Steelville High School’s girls’ basketball team competed in the 7th Annual Battle in Bourbon Invitational Tournament beginning on Jan. 5.

The Lady Cardinals were seeded third out of eight teams and played sixth-seeded Newburg in the opening round. Steelville defeated Newburg, lost to Belle and defeated Laquey on Saturday to take third place in the tournament. Dixon won the tournament and Belle took second place. Freshman Adalei Perkins was named to the All-Tournament team after her breakout performance in the third-place game. All of Steelville’s games in the Battle in Bourbon Tournament are detailed below. 

The Lady Cardinals (6-8) had two days off before traveling to Potosi on Jan. 12, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. Steelville will play in St. Clair on Jan. 15 before competing in the St. James Invitational beginning on Jan. 19. The Lady Cards’ junior varsity team will compete in the Licking JV Tournament from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17. Specific times and matchups are still TBD.  

Dec. 5 vs. Newburg

Coming off a disappointing loss to Belle, the Lady Cardinals looked ready to take out some frustrations on Newburg. Behind swarming defense, Steelville got out to an 11-2 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Cardinals began firing on all cylinders in the second quarter and went into halftime up 25-8. With the game appearing headed for a blowout, Newburg had other ideas.

The Lady Wolves outscored the Lady Cards 10-5 in the third quarter to close the gap to 12 points as the fourth quarter began. Newburg then narrowed the gap to nine points after making it a 30-21 game early in the final frame. But that was as close as the Lady Tigers would get as Steelville junior Emeri Perkins found her shooting touch after a slow start. Perkins poured in 10 of her game-high 14 points in the final frame as Steelville went on a 15-4 run to end the game en route to a 45-25 victory over the Lady Tigers.

Despite the low scoring output for Steelville, eight Lady Cardinals scored points in a balanced attack under head coach Phillip Gambill. Jazmyn Hurd continued to be Steelville’s second leading scorer next to Perkins, and netted 10 points on a pair of treys and a couple of baskets in the paint. Aaleigha Decker knocked down a pair of shots from downtown and a free throw to finish with seven points. Marley Eliert chipped in four, Sylvia Davis and Adalei Perkins added three and Alex Helms and Peyton Brooks each scored two points. Laynee Caquelin and Haley Steffe netted nine points apiece for the Lady Tigers. Steelville moved to 5-7 on the season with the victory, and Newburg fell to 6-6 with the loss. The Cardinals then had two days off before facing off against second-seeded Belle.

Dec. 8 vs. Belle

Steelville played a rematch against Belle, who defeated the Lady Cardinals on Jan. 2 after trailing for the majority of the game. The first half of the Lady Cardinals’ second matchup with the Belle Lady Tigers was dictated by runs from each team. Belle scored the first six points before Steelville scored the next five. With a 6-5 score heading into the final seconds of the first frame, Belle senior Anastyn Lansford hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to take a 9-5 lead heading into the second frame. The second quarter was also a defensive battle and the Lady Cards were held to just three points in the frame. Belle scored six and led 15-8 at halftime. The offense picked up for both teams in the second half, but the Lady Tigers seized control of the game due to pressure defense and timely three-point shooting. Belle led 27-17 after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth to defeat Steelville 46-32 in the second matchup in seven days between the two teams.

Steelville’s leading scorer, Emeri Perkins, scored a team-high 13 points, but Belle didn’t make it easy for her. Perkins was repeatedly hacked and harassed, and shot 11 free throws. Jazmyn Hurd scored 11 points on a three-pointer and four shots close to the basket. Marley Eilert scored four points on a pair of baskets at the rim. Aaleigha Decker and Alex Helms scored two points apiece to round out the scoring for the Lady Cardinals. Lansford poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Lady Tigers. Belle then played in the finals of the Battle in Bourbon against Dixon and Steelville went to the third-place game against Laquey.

Dec. 10 vs. Laquey

Steelville got out to a slow start on Saturday afternoon in the third-place game against the  Laquey Lady Hornets. The Lady Cardinals were without starting forward Marley Eilert, and her absence loomed large early in the game. Laquey led 19-6 after controlling the majority of the first frame. Adalei Perkins then knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds to cut the lead down to 10 heading into the second quarter. It would be a sign of things to come for the Perkins, who went on to play her best game so far in her young high school career.

Steelville found its scoring rhythm in the second frame, as the Lady Cards poured in 22 points to claw its way back into the game. But Laquey was able to score on Steelville’s zone defense and netted 18 in the second to take a 37-31 lead into halftime.

The second half of the game was a physical battle as elbows were thrown and bodies repeatedly hit the floor. Laquey grew its lead back up to 10 in the third quarter, but the Lady Cardinals wouldn’t be deterred. Adalei Perkins and Jazmyn Hurd hit three-pointers, and Steelville finished the third quarter on a 13-2 run to take the lead for the first time with 20 seconds left in the frame on a pair of Hurd free throws.

The fourth quarter remained physical as two Lady Hornets fouled out, as did Steelville forward Sylvia Davis. Both teams were in the bonus with more than three minutes remaining, but the Lady Cardinals were able to play through the contact and take control of the final frame. The quarter belonged to the Lady Cardinals and both Perkins sisters, as Adalei and Emeri took turns with Hurd exchanging clutch baskets to secure a 69-60 comeback victory to take third place in the Battle in Bourbon Tournament. 

Steelville head coach Phillip Gambill spoke afterward about how his team was able to come back after the slow start.

“Laquey came out ready to play,” said Gambill. “They handled our pressure, which we didn’t expect them to handle as well as they did. We had to make some defensive adjustments. We had to go to our bench, because we are trying to play a little faster. So we called on Adalei, and she hit a couple shots right off the bat that really helped us and kept us in the game, really going into halftime.”

Adalei Perkins, the younger sister of junior Emeri Perkins, is a freshman who has played sparingly on varsity so far this season. She came off the bench to drain six shots from beyond the three-point arc and four free throws to score an early career-high 22 points. She was named to the All-Tournament team for her clutch performance.

Hurd consistently hit shots when her team needed them most and finished with 21 points on four three-pointers, seven free throws and a basket at the rim. Emeri Perkins was fouled repeatedly but got stronger as the game went on and finished with 17 hard-earned points. Aaleigha Decker scored seven points and showed toughness to continue to play hard after getting shouldered in the face in the third quarter. Trinity Harvey gave Steelville fits in the paint and led Laquey with 15 points. 

The Lady Cardinals have won four of their last six games, and Gambill said that he’s pleased with his team’s effort and growth throughout the season.

“It’s a process, and it’s hard to understand, because you’ll play really well one game or two games, and then you won’t play as well,” Gambill said. “The big thing is, the kids are really bought in. They’re starting to understand it’s a process. Even though we didn’t play well on Thursday, and didn’t play very well in the first half, they came out and made a statement in the second half. And this group of kids, they don’t quit. Their effort is always there. I’ve never had to tell one of them to play hard. They’re just playing hard all the time. That right there is about 75% of your battle, really, as a coach, is getting them to play hard. And these girls play hard. So I think those good things start falling into place even more as we go forward.”