Lady Birds Win the Third Straight North Shelby Tournament Championship

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By Mark Requet

The top seeded South Shelby Lady Birds defeated the second seeded Cairo Lady Bearcats, 67-57 on Saturday, January 20, 2024 in the championship game of the North Shelby Tournament.

Cairo 57

Lady Birds 67

The Lady Birds wrapped up the shortened week with a tournament championship against Cairo on Saturday at North Shelby High School.

South Shelby started the game off slow as Cairo jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Kamryn Mitchell broke the ice for the Lady Birds with a three-pointer with five minutes left in the first quarter.

A few plays later, Mitchell would connect for another three, which was followed by another three by Callie McWilliams. The Lady Birds, despite the threes, still trailed the Lady Bearcats 11-9 with 2:57 left in the first quarter. South Shelby closed out the quarter on a 6-1 run and led 15-14 after one quarter.

Cairo regained the lead by three, but freshman, Reece Maupin hit a three to tie the game, 20-20. Both teams traded baskets for most of the second quarter, but it was the Lady Birds who hit 4-of-7 free throws to close out the half and take a 32-28 halftime lead.

Hannah Gaines opened the second half scoring with a three to push the lead to seven points. Cairo responded with four staight points, but Mitchell’s third three of the game gave the Lady Birds a 38-32 lead at the 6:31 mark in the third quarter.

The Lady Birds took control of the game later in the third quarter with a 12-0 run, with McWilliams scoring six of tthe points.

South Shelby led 52-37 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was all about the free throw shooting for the Lady Birds. South Shelby hit 11-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the 67-57 win.

Belle Roush led the Lady Birds with 20 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Mitchell finished with 19 points, while McWilliams added 13 points.

The Lady Birds, 13-3 overall, traveled to Macon on Tuesday, January 23, and will host Milan for courtwarming on Friday, January 26, beginning at 6 p.m.

Schuyler County 27

Lady Birds 53

The Lady Birds advanced to the semifinal game against the Schuyler County Lady Rams and won 53-27 on Thursday, January 18, which was held at South Shelby High School.

The Lady Birds jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game. McWilliams and Mitchell each scored five points in the first quarter as South Shelby led 12-8 at the end of one quarter.

South Shelby used a big second quarter to increase its lead, outscoring the Lady Rams, 17-5. Reese Maupin hit a three, followed by back-to-back baskets by Belle Roush. Hannah Gaines scored, which was followed by a two pointer from McWilliams to give the Lady Birds a 26-12 lead with 42 seconds left at the half. McWilliams hit a shot just inside the half court line at the buzzer to give the Lady Birds a 29-13 lead at the half. South Shelby closed the half on a 14-1 run.

The Lady Birds continued to slowly pull away in the third quarter, outscoring Schuyler County 11-4 to take a 40-17 lead after three quarters.

The JV squads finished up the game in the fourth quarter as the Lady Birds cruised to a 53-27 win to advance to the championship game on Saturday.

McWilliams led the Lady Birds with 15 points, six steals, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots. Belle Roush added nine points, 11 rebounds, and five steals.

Scotland County 35

Lady Birds 66

The Lady Birds cruised to a 66-35 win against the Scotland County Lady Tigers in the first round of the North Shelby Tournament on Wednesday, January 17. The game was held at South Shelby High School due to the weather postponing the first two nights of the tournament.

The Lady Birds wasted no time in building a lead, scoring the first 17 points of the game. McWilliams and Mitchell each scored seven points in the first quarter to help South Shelby build its lead to 24-5 after one quarter.

The second quarter was much of the same as the Lady Birds outscored the Lady Tigers 23-9 in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 47-14 at the half.

South Shelby was able to rest the starters in the second half. The Lady Birds were outscored 21-19 in the second half but won the game 66-35.

McWilliams led the Lady Birds in scoring with 17 points, followed by Reese Maupin with 11 points and Hannah Gaines with 10 points.

Kaelyn Maddex led in rebounds with seven. Charlie Roush finished with five rebounds.

McWilliams led the Lady Birds with six steals and five assists.