Scoring run to open third quarter boosts Principia in sectional victory over South Shelby

DES PERES, Mo. — The South Shelby girls basketball team was unable to counteract a third-quarter scoring burst from Principia on Tuesday night.

The end result was Principia, the state’s No. 2-ranked Class 3 team, eliminated South Shelby 46-28 in a sectional game played before a standing-room-only crowd of 800-plus at Simon Field House.

Principia (24-5) won its sixth straight game by scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter. The Panthers turned an 18-13 halftime advantage into a 29-13 margin and South Shelby (25-4) was never able to make a serious run at reducing that deficit.

The last time South Shelby scored fewer than 28 points in a game was in the March 2022 state tournament when El Dorado Springs defeated the Lady Birds 61-26.

Principia’s effective run-and-jump, man-to-man pressure caused problems throughout the game for South Shelby, which entered the postseason ranked No. 4.

“We just had a tough time getting past (Principia’s defense), which led to a lot of easy layups for them,” South Shelby coach Luke O’Laughlin said. “Their pressure got to us.”

Principia’s talented sophomore center, Dasia Scott, led the Panthers with 17 points despite missing considerable time in the first half with foul trouble. Scott, an active 6-foot-2 presence capable of running the floor and offering a quick presence along the baseline, scored 11 of her points in the second half.

Junior Charlie Roush scored 10 points to pace South Shelby, which concluded a successful four-year run that saw the Lady Birds win 23 or more games each season and post a 98-21 record in that span.

O’Laughlin felt Roush also did a credible defensive job on Scott, who topped the 1,000-point mark for her career in just her second varsity season. Scott, who scored most of her points (9) against South Shelby at the line, has averaged 16.7 per game in the postseason.

“Charlie was outstanding,” O’Laughlin said. “There were only two or three times Scott was able to score on Charlie (in and around the basket). I was extremely proud of her. What hurt us the most was what Principia did in the open court.”

South Shelby’s Belle Roush added seven points, Callie Williams five and Jayda Lanpher four. Lanpher nailed a 3-pointer to open Tuesday night’s game, providing South Shelby with its only lead of the contest.

Roush, Williams and Lanpher also served as the senior anchors of the Lady Birds’ program.

“We’re going to miss these seniors, everyone looked up to them and they meant so much,” said O’Laughlin, who is 184-98 in his 10-year career at South Shelby. “We had a great group of seniors who were also some pretty good basketball players.”