Hume Lady Hornets win tournament opener

APPLETON CITY, Mo. -- The Hume Lady Hornets basketball team opened the Appleton City Tournament Monday with a strong performance against the Lady Indians of Chilhowee High School. Head coach Delanya Thompson's squad was never really threatened in the contest as Chilhowee's defense simply couldn't find any answers for anything Hume brought to the table, ultimately resulting in a 59-21 victory for the Lady Hornets.

"It was good to see the girls play with confidence," Thompson said.

That confidence was apparent, right from the start as the Lady Hornets opened up a 29-6 lead heading into the second quarter. That lead eventually grew to 39-6 at halftime and the Lady Hornets never looked back.

Thompson's squad increased its lead even more in the third, outscoring Chilhowee, 14-8, to take a 53-17 advantage into the contest's final 8 minutes.

The Lady Indians did win the fourth quarter, 8-6, but the damage had already been done and the Lady Hornets had no trouble holding on to take the 38-point victory.

Megan Sutcliffe led the offensive effort for the Lady Hornets as she finished the night with 23 points. She was joined in double figures by Kaitlee Metcalf, who finished with 16 points, while Hope Yarick and Brooke Best each had eight and Madison Cannon finished the night with four.

Metcalf added a team-high 11 assists, while Cannon pulled down 14 rebounds.

With the win, the Lady Hornets moved on to the tournament's semifinal round to take on the winner of Tuesday night's matchup between Montrose and Kansas City's African Centered Education. Thursday's contest is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m., at Appleton City High School.

In other games Monday, the top-seeded Rich Hill Tigers rolled to a 71-16 victory over Hume, the Appleton City Lady Bulldogs defeated Sheldon, 42-26, and the Appleton City Bulldogs defeated Chilhowee, 48-38.