Who won Springfield area's Classes 1-3 girls quarterfinals & what to know about next week
Southwest Missouri will have a handful of representatives in the small-school girls' state semifinals this upcoming week in Springfield — including three teams at the Class 3 level. There were also a handful of other important games that went down on Saturday that will set up a great slate of games come Tuesday night. Here's what you need to know.
State quarterfinals
Chadwick 56, Delta 54
Class 1
The Lady Cardinals are headed to their first state semifinal appearance since 2014 after capturing a two-point win over defending state runner-up Delta on Saturday afternoon.
Chadwick had to hold off a fierce Delta rally which saw it go on a 17-4 run to cut the game to two over the last 5:27 of the contest. The Lady Cardinals held on and will make their sixth appearance in the state semifinals with a third-place finish coming as recently as 2014. The school's lone state championship came from its girls' program in 2005.
A date with Jefferson (Conception) awaits Chadwick. The school won the state championship with a 31-0 season in 2021. The Eagles have won all their postseason games by at least 30 points.
Up next: Jefferson (Conception) on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Great Southern Bank Arena
Norwood 47, Fordland 39
Class 2
It was the Norwood boys winning state last year. This year, the girls will have a chance at bringing hardware home with the Lady Pirates two wins away from being state champs.
The Lady Pirates took over in the second half to put away Fordland and advance to their first state semifinal since 1998. The program has one state title to its name with a championship in 1994.
Norwood will play Tipton, which was ranked No. 2 in the state entering the tournament, in the semifinals. The Cardinals are 29-1 this year and are averaging a near-38-point blowout per game.
Up next: Tipton on Friday at 8 p.m. at Hammons Student Center
El Dorado Springs 63, South Harrison 34
Class 3
The defending state champs are back in the state semifinals after a dominant quarterfinal win on Saturday.
Macie Mays scored 26 points for the Lady Bulldogs as they cruised throughout. El Dorado Springs has yet to win a postseason game by fewer than 29 points.
A state semifinal game awaits with West County which was ranked No. 6 in the state before the postseason with the Lady Bulldogs ranked tied for second.
Up next: West County on Friday at 6 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena
Skyline 57, South Shelby 48
Class 3
Skyline beat the No. 1 team in the state and is in the state semifinals two years after it finished as the state runner-up in 2021.
It wasn't easy for the Lady Tigers as it trailed at halftime and at the end of the third quarter. They rattled off 23 points in the fourth when they only had 34 entering the period. After South Shelby got the opening bucket of the fourth, the Lady Tigers went on a 9-0 run to create the distance needed to come out on top.
Up next: Fair Grove on Friday at 8 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena
Fair Grove 39, Mansfield 37
Class 3
The Eagles are in the state semifinals for the first time since 2009 after beating the Lady Lions in a thriller.
A back-and-forth game saw each team exchange leads throughout. Kameron Green scored 15 points for Fair Grove with the Jones twins each scoring 15 for Mansfield.
Fair Grove will play conference rival Skyline in the state semifinals with the Lady Tigers being the last team to beat it. A 49-46 win for the Lady Tigers in Skyline on Feb. 2 gives a pretty good idea of what to expect entering Friday. It's also worth noting that Fair Grove beat El Dorado Springs 61-58 on Feb. 6 when the two could meet this week.
Up next: Skyline on Friday at 8 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena
Class 4 district championships
Ava 47, Logan-Rogersville 40
Ava is a district champion for the third year in a row by topping Logan-Rogersville to advance to Class 4 sectionals. The Lady Bears controlled the game from the opening tip and cruised to a win. Ava will go for its second-straight sectional win when it plays Tuesday night against Aurora.
Up next: Aurora at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Missouri S&T in Rolla
Aurora 48, Seneca 38
The Lady Houns are district champs for the first time since 2012. They created separation in the second half after needing to climb back from a 15-8 deficit after the first quarter. Kylee Cole led Aurora with 16 points.
Up next: Ava at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Missouri S&T in Rolla
Class 5-6 district championship schedule for Tuesday
Class 5, District 6 — West Plains vs. Rolla, Marshfield High at 6 p.m.
Class 5, District 7 — Carl Junction vs. Webb City, Webb City High at 6 p.m.
Class 6, District 5 — Republic vs. Kickapoo, Nixa High at 6 p.m.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Who won Springfield area's Classes 1-3 girls' state quarterfinals
