Steelville High School’s girls’ basketball team defeated Salem on Feb. 12 in front of a large crowd and a live YouTube broadcast. The game is detailed below. The Lady Cardinals played its last regular season game of the season on Feb. 17 in West County, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. 

Steelville will then host the Class 3 District 8 tournament, beginning on Feb. 23. The Lady Cards were seeded fourth and will play fifth-seeded Laquey at 5 p.m. in the first round. The winner of Steelville’s game will play number-one seed Dixon at 5 p.m. on Feb. 25. Fatima is the number two seed and will play the winner of the matchup between three-seeded Belle and six-seeded Bourbon.  

Feb. 12 vs. Salem

The Lady Cardinals led from start to finish, but it wasn’t without a scare from the Lady Tigers. Steelville got out to a strong start, and led 18-10 after the first period before heading into halftime up 27-18. The Lady Cardinals grew its lead up to 15 points halfway through the third quarter, but Salem fought back to narrow the gap to 10 going into the final frame. 

The fourth quarter was a physical battle, and the referees seemed to blow their whistles anytime there was contact. Steelville front court players Sylvia Davis, Peyton Brooks and Alex Helms all fouled out and Emeri Perkins and Jazmyn Hurd picked up four fouls. The Lady Cardinals were already without starting forward Marley Eilert and freshman contributor Adalei Perkins, so head coach Phillip Gambill had to go deeper into his bench. Freshman Brooklyn Thomas received her most significant varsity playing time and gave Steelville valuable minutes as a screener and a rebounder. Thomas also took two charges in the fourth quarter, helping stifle any momentum Salem was gaining. 

The Lady Tigers narrowed its deficit to five points with less than two minutes left, but Steelville senior Aaleigha Decker rattled home a clutch three-pointer to give the Lady Cardinals some breathing room. Salem continued to fight back, outscoring Steelville 18-10 in the final period, but the Lady Cardinals were able to hold on for a 50-48 victory for its ninth victory of the season. 

Gambill spoke afterward about how his team was able to hold on for the win.

“Our girls did a great job persevering through a tough fought game by both teams. We got stops when we needed them and I thought we rebounded well,” Gambill said. “We had some players step up in big moments when we got into some foul trouble. We hit some big shots in key moments in the game.” 

Perkins and Hurd each scored 17 points to lead Steelville. Decker added eight, Brooks scored three and grabbed 10 rebounds, Thomas and Helms each chipped in two and Davis scored one for the Lady Cardinals. Freshman Clara Ball scored 13 points to pace the Lady Tigers. 

Steelville’s junior varsity team defeated the Salem Lady Tigers 20-3 in a half-game earlier in the evening. The Lady Cardinals’ JV team is now 9-2 on the season.