One of the most intimidating defenses in the O-Zone was on full display Thursday night as the Skyline Lady Tigers showed the visiting Stockton Lady Tigers why they continue to be among the premier girls’ basketball programs in Missouri Class 2.
Skyline (15-4, 1-1) used its fullcourt press to force twenty Stockton turnovers, which led to a 56-47 Mid-Lakes Conference victory.
Normally cool, calm, and collected, the Stockton girls (12-6, 0-2) found themselves in a hole early as Skyline went one-on-one full bore at every opportunity, doubling down whenever possible and just smothering ballhandlers into bad passes. Junior McKinsey Mountain and sophomore Kaylee DaMitz cashed in most of the giveaways, with both reaching double figures in scoring by halftime.
“We’ve talked about having to guard in the halfcourt set,” said Skyline coach Kevin Cheek. “We’re a lot better guarding in the halfcourt set and the fullcourt set than we were earlier in the year. So our girls, they’re working at it. Stockton had four or five kids that can score the basketball, so you’re not only going to have to play great individual defense, but you’re going to have to play good team defense. I thought early on we did a nice job of that.”
“I don’t know if we’ve gone up against a better defense,” agreed Stockton coach Kevin Burns. “Skyline’s got an outstanding team, but we were right there with them.”
Skyline led by as many as 14 points, but Stockton kept battling as seniors Sarah Spurgeon and Taylor Greenlee worked hard down low while classmate Taylor Ewing looked for her signature 3-pointers from the wing. With just under three minutes to play, Stockton had pulled to within 50-45, but that would be as close as they would get.
“Late in the fourth quarter, I think our legs finally gave way and our free throws stopped going in,” said Burns, as Stockton only made 11 of 20 foul shots compared to 13 of 16 for Skyline.
Mountain and DaMitz led Skyline with 17 and 16 points respectively. “They did a nice job of taking the right shots,” said Cheek. “I felt like they didn’t have to make a lot of difficult shots. They let things happen and made buckets that should have been made.”
Spurgeon had 21 for Stockton while Greenlee added 10 and Ewing 9 on three treys.
Skyline heads north to visit the California Pintos on Monday, while Stockton heads south to Marionville for another conference game against the Lady Comets.
Stockton 11 14 13 9—47
Skyline 18 12 17 11—56
Stockton: Sarah Spurgeon 21, Taylor Greenlee 10, Taylor Ewing 9, Mati Burns 3, Harlly Gray 2, Rachel Merrick 2.
Skyline: McKinsey Mountain 17, Kaylee DaMitz 15, Autumn Garrett 9, Lauren Wouters 6, Chloe Cole 4, Cheyenne Story 2, Savannah Owen 2.
