BROSELEY -- Lexi Liau's putback off a missed 3-pointer to start the game Tuesday was a preview of what was to follow.
Neelyville crashed the boards and any hopes of an upset by seventh-seeded Doniphan as the Tigers advanced with a 74-44 win in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic quarterfinal at Twin Rivers High School.
"They were getting everything," Donettes coach Larry Mueller said. "If they didn't make it, they were getting it and putting it back.
"And we flat weren't making too many."
Neelyville advanced to the semifinals for a seventh straight year and will look to reach the championship game for a fifth straight time when the Tigers (7-3) face third-seeded Twin Rivers at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Jentri Worley and J'Kayla Fowler led Neelyville with a combined 45 points and 21 rebounds Tuesday. Worley led with 25 points while Fowler hauled in 12 rebounds and scored nine of her 20 in the opening quarter.
The Tigers finished with a plus-15 rebounding advantage and scored 20 second-chance points.
"Shots aren't going to fall sometimes but if you block out and rebound it will make up for it," Neelyville coach Becky Hale said.
Paige Eddington led Doniphan (6-3) with 16 points and six rebounds. Savanah Aaron sank a trio of third-quarter 3-pointers in scoring 13 points while Jakelyn Friend added 11 points but the Donettes shot 29.3 percent from the field.
Outside a 16-8 third-quarter run by Doniphan, this one was all Neelyville.
"Third quarter we came out, hit some shots," Mueller said. "We weren't hitting shots that first half. We're a better shooting team than what we showed the first half."
Neelyville shot only 10 percentage points better than the Donettes but the Tigers took 15 more shots by crashing the boards. Take away the 16 second-chance points and Neelyville's halftime lead is only eight.
The Tigers scored 12 second-chance points in the first quarter alone to lead 22-7.
Neelyville scored the opening seven points and Autumn Dodd, who finished with 13 points, knocked down a 3 for a 10-2 lead. Friend answered with a 3 but Doniphan missed chances to get closer.
The Tigers were up 10 after Tori Harlow's lone basket, a 3 midway through the quarter, and Doniphan didn't score after Aaron's putback with 3:25 left.
Neelyville's 12-2 run extended into the second quarter before a putback by Eddington, but the Tigers scored the next 10 points ending with a 3 by Dodd for a 34-9 lead. Worley followed with another 3 before Doniphan scored on consecutive possessions for the first time since the opening two minutes of the game.
Neelyville took a 43-19 lead into halftime.
"We've been preaching looking out for each other and playing hard for each other," Hale said.
Doniphan limited Neelyville's second chances in the second half and started knocking down shots from 3-point range, hitting three in a 9-0 run over two minutes. Still, the Tigers led by 19 and were up 60-40 entering the fourth when Worley knocked down a 3 off a pass from Dodd.
"That's the kind of team we can be," Mueller said. "We didn't do any of that the first half. No rhythm in the game, we weren't attacking, we weren't aggressive. They were running circles around us."
Doniphan falls into the fifth-place semifinal for a fourth straight year after placing sixth last year. The Donettes will face sixth-seeded New Madrid County Central, coming off its first loss of the season, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Looking to win their first title since 2010, the Tigers are focusing on fundamentals like blocking out, making good passes, Hale said.
"They're a good club," Mueller said. "They keep bringing it at you and they all play hard. It was impressive. Hopefully we learned a little something tonight from that."