Lady Tigers Fall to South Shelby 64-51

Canton, MO – The Canton Lady Tigers returned home as they took on the South Shelby Lady Cardinals, falling 64-51.

South Shelby jumped out to an early lead, but Canton responded to even things up by the end of the first quarter, tied 7-7. From there, the Cardinals took control in the second quarter, putting together a 23-point frame led by Hannah Gaines, who scored nine points in the period. The Lady Tigers added 10 points in the quarter, with Chayse Uhlmeyer accounting for six, but trailed 30-17 at halftime.

Canton made its push in the third quarter, cutting into the deficit by scoring 24 points. Uhlmeyer led the charge with 12 points, followed by Kenna Oliver with eight. Each time the Lady Tigers brought the deficit within 10 points, however, South Shelby had an answer. “We kept getting it to nine, but they’re a good team, and they can shoot.” Says Coach Baker.  The Cardinals matched Canton’s surge with 19 points of their own in the quarter to maintain a 49-41 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Lady Tigers continued to battle in the final quarter, once again working the margin back to within 10, but South Shelby continued to respond down the stretch and held on for the 64-51 win.

After the game, Coach Baker gave her thoughts on what she liked on the court. “I thought when we switched to our man-to-man, in the second half, they played hard. Man-to-man is not something we played a lot this year, which we are working on.” Coach Baker feels that slow starts and giving up big shots are key factors to work on. “Our problem right now is that we give up way too many 3-point shots. We gave up seven in the first half; they hit 10 tonight. The last couple of games have been too slow starts, digging ourselves holes, and we can’t let that happen.

The Canton Lady Tigers fall to 4-3 as they stay home and look to take on the Unity Mendon Mustangs out of Illinois. That game takes place on Thursday, December 18th, with a 6 PM tipoff.

POINTS LEADERS

Canton: 7, 10, 24, 10
Chayse Uhlmeyer – 22
Kenna Oliver – 13
MaryKate McReynolds – 9

South Shelby: 7, 23, 19, 15
Hannah Gaines – 17
Avery Gough – 15
Gracynn Lanpher – 14