For the first time in school history, the Higbee High School boys and girls earned the right to both play for district titles in the same season after a second-round sweep of Community.

Higbee will hold a special pep rally today at 2:20 p.m. before a 3 p.m. send off for the girls team. The Lady Tigers face St. Elizabeth at Blair Oaks High School in Jefferson City for the chance to advance to the state tournament. The reigning two-time Class 1 state champion Lady Hornets have made five straight state semifinal appearances and have won at least 20 games for the last three seasons. Both teams are 20-7 overall with the season on the line. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.

In semifinal action, the Lady Tigers took down Community 60-44 on Wednesday to end the Lady Trojan’s 10-year streak in the district championship game.

“We played tenacious defense and it gradually wore down the opposition,” said Higbee coach Tanner Burton.

Sophomore Lauren Spilman led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double. Junior Ronnie Welch scored 15 points and brought down seven boards. Senior Alie Mitchell posted 14 points.

The Higbee boys eased past Community 82-31 with hot 3-point shooting in Thursday’s semifinal to reach their fourth-consecutive district championship. They will take on Bunceton/Prairie Home at 3 p.m. Saturday in Madison for the Class 1 District 10 title.

Leading 55-17 at halftime, the Tigers sank 12 of 22 (55%) shots from the 3-point arc Thursday night to cruise past Community. The seniors led the way on the scoreboard. Jaxon Hudson paced the Tigers with a game-high 28 points, followed by Will Spilman with 18 points, and Derek Rockett with 17.

Friday afternoon’s pep really is open to the public, and the Tigers hope for a monumental send off.