By Jordan Burton
Webb City, Mo. — To everyone else it might seem odd, but it’s nothing Rory Henry hasn’t seen before…
Harman after Harman after Harman has worn donned the black and orange of Walnut Grove and while each of them have their own individuality to their game, all three share one thing.
Buckets.
On Tuesday night, with George Mason head coach Nyla Milleson in attendance, junior Bayley Harman dropped 32 points – more than the entire Bronaugh team scored, leading the Lady Tigers to a 59-25 Class 1 Sectional win at Webb City High School.
“The thing about it is she didn’t have her best game and that’s what is so amazing about her; she can go for 30 on an off night,” said Henry. “She was pressing a little bit tonight. I could see that she kind of lost it in her legs a little bit. She played as hard as she could though and I’m proud of her effort and how composed she was. She did a great job of leading us.”
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The most devastating portion of Harman’s night came in the first quarter, where she scored 14 of Walnut Grove’s 21 points. She then went scoreless in the second quarter before pouring in 18 more points in the second half.
The Lady Tigers led 21-7 after the first, being buoyed by yet another solid defensive effort. Tuesday marked the 12th time this season that Walnut Grove failed to allow an opponent to score more than 30 points.
Bronaugh was held without a field goal for the entire second quarter. The Lady Wildcats’ 25 points was their lowest scoring output of the season.
“We work on defense constantly,” said Henry. “We worked on it yesterday for 30 minutes and they were tired and tired of it but we talk about what we’re trying to perfect and we do all of that so we can put it on display in games. They did a great job tonight and really rebounded the ball well.”
Senior Katey Rider was the lone Bronaugh player to reach double figures with 10 points.
In addition to Harman’s monster night, senior standout Raylie Hejna chipped in 15 points, right at her season average.
The win puts Walnut Grove just one game away from its sixth straight Final Four berth.
The program has enjoyed unparalleled success over the last decade, but this current group is eager to make their own name and start a new streak of state championships without someone mentioning former greats like Heather and Lexie Harman, Madisyn Freeze, Jaycie Dishman or Audree Crain.
“These kids want their own legacy and we talk about that all the time,” said Henry. “Last year nobody thought we could get there and that’s what motivated us and now we have this expectation to be there. We try to fight that every day and talk about not being content and not getting complacent. We can’t be satisfied.
“It’s not going to just happen and nobody is going to hand it to us. Making their own name is what motivates them and since districts started I’ve seen a different look in how we’ve done things. They’ve really gotten after it. You can see that they want to get back and prove themselves. It’s definitely a legacy thing. They want their own.”
Walnut Grove and Class 1 No. 5 Leeton will tip off at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, at Clinton High School. Leeton knocked off Class 1 No. 2 Wheatland, 63-54.
Walnut Grove 59, Bronaugh 25
Bronaugh 7-6-9-3 – 25
Walnut Grove 21-6-12-20 – 58
Bronaugh: Rider 10, Murphy 6, Knapp 3, Stratford 2, Wait 2, Raper 1, Earnest 1.
Walnut Grove: Harman 32, Hejna 15, Miller 5, McPhail 4, McVay 2, Dodson 1.
