By Dana Harding
Walnut Grove, MO – A pair of Lady Eagles will meet in Friday’s Walnut Grove Holiday Classic final. No. 5 Pierce City upset No. 1 Walnut Grove 54-48 in the early game, while No. 2 Hartville cruised past No. 6 Omaha 44-24 in the nightcap.
No. 1 Walnut Grove vs No. 5 Pierce City
During Tuesday’s 54-48 upset victory over Walnut Grove, Pierce City’s Kendyl Hayward saved her best play for the very end.
Up five with 17 seconds left on in the game, Walnut Grove took a rebound and got out to a quick transition. Bayley Harman’s bullet from half court found teammate Raylie Hejna cutting to the basket.
A basket would have cut the Pierce City lead to a single possession, but Hayward was ready.
The sophomore forward blocked Hejna’s attempt in what proved to be a game-clinching play for the Lady Eagles.
“Well, at first, I thought I’d fouled,” Hayward said. “I just wanted [Hejna] to not make that shot and, in the end, it was the right decision to go for it.”
Pierce City head coach Rob Guerin was quick to praise his sophomore for playing through a difficult assignment.
“That’s just a hustle play,” Guerin said. “I have to give her props. She just hustled down the floor and knocked the ball out of bounds which took a few more seconds for them to set up a play and helped seal the game.”
Hayward’s block put an exclamation point on a night where Pierce City’s aggressive defense set the tone early and kept the score close. Constant ball pressure and timely rebounding helped limit Walnut Grove’s potent one-two scoring punch of all-staters Hejna and Harman.
While Walnut Grove’s all-state duo finished with 20 and 19 points, respectively, Pierce City was able to minimize second-chance opportunities and keep the rest of the Lady Tigers quiet on the evening.
A Hayward basket at 6:08 in the third quarter gave Pierce City a 27-26 lead, its first of the game. From that point, strong finishes from Bella Golubski and Ragan Blinzler helped Pierce City maintain its lead.
Golubski led the Lady Eagles with 16 points. Blinzler added 15, and Hayward chipped in 9 points in the win.
Semifinal One: Pierce City – 54, Walnut Grove – 48
Pierce City 10 12 17 15 — 54
Walnut Grove 14 10 12 12 — 48
Pierce City scoring: Bella Golubski – 16, Ragan Blinzler – 15, Kendyl Hayward – 9, Libbey Strickler – 3, Emily Drollinger – 2, Christine Stellwagen – 2, Kayla Portillo- 2
Walnut Grove scoring: Raylie Hejna – 20, Bayley Harman – 19, Grace Miller – 4, Grace McPhail – 3, Taylor Dodson – 2
No. 2 Hartville vs No. 6 Omaha, Ark.
In the nightcap, No. 2 Hartville’s second-half surge helped propel the Lady Eagles to a 44-24 victory over No. 6 Omaha, Arkansas.
A slow start from Hartville in a scrappy, defense-oriented half had fans wondering if they were watching a replay from the evening’s earlier upset.
Fortunately for Missouri’s Lady Eagles, Mallory Hardcastle was following a different script.
The Hartville senior poured in 11 of her game-high 18 points in the third quarter and helped the her team stretch a 4-point halftime lead into 9 at the end of the frame.
“I got a couple fouls early,” Hardcastle said. “I got two in the first quarter, so that kind of put a damper on my plans. I knew I had to keep shooting to help the team out, because we were having trouble scoring, so I came out with a little bit of fire in the third with the mentality that every shot is going in.”
Hartville’s quick ball movement and aggressive drives to the basket left shooters open on the perimeter. Hardcastle’s trio of 3-pointers in the quarter proved to be the difference-maker in the game, as Omaha would notch only a pair of free throws in the fourth.
Hartville head coach Mike Percival credited his kids for making adjustments to fix some first-half issues that were holding the offense back.
“We just talked to them about doing a couple things differently than we had been and improving on some areas,” Percival said. “We talked about spacing, angles and improving your looks at the basket. The kids made a lot of those plays, themselves.”
As for the big third-quarter burst, Percival thought his team did a good job at not only seizing the momentum, but getting everyone involved to build upon it down the stretch.
“That gave us a little confidence,” Percival said. “When you’ve got a little bit of a lead, you tend to be more aggressive, and you can do some things and attack people. I think that’s what that did. Mallory hit some big shots and gave us a little bit of room, and everybody kind of picked up their effort.”
Paige Coffelt led Omaha with 14 points.
Hartville (9-3) and Pierce City (7-2) will meet in Friday’s 6pm championship game.
Semifinal Two: Hartville – 44, Omaha – 24
Hartville 9 8 14 13 — 44
Omaha 10 3 9 2 — 24
Hartville scoring: Mallory Hardcastle – 18, Sadie Chisum – 8, Cheyanne Mullenix – 7, Emily Chisum – 3, Skylar Divine – 3, Ally Coltrane – 3, Grace Still – 2
Omaha scoring: Paige Coffelt – 14, Macie Arnold – 6, Kendall Atchison – 2, Cassidy Yocham – 2
Consolation bracket: Fordland – 64, Hermitage – 62
Brooke Hyder hit a 3-point buzzer-beater to win the game.
