Lady Pirates finish second in St. James Invitational

The Norwood Lady Pirates’ basketball team entered a tough St. James Invitational event last week with the hopes of leaving with some hardware.
After Autumn Gunter’s buzzer beater lifted Norwood past Fatima in the semifinals, the No. 7 team in Class 3, the Lady Pirates took on the host St. James in the finals.
Against a team that’s on the verge of busting into the Top 10 in Class 4, the Lady Pirates did leave with a second place plaque after falling in the finals, 49-35.
In the championship contest, Norwood trailed 10-7 early as Quinncy Vestal made a 3-pointer.
The Lady Tigers then outscored Norwood, 15-11, before halftime to take a 25-18 lead at the break. Gentry Davault did score six of her team’s points in the second quarter.
Down eight heading into the fourth quarter, Kalie Chadwell scored nine points, but the rally was too late in the 14-point loss.
All-Tournament selection Kalie Chadwell led Norwood with a team-high 16 points; Gunter, another All-Tournament selection, had six points; Davault also scored six points; Vestal had five points; while Addy Gray had two points.
In the semifinals, Gunter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Norwood past Fatima, a state-ranked Class 3 squad, 48-47.
Her 3-pointer was part of an 18-7 run to end the game and completed the comeback for the Lady Pirates.
Fatima led 13-6 early as Jayden Chambers, the third All-Tournament selection for Norwood, scored four of her squad’s points.
Gunter added a needed 3-pointer in the second quarter and Vestal had four points, but Norwood trailed 31-15 at halftime.
The Lady Pirates’ defense would end up holding Fatima to seven points in each of the final two quarters.
Meanwhile, Norwood won the second half, 38-14, with the help of Gunter’s nine points and seven points from both Gray and Chadwell.
Gunter finished with a team-high 12 points; Chadwell added 11; Chambers had eight points; Gray scored seven; Davault had six points; and Vestal had four points.
In the first round, the Lady Pirates crushed a larger school Waynesville team, 57-34.
Norwood’s defense held Waynesville to just 10 total points in the first half as they would take a 29-point lead into the break.
Gunter made four, first quarter 3-pointers while Chadwell added two of her own and a total of 14 points.
Gunter added two more 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Lady Pirates would cruise to the large win.
Gunter made a total of six 3-pointers in her 21-point effort. Chadwell made two 3-pointers and tallied 16 points; Chambers scored eight; Davault had seven; Vestal had three points; and Gray had two points.