Valley junior Billy Exline (left) won the 133-pound class at the Red Raider Invitational. Correction: The Viking in the photo in last Thursday's edition was misidentified as Exline. The Marshall Democrat-News regrets the error. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

SLATER -- Bruce Willis wasn't there, but "Last Man Standing" may be an appropriate title for Tuesday's first-round girls' contest in the 27th annual Wildcat Classic at Slater, when seventh-seeded Santa Fe knocked off No. 2 Pilot Grove, 57-44.

The whistle was blowing throughout the night as the two teams combined for 53 fouls and 65 free throws -- with the Lady Chiefs getting the better of the bargain, especially during the second half with an 18-8 gap in team fouls. Five players fouled out of the contest, four of them Lady Tigers -- who were also hit with a technical foul on head coach Terry Lorenz, a fairly rare occurrence for one the area's most respected court bosses.

Santa Fe got off to a good start with a 12-7 first quarter, building its lead to 10 points by halftime -- the scoring tally by freshman Gia Baldwin in the first half. Baldwin would eventually score 24 points, making nine free throws during the fourth quarter -- the Lady Chiefs sealing the victory by sinking 17 of 22 from the charity stripe during the final stretch.

Senior Kayla Thomas had nine points and 11 rebounds for Pilot Grove (10-5).

The Lady Chiefs (5-9), who play Fayette in Thursday's semifinal round, got 13 points from sophomore Lauren Aversman.

Fayette 52, Slater 45

SLATER -- The last time Lewis and Clark Conference rivals Slater and Fayette hooked up two weeks ago, the host Lady Falcons opened with a 20-4 run and won by 18 points.

Tuesday's return engagement at the 27th Wildcat Classic was closer throughout, Fayette using an 11-6 third-quarter spurt for the slight advantage it would hold the rest of the way for a 52-45 first-round decision.

Senior Catherine Kyle scored 18 points and senior Tori Eaton, held to seven points in the previous meeting, hit five three-pointers for 17 points to lead the Lady Falcons (6-9).

Slater (6-10) got 11 points each from sophomore Brittany Cornine and senior Erika Yager, who also pulled down nine rebounds. The Lady 'Cats meet Pilot Grove in the consolation semifinal round Thursday.

Boys

Sacred Heart 53, Santa Fe 49

SLATER -- The third-seeded Sacred Heart boys were given a bit of a scare Tuesday by No. 3 Santa Fe, but hung on for a 53-49 decision in the first round of the 27th Wildcat Classic.

The Chiefs trailed by eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but a pair of bombs from senior Kenzie Thorp cut the margin down to a sliver. Fortunately for the Gremlins, 6-foot-5 senior Jeremy Howard came off the bench to tally seven points down the stretch -- making up for the team's four missed free throws in eight attempts, which included the front end of two one-and-one opportunities.

Senior Ben McMullin and sophomore Jacob Harlan each had 15 points for Sacred Heart (12-2), which takes on No. 2 seed Glasgow -- ranked fourth in this week's Missouri Class 1 poll -- in Thursday's semifinal round.

Junior Taylor Wesley scored 16 points and Thorp finished with 14 for the Chiefs (9-5), who have a rematch with Carrollton -- which they beat by 13 points Friday -- on Thursday.