Bourbon High School’s girls’ basketball team hosted the 7th annual Battle in Bourbon Tournament beginning on Jan. 5. The Lady Warhawks were seeded seventh out of eight teams and fell to number two seeded Belle in the first round of the tournament. Bourbon then lost to Newburg on Thursday before defeating Grandview on Saturday.  Each game is detailed below.

The Lady Hawks (7-7) had a couple days off before hosting Valley on Jan. 12, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. Bourbon’s Jan. 16 game versus Viburnum was cancelled, so their next game will be on Jan. 20 in Kingston. The Lady Warhawks will return home on Jan. 22 to take on Rolla Senior High School Home School.

Jan 5. vs. Belle

The Lady Warhawks began tournament play against a tough Belle team who won their previous matchup, 47-29 on Dec. 18 in Belle. The game was close in the first quarter as the Lady Tigers took an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Belle’s pressure defense ramped up in the second frame and repeatedly harassed Bourbon’s ball handlers and forced numerous turnovers that led to layups on the other end. The Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Hawks 17-5 in the frame and took a 28-11 lead heading into halftime.

Belle’s swarming defense continued to stifle Bourbon in the second half and the Lady Tigers found their three-point stroke to blow the game open. The Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Warhawks 24-4 in the third frame to make it a 52-15 game heading into the fourth quarter. Bourbon outscored Belle 9-8 in the fourth quarter, but the damage had been done and the Lady Tigers advanced to the tournament semifinals with a 60-24 victory. 

Kaitlin King led the Lady Warhawks with nine points on a three-pointer and a trio of shots in the paint. Kinzii Withorn, coming off an MVP performance in the Park Hills Round Robin Tournament, was held to six points as the Lady Tigers focused on making it difficult for her to score. Savanna Vance chipped in three points and Hayden Terry, Ella Biles and Reese Bell all scored two for Bourbon. Natalie Lansford, Ava Feeler, Aubrey Rehmert and Anastyn Lansford all scored in double figures for the Lady Tigers. 

Jan. 8 vs. Newburg

Bourbon found themselves in a consolation bracket matchup against a Newburg Lady Wolves team who came out firing on all cylinders.

The Lady Wolves were held to 25 points against Steelville and nearly passed that output in the first quarter against the Lady Warhawks. Freshman Haley Steffe caught fire early and drained four shots from long distance in the first frame to help Newburg get out to a 23-7 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Wolves never looked back and led 34-17 at halftime and 51-30 after three quarters before finishing off the game with a 59-36 victory to head to the consolation finals.

Steffe finished with a game-high 17 points on five trey balls and a pair of free throws. Kinzey Waldron knocked down a three pointer, a pair of shots in the paint and two free throws to lead the Lady Hawks with nine points. Reece Bell scored seven points and showed great fight on the glass, grabbing numerous offensive rebounds to give Bourbon second- and third-chance opportunities to score. Lady Hawks’ leading scorer Kinzii Withorn netted seven points on five free throws and a bucket at the rim. Savanna Vance added five and Bree Bouse and Hayden Terry each scored four points. The Lady Warhawks played two days later against Grandview on the last day of the Battle in Bourbon.

Jan. 10 vs. Grandview (Hillsboro)

After a pair of lopsided losses in the first two games of the tournament, the Lady Warhawks reclaimed their rhythm against Grandview. Bourbon came out firing, and scored 20 points in the first quarter to gain control of the game. Kinzey Waldron knocked down a trio of three-pointers and scored all 11 of her points in the frame. The Warhawks led throughout the game, and came away with a 53-39 victory for their seventh victory of the season.

Kinzii Withorn played her best game of the tournament and finished with a game-high 18 points. Sophomore Reese Bell scored a season-high 10 points on five baskets in the paint. Freshman Bree Bouse drained a trio of shots from beyond the three-point line to score nine points. Savanna Vance added three and Kaitlin King chipped in two to round out the scoring for the Lady Warhawks.