By Denise Tucker
Bolivar, Mo. — Rogersville and West Plains girls basketball will face each other in Saturday’s Class 4 District 9 championships after wins over Marshfield and Bolivar on Tuesday. Recaps and photos from both games are below.
NO. 2 ROGERSVILLE GIRLS 49, NO. 3 MARSHFIELD 27
The Rogersville Lady Wildcats used their defense to help the team get off to a fast start Monday night.
A 10-0 run to open the game sparked the second-seeded Lady Wildcats to a 49-27 semifinal victory over No. 3 Marshfield in the Class 4 District 9 tournament.
“A great start is what you always want to get off to,” Rogersville coach Denny McHenry said. “We preach to our girls that you don’t win the game in the first quarter, but you sure could lose it in the first quarter.”
CLICK HERE FOR MARSHFIELD VS. ROGERSVILLE PHOTOS
The Lady Wildcats led 10-5 after the first quarter and 20-9 at halftime, but struggled at times on the offensive end.
“We scored our first 10 points set up by our defense,” McHenry said. “We trapped some ball screens and worked on that the last two days because they set a lot of ball screens, and Shelly (Jones) and her girls do a great job of throwing the ball in the post. We knew that was a major plan for us tonight, to stop them from getting the ball on the block.
“And, offensively, we struggled a little bit.”
And that is credit, in part, to the Lady Jays’ defense.
“I thought we played good enough defense to have been close,” Marshfield coach Shelly Jones said, “but we couldn’t put the ball in the hole, and our turnovers were our nemesis again tonight.
“When you’re playing great teams, you’ve got to put the whole package together on the exact same night. Give it to Rogersville, they came out with a 10-0 lead and then we got it to 10-5. We held them to 10 points in the second quarter, but we just couldn’t get anything generated on our offensive end.”
Rogersville used a 7-0 run in the third quarter to create more distance for a 36-19 lead, but McHenry wasn’t entirely comfortable at that point.
“We got to play a lot of kids late in the game,” McHenry said, “but it didn’t really feel comfortable until that fourth quarter got going.
“As a coach, I’ve played Shelly enough in the last three years to know that her kids are never going to quit, and that’s why we try to keep making baskets and try to get it to the rim because we knew that we didn’t want to just sit there and hold the ball and turn it over.”
Rogersville will meet top-seeded West Plains in Saturday’s championship game. It will be the third time the two teams will have met this season. Rogersville won the first meeting by four and West Plains picked up an eight-point victory back in January.
“You’ve got to make shots (against West Plains), you’ve got to offensive rebound and you’ve got to limit your turnovers; that’s the biggest thing,” McHenry said. “We know we’re built on guarding, and we have to continue to do that.”
And McHenry knows his team will have its hands full.
“(West Plains is) as good as anybody I have ever seen at playing that matchup zone with their personnel. They are really solid in what they do. We have to make shots and get some easy baskets on the offensive boards.”
NO. 2 ROGERSVILLE GIRLS 49, NO. 3 MARSHFIELD 27
Class 4 District 9 semifinal
MARSHFIELD – 5-4-10-8—27
ROGERSVILLE – 10-10-16-13—49
MARSHFIELD (9-16) – Savanna Vance 9, Emma Tibbs 8, Caitlin King 3, Haleigh Clift 2, Alexis Moon 1, Zoe Bisby 2, Emily Aldridge 2.
ROGERSVILLE (19-6) – Jordyn Gault 13, Maci McHenry 9, Taylor Overstreet 7, Jenn Branstetter 4, Sarah Jordan 4, Sarah Posey 4, Sydney Dunavant 2, Hailey Brown 6.
Up next: (Class 4 District 9 Championship) No. 1 West Plains vs. No. 2 Rogersville, 1 p.m. Saturday
NO. 1 WEST PLAINS GIRLS 71, NO. 4 BOLIVAR 42
The West Plains Lady Zizzers left little doubt about why they are the No. 1 seed in the Class 4 District 9 tournament on Monday night.
CLICK HERE FOR BOLIVAR VS. WEST PLAINS PHOTOS
The Lady Zizzers went on a 10-0 run to close out the first quarter (17-3) on their way to a 71-42 semifinal victory over No. 4 Bolivar.
“We wanted to really come out and press them hard to start the game,” West Plains coach Scott Womack said. “I felt like last year (in the semifinals) we came out a little flat.
“(Bolivar) had a little bit of an advantage getting that game under their belt Saturday (quarterfinals), and we’re sitting at home. So, they got rid of their nerves and we came in a little nervous. I thought if we got out and really pressured them defensively that that might get us going and I think it did.”
In the first quarter alone, West Plains forced Bolivar into six turnovers and seven missed shots, not giving the Lady Liberators a chance to get anything going.
“A lot of that has to do with West Plains,” Bolivar coach Darin Archer said. “They caught us on our heels a little bit. They’re an awfully talented team. They just kind of did what they wanted to in the first half, and there just wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it.”
West Plains kept the pressure on, holding Bolivar scoreless until the 2:10 mark in the second quarter.
“I thought we got going defensively and caused a lot of turnovers and we were able to get running a little bit and get some easy baskets on the backside, trying to push the ball,” Womack said. “Our defense kind of set the tempo of the game and got us that lead at halftime.
“And, I thought our seniors came out and played really well.”
One of those seniors, Elle Williams scored 11 first-quarter points and had 19 at halftime and 21 for the game.
Fellow senior, and Drury University signee, Payton Richards added 18 points for the Lady Zizzers, who improved to 16-9 on the season.
Bolivar fought back in the third quarter, outscoring West Plains 19-13, sparked by Michelle Gabani’s nine points.
“I was proud of our girls,” Archer said. “They came out at halftime and showed a little bit of heart.
“That’s pretty good when you only score three points for about a half and then score 19 in the next quarter. We’re a young group and they’ll bounce back. I’m proud of our seniors.”
But aside from the third-quarter letdown, the Lady Zizzers didn’t make many mistakes on the night.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, not turn the ball over and get good shots up and then play good defense and stay on the boards,” Womack said. “I thought in the first half we did a good job of containing Gabani, but in the second half she started penetrating and getting to the hole.
“We’ve had a little trouble this year putting people away, but I thought tonight we did a good job of that.”
West Plains, who will meet second-seeded Rogersville in Saturday’s championship game, has not won a district title since 2012. The team made it to the finals in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and lost in the semifinals last year.
It will be the third time the two teams will have met this season. Rogersville won the first meeting by four and West Plains picked up an eight-point victory back in January.
“We’re going to have to come out and play,” said Womack, who is in his 26th season at the helm at West Plains. “But I know from playing Rogersville twice, it’s going to be a defensive struggle. We’re going to have to earn whatever we get.”
NO. 1 WEST PLAINS GIRLS 71, NO. 4 BOLIVAR 42
Class 4 District 9 semifinal
BOLIVAR – 3-8-19-12—42
WEST PLAINS – 17-19-13-22—71
BOLIVAR (13-15) – Michelle Gabani 20, Kelsie Barber 2, Hannah Newcomb 6, Cassidi Herbert 2, Reaghan Lesh 5, Megan Campbell 2, Megan Spear 5.
WEST PLAINS (16-9) – Elle Williams 21, Payton Richards 18, Lily Harris 11, Abee Shelton 8, Kendra Davidson 4, Hailey Meeks 4, Sydni Miller 1, Cass Cunningham 2, Kasey Bonham 2.
Up next: (Class 4 District 9 Championship) No. 1 West Plains vs. No. 2 Rogersville, 1 p.m. Saturday
