BOURBON — Dispatching the host Lady Warhawks 52-34 in the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 3, District 3 Girls Basketball Tournament semifinals, Nathan Lansford’s Belle Lady Tigers earned a match up with Steelville’s Lady Cardinals Saturday night in the district championship game at Bourbon High School.

Leading 33-25 at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter, Belle saw Steelville go on a 23-5 run spanning the third and fourth quarters leaving them trailing 48-38 with 6:06 remaining.

Closing back within four at 52-48 on three Anastyn Lansford free throws with 2:34 left, Lansford fouled out 13 seconds later leading to a 10-3 run that eventually ended Belle’s season at 11-15 following a 62-51 loss to Steelville.

Down 4-0 early in the opening quarter, Two Victoria Busch free throws and a Lansford 3-pointer gave Belle their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Steelville then led most of the rest of the opening eight minutes until a pair of Busch free throws tied things up at 14-14 in the later stages of the first quarter.

Scoring seven of Belle’s first nine second-quarter points, Lansford helped the Lady Tigers to a 23-17 lead.

Five more Lansford points and a Saige Garner free throw gave Belle a 29-25 halftime lead.

Lansford led the way for Belle with 20 first-half points.

Blanche Halbert and Jazmyn Hurd each led Steelville with nine first-half points.

Two free throws and a bucket from Zoe Camden doubled Steelville’s halftime lead to eight points at 33-25 with 4:41 for the third quarter.

Later buckets from Busch and Lansford gave Belle a six-point advantage at 37-31 with 1:13 for the third quarter.

From that point, Steelville began to chip away.

Scoring the final five points of the quarter, the Lady Cardinals got back within a point of Belle at 37-36 on a Halbert 3-pointer that just beat the third-quarter buzzer.

Limited to three Lansford free throws over the first 3:10 of the fourth quarter, Steelville put 14 points on their side of the scoreboard to take a 50-40 lead with 4:50 remaining.

Answering with an 8-2 run, Belle crept back to within four points by a score of 52-48 on a Busch 3-pointer and five more Lansford points with 2:34 remaining.

Earlier in the quarter, Garner fouled out with 5:30 remaining only to see Lansford exit the game on her fifth foul at the 2:21 mark of the fourth quarter.

Nineteen seconds later, Camden joined the Lady Tiger duo on the bench with her fifth foul leaving Belle with only four players on the floor.

Able to stay within single digits for nearly two minutes, Busch then fouled out with 23.5 left forcing the Lady Tigers to play with only three players.

Lansford led Belle with a game-high 30 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Busch added nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Garner chipped in five points, two steals and two rebounds.

Camden finished with four points while Rehmert kicked in three points, six rebounds and four steals.

Hurd led Steelville with 21 points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds.

Halbert also reached double digits for the Lady Cardinals with 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Emeri Perkins made it three Steelville girls in double figures with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Steelville took on KIPP (St. Louis) last night (Tuesday) in sectional action.

In Belle’s 52-34 first-round victory Thursday night, Lansford led the way with 37 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Garner threw in seven points, six rebounds and four steals.

Busch finished with six points and nine rebounds followed closely by Rehmert with two points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.

Bevin Bouse led Bourbon with 18 points and six rebounds.