds were eliminated from the Bowling Green Tournament on Thursday after a 61-52 loss, cutting down their deficit to as low as six points before Clopton pulled away.

The Hawks finished with five scoring in double figures, led by 16 points from Cash Eivans and 14 points each from Kain Eivans and Chase Hall, who hit four 3-pointers. 

North Callaway was led by Matthew Weber, who finished with 24 points and five 3-pointers. Sam Pezold was the next highest scorer with 10 points. Isiah Craighead returned to the floor following recovery from a concussion, adding eight points and three steals off the bench.

The Thunderbirds were down 15-10 after the first quarter but were in a hole after being outscored 13-6 in the second quarter. 

North Callaway plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Elsberry (14-5), which will now hold the varsity girls game before that after being moved from Thursday. Thursday night will have both junior varsity teams in action at Elsberry. On Wednesday, North Callaway has a makeup home game scheduled at 7:30 p.m. against Louisiana (13-6).

Thunderbirds fall 58-51 after Winfield shots fall late in Bowling Green first round

Even without two of its top scorers, the North Callaway boys led Winfield going into the fourth quarter on Tuesday night.

That didn’t last much longer as the Thunderbirds — without leading scorer Matthew Weber and third-leading scorer Isiah Craighead — lost 58-51 to Winfield in the first round of the Bowling Green Tournament. North Callaway led 41-36 prior to being outscored 22-10 in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Matt Miller said Winfield was just able to chip away gradually as each subsequent shot fell for them. The Thunderbirds outscored Winfield in the middle quarters prior to that after North Callaway was down 15-11 after the first quarter. 

“Part of it was defensive breakdowns on our part. We had been playing really good defense,” Miller said. “The other part is credit to Winfield. They hit the shots.”

North Callaway had several empty offensive trips that allowed Winfield to tie the game in the fourth quarter and then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take the lead for good.

North Callaway had its three key contributors show up Tuesday as Sam Pezold led with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two 3-pointers, Braydn O’Neal followed with 12 points and seven assists, and Trenton Jones had eight points and six rebounds.

The Thunderbirds will have Weber back on Thursday at 6:50 p.m. Thursday against Clopton in Bowling Green’s middle school gym. They hope to have Craighead back from a concussion soon as well, but Miller is happy with how his players performed with a shorthanded roster.

“I’m really proud of the effort,” Miller said. “We played seven guys tonight and tried to mix up some defenses to try to keep guys out of foul trouble and keep legs fresh and stuff like that. Guys did a good job of executing the game plan, but you’ve got to play for four quarters.”

Peter Nicholl led Winfield with 16 points and four 3-pointers, Kaden Kaimann followed with 14 points and two 3-pointers, and Brady Creech had 13 points.

Ladybirds go on defensive runs in 45-41 win vs Clopton

The North Callaway girls remembered losing 70-54 at Clopton last week. 

The Ladybirds made sure the meeting between the Eastern Missouri Conference foes didn’t happen the same way as North Callaway came back to defeat Clopton 45-41 on Monday in the first round of the Bowling Green Tournament.

For 13 total minutes in the second half, the Ladybirds (13-7) prevented Clopton (9-8) from scoring a single bucket. The Lady Hawks couldn’t put the ball in the basket for six minutes in the third quarter and for seven minutes in the fourth quarter, when North Callaway took its first lead at the 7:38 mark and then final lead with 1:38 remaining.

Head coach Tim Turlington said the defense was stellar in the second half, but the Ladybirds’ free throw shooting was ultimately the difference as North Callaway finished 15-for-21 at the line while Clopton was 8-for-16. Riley Blevins and Natalie Shryock combined to go 6-for-7 at the line in the fourth quarter.

Blevins led with 17 points, hitting two 3-pointers, and Shryock followed with eight points, finishing 6-for-7 at the line. Jalyn Leible had six points, six rebounds and two steals, and Abrielle Burgher had six points.

Clopton started hot from the field like last week, taking a 17-13 lead after the first quarter and then a 29-21 halftime lead. The Ladybirds were down by as much as 11 points in the first half but ultimately allowed only one double-digit scorer — Braya Smith with 13 points — for the Lady Hawks compared to three last week.

North Callaway won its opening game in the Bowling Green Tournament for the first time since 2020.