Sacred Heart split a make-up W-K Holiday Shootout doubleheader with Santa Fe on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center in Sedalia, facing Santa Fe.
The Lady Gremlins fell 38-17 while the boys defeated the Chiefs 45-36. Both teams compete next in the Kaysinger Conference Tournament at the same venue on Saturday.
Sacred Heart 45, Sacred Heart 36
After senior Santa Fe Chiefs guard Alex Smith left a tied game with injury Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Sacred Heart Gremlins outscored its opponent 19-10 down the stretch and 17-7 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 45-36 victory in Sedalia.
The Gremlins know the anguish of an injured senior guard. Alden Harding watched in street clothes on the Sacred Heart bench as Trent Lyles, who led the Gremlins with 16 points, Teagan Trammell and Bryan Schlotterbeck picked up the slack in the back court.
Trammell finished with 10 points, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Lyles said offensively, there is no replacing Harding.
“We can’t make up for it fully, but, I think on defense we just have to give a little more effort,” Lyles said. “(Harding) is about 14 points a night. You can’t make up for that.”
Sacred Heart (16-3) trailed by four points entering the second quarter and struggled to overcome Santa Fe’s edge until the second half. The Chiefs led 24-22 at halftime, and the game was tied at 26 upon Smith’s withdraw.
Andrew Edwards led the Chiefs with 13 points. Dobber Burton added 10.
The Gremlins defend its Kaysinger Conference Tournament title as the top seed 10 a.m. Saturday.
Hosting the winner between Tipton and Otterville, Lyles said his approach to the tournament is simple.
“Take it slow — one game at a time — and play defense,” he said.
Santa Fe 38, Sacred Heart 17
All Caleb Crooker could do was smile.
After the Sacred Heart girl’s basketball team gathered 17 points total — missing close shots, losing dribbles off shoes and even earning a technical with a jersey-number discrepancy in the official score book — the Lady Gremlins head coach said few things went right in a 38-17 loss to Santa Fe.
“It seemed like there was a lid on the basket,” Crooker said. “We couldn’t get anything to fall. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Santa Fe, though. They play good defense. They’re a real good team and they’re well-coached. It was a tough game.”
McKenna Beeler paced the Lady Gremlins with 10 points.
Sadie Limback led Santa Fe with 15 points and Josey Burton finished with 10.
In its attempt to deal the Lady Chiefs its second loss of the season, Sacred Heart was limited to one field goal in the first quarter and trailed 20-6 at halftime, after a Burton 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Anajanae Williams’ first score of the night put the Lady Gremlins in double-digits with less than 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Sacred Heart trailed 31-11 entering the final period.
Despite the loss, Crooker said he felt confident entering the Kaysinger Conference Tournament on Saturday, especially having faced a top-tier opponent in Santa Fe.
“Seeing how physical they are — every rebound is tough — tonight was a great opportunity for our girls to experience a real physical team,” Crooker said.
The Lady Gremlins (12-8) host the winner between Lincoln and Green Ridge 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Kaysinger Conference Tournament.
