Just two days after a poor second half against Braymer cost the Higbee girls a conference tournament title, the Lady Tigers won a rematch, 61-39, at home to finish the season with a perfect conference record and their first CLAA regular-season championship since 2019.

“After you lose to a team by 11, to come back and turn it around and win a conference championship for the first time since 2019, I’m pretty proud,” said Higbee coach Tanner Burton. “For our girls to go undefeated in the conference means something this year. I’m really proud of them.”

On Monday, the Lady Tigers found out they had returned to the state’s Class 1 ranking at No. 10 after previously receiving votes.

“It’s something we can be proud of,” Burton said.

Back on the court Monday, Higbee quickly took the upper hand on a free throw by senior Alie Mitchell and a 3-point basket off a turnover by sophomore Lauren Spilman to go up 4-0. By the halfway mark of the first quarter, the Lady Tigers had built a 15-6 lead.

The second quarter belonged entirely to Higbee’s Welch sisters. Junior Ronnie Welch, the team’s scoring leader, banked the Lady Tigers’ first eight points of the quarter. Then older sister Isabelle Welch cleaned up with four points as Higbee went into the break ahead 33-24.

“I think [Isabelle] knew she had to step up,” Burton said. “She’s had some big games this year, usually against six-footers. And they had a six-footer. She plays better at a high level. She’s quicker and agile.

“She was a raw athlete as a freshman, and she’s changed and become a great athlete as she’s aged. That’s really special. She’s not only a great player, she’s a great role model.”

Higbee crept ahead by one more in a low-scoring second quarter. Ronnie Welch opened the half with a jumper, but Braymer responded with a 3-point shot by junior Morgan Haughton to cut the lead back to single digits.

Braymer would score just one more field goal in the third quarter, another 3-point shot, this time from senior Rayleigh Cox.

Higbee outpointed the Lady Bobcats 8-6 but seemed to lose some fire coming out of the half.

“We’re trying to figure that out. Right now, we’re a three-quarter team,” Burton said. “Tonight, I think we did a better job of playing our game. We stumbled a little bit, but obviously, we closed out the game strong.”

Higbee turned it back up in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points to Braymer’s nine to put the game away. Isabelle Welch scored eight of her 18 total points in the fourth quarter to shut the door on the Lady Bobcats.

Ronnie Welch finished with a game-high 19 points, 12 of which came in the first half. But she struggled from the line, only making three of 10 free throws after missing all six chances in the first half.

Spilman posted 16 points with a 3-pointer in the first quarter. Mitchell rounded out the scoring with eight points.

Senior Karissa Rogers led Braymer with 11 points, followed by Lexi O’Dell with 10.

Higbee closes out the regular season with back-to-back games against larger-class teams, both of which are in the ranking conversations. On Thursday, the Lady Tigers travel to Class 2 La Plata (19-4). They return home Friday to close out the regular season against Class 3 South Shelby at 6 p.m. for Senior Night.

“Hopefully, we can go on a tear to end the season,” Burton said. “We’re going to end our season with a gauntlet to prepare us for the following week and hopefully for some games ahead.”

The Lady Tigers are seeded second in the Class 1 District 9 Tournament that opens Monday at Blair Oaks High School in Jefferson City. They will face seventh-seeded Columbia Independent School at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19.