The Mound City Lady Panthers, ranked #2 in Class 1 in the state of Missouri, showed off their power in the second half of Saturday’s state quarterfinal at Bishop LeBlond, outscoring the Norborne Lady Pirates 34-16 to cruise to a 60-36 win, sending Mound City to the Show-Me Showdown on Thursday afternoon in Columbia, and a meeting with Glasgow in the state semifinals.

Junior Tess Phillips was the decisive force for Mound City in the third quarter run, connecting for 14 points, part of a game-high 17 point effort for 28-1 Mound City.  Kameron Freemyer had 12 points, with Joeigh Eaton scoring 11.  Mound City took control of the game after a slow start that saw the CLAA Conference’s Lady Pirates held the lead for the entire first quarter, until a Victoria Nauman three-ball gave the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game, 11-10 at the first quarter horn.

Mound City, a team featuring senior point guard Kendey Eaton, a verbal commit to the Lady Pirates program at North Central Missouri College, will join Glasgow, Naylor, and Walnut Grove in the Class 1 girls tournament.  On Saturday, Naylor beat Bunker 43-33 and Walnut Grove was a 53-28 winner over Drexel.  Glasgow beat Community on Saturday night, 55-47.

The Class 1 girls semifinals will be at the Hearnes Center on Thursday afternoon, with Naylor v. Walnut Grove at 3:20, followed by Mound City opposite Glasgow at 5 o’clock.  The state championship game will be at Mizzou Arena, Saturday night at 6:20.

Win or lose this weekend, Mound City should remain a Class 1 power for a couple of more seasons, with two of Saturday’s key contributors being underclassmen.  Nauman is a freshman and Freemyer a sophomore.  Norborne ends its 2015-2016 basketball season with a superb record of 23-3.