The Logan-Rogersville Lady Wildcats were finally able to get the monkey—or Liberator—off their back Monday with a win over COC rival Bolivar. Rogersville coach Denny McHenry said the 56-36 win marked the first victory for the Wildcats over the Liberators in recent history.
“There are certain teams that have the tradition and that you have to beat to have any chance to win the conference and in my history in Southwest Missouri, Bolivar is one of those teams,” McHenry said. “We’ve not beaten Bolivar in I don’t know when, so that is one more thing on the bucket list that we’ve tried to knock off with our basketball team and our program.”
Rogersville went on an 11-2 run to open the game, fueled by three big shots beyond the arc for the Lady Wildcats in the first few minutes of the contest.
“We got off to such a great start and when you make shots, it makes other facets of the game so much easier,” McHenry said.
Offense gave the Wildcats the lead, but their defense kept them on top, coming up big and only allowing Bolivar to put 4 points on the scoreboard in the third quarter.
The Liberators battled back within 12 points late in the fourth, but Rogersville went on a 10-2 run to close the game and claim the 56-36 victory on their home court.
“Our defense was solid and that’s what kept us in the lead the whole time,” McHenry said. “Defensively, to hold them to 36 points in 63 possessions—even though we had some breakdowns—I’m pretty proud of my kids.”
Rogersville dominated the boards, grabbing 33 rebounds to Bolivar’s 17. Hailey Brown led the Wildcat offense with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Sarah Jordan was close on her heels with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
“We haven’t beaten Bolivar in a really long time, so it was a big thing for us to come out and pull ahead and then keep the lead the entire night,” Jordan said. “Our strategy was to stop the three point shooters and execute our plays, which I feel we were able to accomplish tonight.”
Two Lady Liberators put up double digits in scoring—Kaylie Rothdiener with 13 and Michelle Gabani with 10. Bolivar is now 8-9 on the season and will next face Marshfield on the road Thursday in another conference matchup.
“We’re disappointed in the outcome of the game, needless to say, but one of the positives we’ll take away is that we never gave up,” said Bolivar coach Stacy Wells. “We dug ourselves a hole early in the first half and were able to battle back within 12, but every time we got a stop, we just couldn’t get the ball to fall for us.”
With the win, Rogersville is a perfect 2-0 in the conference, 11-7 overall, and will travel to Springfield Catholic on Thursday for a rematch from their own tournament last week in which Rogersville is hoping for a different outcome.
“It’s not about revenge, it’s about going and playing better in the last minutes of the game,” McHenry said.
Bolivar 36, Rogersville 56
Bolivar 8-9-4-15—36
Rogersville 15-16-11-14—56
Bolivar—Kaylie Rothdiener 13, Michelle Gabani 10, Aleena Derossett 6, Macy Hall 3, Maleah Francka 2, Reaghan Lesh 2
Rogersville—Hailey Brown 19, Sarah Jordan 18, Rachel Jenkins 7, Jordyn Gault 4, Sarah Posey 2, Olivia Johnston 2, Hope Hefley 2, Audra Metz 2
