Waynesville High School all-stater Kallie Bildner may have been the focus for the Hillcrest Lady Hornets on Thursday night, but the Lady Tigers’ guards also caused problems for Hillcrest.
The sophomore duo of Re’Shawna Stone and Kiara Shoulders scored 19 and 16 points, respectively, in leading Waynesville to a 72-54 Ozark Conference victory.
“She’s a great player,” Hillcrest coach Jeni Hopkins said of the Waynesville senior, “and obviously, she’s a big focus for us. But, they also have some nice guards that we didn’t do a good job containing.”
Stone and Shoulders scored 14 of Waynesville’s 24 first-quarter points, as the Lady Tigers took a 24-17 lead.
The Lady Tigers used a variety of methods to put points on the board in the first. They scored down low, on inbounds plays, from behind the 3-point arc and on fastbreaks – not giving Hillcrest just one facet to defend.
“We got down in the first quarter – that’s where we lost this game,” Hopkins said. “We knew they always have good first quarters. We got down, and it just seemed like we were trying to shovel out the whole way – just dig, dig, dig.
“We’d make a run and they’d make a run… You can do that when you’re even (on the scoreboard). But, when you start out in a hole like we did after that first quarter, we just struggle.”
And the struggle continued in the second quarter for Hillcrest, as Bildner opened the scoring with a conventional three-point play to give Waynesville a 10-point advantage (27-17).
Hillcrest senior Kaycee Gerald answered with a drive to the basket to make it 27-19, but Bildner and Shoulders sparked a 6-0 Waynesville run for a 14-point lead (33-19) with 6:31 remaining in the second.
The Lady Tigers took advantage of Hillcrest turnovers, scoring eight points via the fastbreak, which isn’t necessarily Waynesville’s style.
“It always helps, for sure,” Waynesville coach Brittany Matlock said of the fastbreak points. “We’re not known for our pressing, or anything like that, but we do try to convert when we get a turnover, or we do get the rebound.”
Sparked by Gerald’s eight third-quarter points, the Lady Hornets chipped away at Waynesville’s lead. Hillcrest used an 8-0 run to pull within 10 (49-39), taking advantage of Bildner being on the bench for just over 2 minutes. But Waynesville maintained a 53-45 lead, heading into the fourth.
Senior Laurnea Jarman scored on a layup and freshman Sarah Hale hit 1-of-2 free throws to pull the Lady Hornets (9-9 overall, 3-2 Ozark Conference) within five points (53-48) early in the fourth quarter, but that is when Bildner took over the game.
Bildner pulled down a rebound and then was on the receiving end of a high-low pass from Nina Kizzee to give the Lady Tigers (13-4, 3-1) a 55-48 advantage. She scored a conventional three-point play, pulled down two more of her six rebounds, scored two more baskets and the rout was on.
“She’s definitely one of the more respected players that we play against,” Hopkins said. “I mean this as a compliment, but I’m going to be really happy when she graduates.
“We respect her. She’s a really good basketball player, and she was a big focus for us, but I also think she played really good (tonight).”
Bildner, who will be playing for Lindenwood University next year, led Waynesville with 24 points, to bring her career total to 1,865. Her six rebounds Thursday night, puts her at 1,046 for her career at Waynesville.
“I’m proud of her,” Matlock said. “She’s in and out (of the game). We’re trying to get her some rest and buy her some time toward the end of the season – and get our priorities straight for everyone – get them so they’ll stay healthy and be ready to go.”
And speaking of being “ready to go,” Matlock is expecting and her due date is Feb. 25 – but she has no plans of taking time off before the baby arrives.
“When it happens, it happens,” Matlock said. “It could make for an interesting game night, maybe one night – but we’ll just see.”
WAYNESVILLE – 24-17-12-19—72
HILLCREST – 17-13-15- 9—54
WAYNESVILLE (13-4, 3-1) – Kallie Bildner 24, Re’Shawna Stone 19, Kiara Shoulders 16, Ashton Pilz 9, Nina Kizzee 2, Payton Aragon 2.
HILLCREST (9-9, 3-2) – Kaycee Gerald 26, Laurnea Jarman 13, Jordan Pryor 6, Jasmyn Johnson 6, Witney Williams 2, Sarah Hale 1.
Hillcrest B 39, Waynesville B 28
