Moberly Girls, Boonville Boys Notch Wins in Doubleheader Split

The Moberly girls’ basketball team grinded out a win while the Boonville boys rallied in the second half as the two schools split a varsity doubleheader Thursday night at Boonville High School.

In the girls’ game, Moberly edged past Boonville 54-45. The Lady Spartans built up a seven-point lead in the first half and held a 20-18 halftime lead. The Lady Pirates responded in the third quarter to grab a five-point lead. However, Grace Billington caught fire in that same quarter with four three-pointers. The final one gave the Lady Spartans some breathing room heading into the final frame.

Colin Schowe with the call on Superstation KRES and centralmoinfo.com. Billington and Asa Fanning paced the Lady Spartans with 19 points apiece. Moberly outscored Boonville 14-10 in the final quarter to ease to the victory. Head coach Tony Vestal said he was pleased with the way his team battled through some adversity.

The win runs the Lady Spartans’ winning streak to five games and their record to 6-1. Boonville was led by Zoe Davis with 18 points. Despite the loss Boonville head coach Jared Runyon said he liked the way his team battled for four quarters.

The Lady Pirates dip to 3-4 with the defeat.

In the boys’ contest, Boonville rallied from a 30-18 halftime deficit to defeat Moberly 46-41. The Spartans started fast by scoring the first ten points of the game and hitting seven three-pointers over the course of the first half. The second half was a different story as they were held to just eleven points. Boonville was paced by Evan Bishop with 23 points. Bishop’s second three-pointer of the night proved to be a big one in the waning minutes.

Collin Huffman provided an immediate answer with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game back up at 40-40. The Pirates re-took the lead on the next trip courtesy of Caidyn Hazel’s lone basket of the night and never looked back. Boonville coach Mark Anderson said his team didn’t panic following a rough first half.

The Pirates snapped a three-game skid to improve to 4-3. They outscored Moberly 18-7 over the final quarter. Moberly coach Brett Boyer said this game was a tale of two halves.