The Higbee girls cruised to a 68-7 conference win over Northwestern (Mendon) at home for Courtwarming on Friday night. The Lady Tigers remain unbeaten in the Carroll-Livingston Activities Conference with a perfect 6-0 record to go along with a 10-3 overall mark.

Higbee controlled the game from start to finish, opening with a 16-point run over the first five minutes. The unmerciful Tigers’ defense held Northwestern to just one point in the first half, a free throw by senior Jaden Mauzey late in the opening frame.

Higbee coach Tanner Burton said he challenged his team to play on all cylinders no matter what the score. “I have to be hard on them in games that aren’t close. They need to be consistent in the effort they give night in and night out. They can’t take their foot off the gas. I think you saw that on the defensive end. Holding the team to one point for as long as they did is really impressive regardless of the ability.”

Leading 18-1 after eight minutes, Higbee scored just one field goal in the first five minutes of the second quarter before finishing out the half with a 14-0 run.

“We had a lag there in the second quarter, but they owned it on the defensive end,” Burton said. “In big games, you can’t do that. So, I told them I’m going to push them. We have to own that. For us to be a really good team like we have the potential to be, we’ve got to make sure we put the pedal to the metal and make sure we are playing our best basketball every night regardless of the opponent.”

In front 34-1 at halftime, the Lady Tigers maintained the intensity in the third quarter. Northwestern added a pair of free throws two minutes into the half but was denied its first field goal of the game until the 2:19 mark in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles scored six points in the third quarter but were shut out of the final stanza as Higbee secured the lopsided win by 61 points.

Higbee senior Marilynn Ritter led the team with a career-high 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for the double-double. She also made four steals and sank a pair of 3-pointers.

“She just had a knack for the ball and worked to turn that into points for us,” said coach Burton. “It was an inspired performance for sure.”

Senior and Courtwarming Queen Ronnie Welch posted 15 points, with seven assists and four steals. Senior Reagan Derboven scored 11 points with three triples and three steals. Junior Lauren Spilman sank nine points, all from the 3-point line.

“All three seniors played very well tonight,” Burton said. “Reagan took 3-point attempts she usually doesn’t take. For us to be really good down the road, Reagan needs to be a threat. Those are what we continue to work on, those little things I keep preaching in practice.

“I told them to ignore the scoreboard and play full tilt. This team is very good but I’m trying to pressure them to be the very best they can be.”

Higbee’s three losses have come to some of the state’s best teams. Two of those were to top Class 3 schools, Highland and Monroe City. The third was to Tipton, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2, which has already beaten teams in Classes 4, 5, and 6.

“With those losses, we are only allowing around 30 points per game, currently the best defensive effort in my 12 years,” Burton said. 

The Higbee girls are currently holding teams to an average of 30.08 per game, the second-fewest in all of Class 1.

The Lady Tigers were scheduled to host Hardin-Central (9-3) on Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press. On Saturday, they play Stover, currently 11-1 in Class 3, for a 6 p.m. tipoff at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly.

Higbee earned the top seed in next week’s Keytesville Tournament. The Tigers will take on the host team at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.