Monett boys defeat Seneca in holiday tourney

Lady Cubs knock off visiting Diamond Lady Wildcats over break
 

The Monett High School boys basketball team traveled to Southwest Washburn to take part in the 43rd Annual Southwest Boys Holiday Tournament on Friday, Dec. 26, defeating Seneca 50-33 in a first round game.
The Cubs led 8-6 after the first quarter and 22-14 at halftime. The third quarter was the best shooting quarter for Monett as they scored 16 points to push their lead to 38-25. In the final quarter of play, the Cubs added 12 points to win the game by 17 points.
Alex Meeks paced Monett with 15 points and Jack Stephens added 11 points in the victory.
“We came out the game a little flat and really never got going in the first half,” said Head Coach Andrew Ballock. “I thought we got a lot of really good looks both from the perimeter and around the basket but just struggled a bit to get them to fall. We regrouped in the locker room during halftime and were able to get some separation from the Seneca Indians during the second half. The game after Christmas can be hard to get yourself going, but we were able to shake some of the rust off and come out with a victory.”
Monett is 3-5 on the season and were scheduled to play host to Southwest in the semifinals of the tournament on Monday night.

Girls basketball
The Monett High School girls basketball team hosted Diamond on Monday, Dec. 22 and won the game 61-28.
Monett dominated the game from the start, jumping out to a 25-7 first quarter lead. The Lady Cubs added another 15 points in the second quarter to increase their lead to 40-13. Monett slowed it down in the second half, outscoring Diamond 13-8 to increase their lead to 53-21. In the final quarter, the Lady Cubs added eight points while holding the Lady Wildcats to seven points, to win the game by 33 points.
Kilee Wilson led Monett with 18 points, ad 17 points, and Meredith Merriman had 17 points, and Kalli Hohensee ended the game with 10 points.
“We had a great first half, and played well defensively throughout the game,” said head coach Josh Kleine.
Monett is 8-1 on the season and were scheduled to play against Thomas Jefferson Independent Day on Friday.