By Allen VanNess
Hartville, MO – Fueled by an onslaught of three-point field goals and solid defense, the Hartville Lady Eagles routed the Plato Lady Eagles 66-49 on Thursday evening.
Hartville, coming in ranked tenth in Class 2 in the latest statewide girls coaches poll, showed that when they are clicking on all cylinders they are a tough team to match up with.
And they were definitely clicking on all cylinders on this night.
“We knew we had to come out and kind of hit Plato early on and get a jump on them because they have a lot of good athletes and shooters, so we knew we had to shut them down as much as possible,” said Hartville senior guard Mallory Hardcastle, who finished with a game high 27 points, including shooting seven for eight from three-point range. “That was crucial for our defense.”
It was Hardcastle who got Hartville off to a quick start with thirteen points in the first quarter.
Taking their first lead after one of Hardcastle’s field goals early on in the quarter, Hartville and their up-tempo offense quickly went on a 20-5 run and led 26-12 after the first quarter.
“We just ran our plays, and I slid to the open spots just waiting for a kick out,” Hardcastle said. “After hitting my first couple, I was there for a reversal if they needed it. If they didn’t, I had confidence they could go all the way. Fortunately, when they did kick it out, they kept falling.”
Increasing their lead to 16 at the beginning of the second quarter, Plato went on a 10-2 run of their own and pulled within five points with three minutes left in the first half.
“They did some good things in the second quarter,” said Hartville head coach Mike Percival. “They spaced their kids out and caught us and put us in some bad situations, and there were a few times we didn’t handle them exactly right. They sneak in a little bit at a time.”
Plato would never get any closer, however.
Hartville responded quickly and pushed the lead back to 11 after a three-pointer from senior guard Cheyanne Mullenix at the buzzer to end the first half. Mullenix finished with 19 points, including five three-point field goals of her own.
While holding her scoreless in the second quarter, Hardcastle found her stroke again from long range in the third. Her fourth three-pointer of the quarter gave Hartville its biggest lead of the night, 59-32.
“I just told them they need to keep playing hard, keep the tempo up, have confidence and just do what we do,” Percival said.
Plato would never get closer than 17 the rest of the way, as Hartville cruised to victory.
Overall, Percival knows his team played well to beat a talented Plato team the way they did.
“We shot the ball well and defensively the intensity was there from the get go, and we got things started in the right direction,” said Percival. “The shots fell for us tonight, and when the shots fall, it makes everything better.”
With the win, the Hartville Lady Eagles improve to 5-3, while the Plato Lady Eagles fall to 4-5 on the young season.
Next up, Hartville plays Saturday in the Walnut Grove Lady Classic. The Plato Lady Eagles play in the 3rd Annual Mountain Grove Pharmacy Holiday Tournament on Dec. 26.
Plato 12 14 12 11—49
Hartville 26 11 22 7—66
Plato: Madi Mueller 17, Kendall Hall 15, Janett Garrett 7, McKenna Crabtree 5, Loriss Neher 4, Kennedy Adams 2
Hartville: Mallory Hardcastle 27, Cheyanne Mullenix 19, Sadie Chisum 6, Emily Chisum 5, Skylar Divine 3, Ally Coltrane 3, Grace Still 3
