After falling to Festus and defeating Fredericktown, the Lady Cardinals played a New Years Eve day game on Dec. 31 against South Iron for the championship of the consolation bracket of the 70th Annual Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament.

Steelville ended the calendar year on a high note with a 14-point victory to win the game and the Consolation Championship. There wasn’t an All-Tournament team named for the tournament, but junior Emeri Perkins surely would’ve been named to one if there was one, after averaging 27.3 points per game during tournament play. The Lady Cardinals then hosted Belle on Jan. 2 and fell to the Lady Tigers to go to 4-7 on the season. Both games are detailed below. 

Steelville is competing this week in the 7th Annual Battle in Bourbon Tournament. The Lady Cardinals are seeded third out of eight teams and played sixth-seeded Newburg on Jan. 5 which will be detailed in next week’s edition. Steelville will play on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 in the Tournament, with times and opponents TBD based on the results against Newburg. The Lady Cardinals will then play road games in Potosi on Jan. 12 and in St. Clair on Jan. 15. Steelville’s junior varsity team is scheduled to compete in the Licking JV Tournament from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17 with times and opponents still TBD.

Dec. 31 vs. South Iron

The Lady Cardinals finished off a trio of morning games in the 70th Annual Bob Sechrest Tournament with a New Years Eve day matchup against South Iron for the Consolation Championship.

The game was close in the first half as Steelville led 19-15 after the first quarter. Junior Jazmyn Hurd, who has been predominantly a pass-first point guard throughout the season, came out of the gates scoring at a high rate. Hurd scored 11 points in the first quarter alone to steady the Lady Cardinals and set the tone for a season-high scoring output. Steelville took a 28-24 lead heading into halftime before taking control of the game in the second half. The Lady Cardinals outscored South Iron 17-11 in the third quarter to turn its four point lead into a 10 point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Steelville then outscored South Iron 16-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 61-47 victory and a consolation championship. The Lady Cardinals’ only loss in the tournament was a competitive eight-point defeat to the eventual tournament champion, Festus Lady Tigers.

Hurd finished with a season-high 22 points, giving the Lady Cardinals a dynamic scoring duo with fellow junior Emeri Perkins. Perkins also scored 22 points against South Iron and averaged 27.3 points per game in the tournament to lead the Lady Cardinals. Freshman Adalei Perkins, who leads Steelville’s junior varsity team in scoring, knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the second half to score a varsity season-high six points as she continues to get more action as the season goes on. Aaleigha Decker added five points, Marley Eilert chipped in three, Alex Helms scored two and Claire Settles drained a free throw to finish with one.

Jan. 2 vs. Belle

Steelville’s matchup against Belle was a tale of two halves. The Lady Cardinals controlled the first half and led 16-14 after the first quarter before taking a 25-18 lead heading into halftime. But the Lady Tigers flipped the script in the second half and outscored the Lady Cardinals 17-9 in the third quarter. Belle then dominated the fourth quarter, winning the frame 19-4 to pull away with a 54-41 victory over Steelville.

Emeri Perkins’ scorching shooting in the Park Hills Christmas Tournament traveled back to Steelville as she drained six shots from deep to lead the Lady Cardinals with 18 points. Hurd continued to slot in as the second scoring option for Steelville and finished with 10 points. Eilert added seven points, Decker knocked down a three-pointer for her only basket and Sylvia Davis also scored three on a basket in the paint and a free throw in the fourth quarter.  

Belle was led by a balanced attack of Aubrey Rehmert, Anastym Lansford and Saige Garner who scored 14, 13 and 13 points respectively.