By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Sparta, Mo. — Hartville won a wild semifinal matchup over Norwood and Gainesville used a big second half to get by Plato in Tuesday’s Class 2 District 4 girls basketball semifinals in Sparta. Recaps and photos for both games are below.
Hartville Heartbreakers: Late Free Throw Secures Semifinal Upset For Hartville Over Norwood
There was bedlam on one end of the court and heartbreak on the other after a wild finish to Tuesday’s Class 2 District 4 semifinal between Hartville and Norwood.
Seconds after Norwood senior Emma McIntosh sunk a 30-foot three-pointer with 10.8 seconds left to tie the game 44-44, Hartville junior Grace Still hit the game-winner from the free-throw line after a controversial loose-ball foul under the basket with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Still’s free throw secured a wild and emotional 45-44 upset for 3-seed Hartville (19-9), which had two previous double-digit losses to 2-seed Norwood (23-4) this season.
“They’re buying in,” Hartville head coach Mike Percival said. “They’re understanding that we have a lot of tradition at Hartville, and we don’t quit no matter what happens. They kept their focus and they’re actually starting to show a little bit of maturity and a little bit of drive.”
CLICK HERE FOR HARTVILLE VS. NORWOOD PHOTOS
McIntosh’s late tying 3 came after the senior could be heard talking up teammates throughout Norwood’s late deficits. McIntosh led the inbound play out of a timeout that set up her shot, which sent her teammates and Norwood fans into a temporary frenzy.
“She hit the big 3, but wasn’t meant to be,” Norwood head coach Shannon Crain said. “She didn’t play a very good first half, but in the second half she was about all we got. She drove to the basket, took over the game and hit that big three. You’ve got to hand it to her. She didn’t quit.”
Still’s 10 points and Emily Chisum’s 11 points led Hartville, which now has a shot to avenge yet another loss from earlier this season when it faces Gainesville in Friday’s district final. Hartville fell 47-36 to Gainesville on Jan. 23.
Crain didn’t hide his thoughts on the late foul call that put Hartville at the line with 1.1 seconds left.
“Who calls that with one second? Loose ball on the ground and you call a foul. But, hey. What do you say? It’s over,” he said.
“It should’ve went to overtime. We tried to keep [Still] from getting the ball in the first place and she still got it and dribbled all the way and there’s a loose ball and they call a foul on a loose ball. You hate to go out that way, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”
Norwood 34-31 entering the fourth quarter after closing the third quarter on an 8-0 run keyed by McIntosh, who scored eight of her game-high 19 points in the third.
McIntosh accounted for most of Norwood’s offense in the second half, scoring 15 of the Pirates’ 21 points after Hartville began to shut down Norwood in the paint.
“We did a much better job of helping [in the second half],” Percival said. “We tried to front and back some kids and keep them from catching because that’s kind of [Norwood’s] bread and butter.”
Norwood led 7-0 before Hartville’s first basket at 2:52 of the first quarter. The Pirates led 10-4 after the first quarter and 23-16 at halftime.
Hartville pulled within 20-15 in the second quarter and opened the second half on a 13-3 run. A Chisum corner 3 gave Hartville its first lead of the game, 26-25, in the third quarter. Hartville led 31-26 before Norwood’s 8-0 run to end the third.
Sadie Chisum put Hartville up 40-38 late in the fourth quarter. McIntosh tied the game on the next possession with a pair of free throws.
FINAL: (3) Hartville 45, (2) Norwood 44
Hartville 4 12 15 14- 45
Norwood 10 13 11 10-44
Hartville- Emily Chisum 11, Grace Still 10, Cheyanne Mullenix 8, Sadie Chisum 7, Mallory Hardcastle 6, Skylar Divine 3
Norwood- Emma McIntosh 19, Sara McIntosh 10, Chloe Crain 6, Marla Chadwell 5, Emily Chadwell 3, Jenna Ogletree 1
Gainesville Uses Big Third Quarter To Pull Away From Plato
Eventually, the Gainesville run came. It just took time.
After threatening to run away with Tuesday’s Class 2 District 4 semifinal with Plato after a 16-4 first quarter, the Bulldogs found themselves up just eight at the half. Out of the locker room, Gainesville exploded with a 22-7 third quarter, eventually pushing its lead as high as 45-20 in its 54-37 win.
“We just moved the ball and we made some open shots,” Gainesville head coach Morris Jenkins said of the second half. “This team does a really good job of playing together. They’re not selfish, and that’s a big key.”
CLICK HERE FOR PLATO VS. GAINESVILLE PHOTOS
Gainesville (26-1), which beat Plato (14-12) by 10 points on Dec. 28 in the Mountain Grove Tournament semifinals, was held to five second-quarter points by a Plato team that, for a while, had seemed to figure out a way to keep any Bulldog not named Annie Noah off the scoreboard.
Noah finished with a game-high 16 points, including nine in the first quarter.
“Plato did a pretty good job on us defensively, and we just kept moving the ball and trying to screen,” Jenkins said. “We felt we needed to slow down offensively as far as our player movement and using screens I think we did a better job of that in the third quarter.”
Tuesday signaled the end to a frustrating year Plato head coach Rich Mueller’s Eagles.
“We’ve faced adversity all season,” Mueller said. “We just got Jannett (Garrett) back and she’s not 100 percent. We’re a lot better team than that right there. Some kids just didn’t do what we needed to. It wasn’t in our heart for some reason. That’s how it goes.”
Plato was outscored 22-7 in the third quarter. Gainesville senior Destiny Scott put up 10 of her 14 points in the third, while Michia Jenkins and Noah both scored five.
“I think some of my kids wanted it to be over [at halftime],” Mueller said. “It just gets to that point where you’re frustrated and it’s a long season. I think things wear on you and I think that frustration for some of them, they just didn’t want to work hard enough to do it.
“We could have beat that team. We knew when we played them in Mountain Grove we could beat them. But that’s the way it goes. That’s basketball.”
Gainesville has now won nine straight games since its only loss of the season—a 44-43 final to one-loss Thayer on Jan. 26.
FINAL: (1) Gainesville 54, (4) Plato 37
Plato 4 9 7 17- 37
Gainesville 16 5 22 11- 54
Plato- Kendall Hall 15, Madi Mueller 10, Janett Garrett 7, McKenna Crabtree 2, Hannah Breedlove 2, Kennedy Adams 1
Gainesville- Annie Noah 16, Destiny Scott 14, Michia Jenkins 14, Shai Meek 4, Cassie Carlo 2, Aspyn Britt 2, Natalie Kiger 2
