Tigers roll to Courtwarming win

TUCKER MCCOLLOUGH/TIMES-TRIBUNE
Worth County junior Rylee Ruckman fires a pass downcourt on Friday against St. Joseph Christian in Grant City.

GRANT CITY, Mo. — The Worth County rolled to a commanding 52-21 win over St. Joseph Christian Friday night in Grant City. It was the second-most points of the season for the Tigers who would not surrender the lead all night with a pumped-up Courtwarming gym.

The Tigers set the tone early that they wouldn’t lose as they did not give up a single point in the first quarter. Rylee Ruckman headlined the quarter with two corner threes and led her team to a 12-0 lead ending the first quarter.

“All around the perimeter I put in a lot of time but it’s a team effort getting a good shot,” Ruckman said.

The second quarter stayed true to the opener as Worth County continued to hit shots all around the floor and Kristen Tracy found her shot with 10 points in the half.

“We came out ready to play,” Tracy said “It was all about reading the defense and putting our team in the right offense.”

In the third quarter, Worth County started with a 12-2 run before a timeout by St. Joseph Christian midway through the quarter. Along with the run, Megan Tracy hit back-to-back threes late in the third, and the Lions were still looking for answers trailing 47-18 at the end of the third.

“I just loved the energy,” Tiger coach April Healy said. “We had good defense, hit shots and made the right passes.”

Through a fast fourth quarter, Christian scored three points in the first two minutes working the ball around the floor. Worth County also found success scoring on layups and Rayleigh Smith would get herself to the free-throw line and make one and miss one.

The Tigers were led by Kristen Tracy’s 14 points, while sister Megan Tracy added 13 and Ruckman 11. Kambree Briner added seven, Keira Hardy had three and Smith’s one.

Worth County now at 8-11 on the season will host Mound City on Monday.