Bourbon High School girls’ basketball team played their final two regular season games of the year at home on Feb. 16 and Feb. 19 against Lesterville and Valley Park, respectively. The Lady Warhawks lost a close game in overtime to Lesterville before defeating Valley Park in their final regular season game of the year. Both games are detailed below. 

Bourbon finished the regular season with a 14-11 record, a seven game improvement from last season’s seven-win team and the most wins in the girls’ program’s history since MSHAA began recording them in the 2006-2007 season.

Bourbon then competed in the Class 3 District 8 Tournament on Feb. 23 in Steelville. The Lady Warhawks were seeded sixth and took on three-seeded Belle, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. If Bourbon wins, they will take on Fatima Feb. 25 in the district semifinals.  

Feb. 16 vs. Lesterville

The Bourbon Lady Warhawks’ found themselves in a defensive battle against the Lesterville Lady Bearcats. Both teams struggled to score in the first frame and the 3-2 Lesterville lead after the quarter resembled the score of a pitcher’s duel. Baskets were also hard to get in the second period and Lesterville used a seven to four advantage to take a 10-6 lead into halftime. The Lady Bearcats looked like they were going to pull away in the third quarter as they widened their lead to six points going into the final quarter. But the Lady Warhawks scored the first six points in the final frame and the game remained tight until the final buzzer. With the score knotted at 24, both teams got a chance at a final shot, but neither fell, and the game went into overtime. Lesterville scored the first three points in the bonus period and Bourbon senior Kaitlyn King responded with a layup to make it a one-point game. The game stayed one possession for the rest of the way and Lesterville scored a clutch basket to go up by two points with less than 30 seconds left. Bourbon had one last chance to tie or to win the game with 2.7 seconds left, but Savanna Vance’s three-point attempt fell short and the Lady Warhawks took a tough 30-28 loss in overtime. 

Kinzii Withorn netted a team-high 12 points on four baskets near the rim and four free throws. King added nine, Vance scored three and Reese Bell and Ella Biles each scored two points. Junior Isabelle Twomay scored 12 points to lead the Lady Bearcats. 

Feb. 19 vs. Valley Park

The Lady Warhawks regained their offensive touch in the opening quarter against the Valley Park Lady Hawks. Bourbon led 18-10 at the end of the first frame, before settling in on defense in the second period. The Lady Warhawks used a 17-3 advantage in the second quarter to give themselves a 22-point cushion at halftime. Valley Park’s defense stood tall in the second half and held Bourbon to 15 points in the final two frames, but the Lady Warhawks were still able to hold on for a 50-34 victory for their 14th victory of the season. 

Withorn scored a team-high 14 points on a pair of trifectas, a trio of baskets in the paint and a couple free throws. King also knocked down a pair of three-points and logged 12 points to go along with a few pin-point pass assists. Kinzey Waldron drained a trio of treys and finished with nine points. Reese Bell added seven and Bree Bouse and Vance each scored four to round out the scoring for the Lady Warhawks.