WaKeeney – The Norton Lady Jays outscored the TMP Lady Monarchs 23-5 in the first quarter and cruised to a 59-29 win in the semifinals of the MCL tournament Thursday in WaKeeney.

The Lady Jays scored the first 14 points of the game and held the Monarchs without a field goal for nearly four minutes.

Emilee Lane score the only first quarter field goals as Norton led 23-5 after one.

Norton outscored TMP 15-7 in the second quarter and 13-5 in the third to build a 34-point lead at 51-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

With the running clock in the fourth quarter Norton completed the 59-29 win.

Rose McFarland postgame interview

The Lady Jays finished with three players in double-figures led by the 18 of Taryn Kuhn. Emily Schippers scored a team-high nine for the Monarchs.

Norton improved to 10-1 with the victory and TMP dropped to 7-4.

Game highlights

The loss is the first ever in the MCL tournament for the Monarchs and ends a streak of four-straight appearances in the MCL tournament title game.

Norton will make their first appearance in the title game since 2013.

The Lady Jays will play the top-seed Trego in Saturday’s championship game. TMP will play Smith Center in the third place game.