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Forty-seven straight opponents up, 47 straight opponents down.
Now, a second straight state championship waiting in the wings.
The Strafford girls’ basketball team won its 47 consecutive game on Saturday night, blowing out Southern Boone County for the second time this season.
College of the Ozarks commit Abby Oliver scored 17 and Zoey Mullings added 16 points as the Indians rolled to a 61-34 victory in the Class 3 state quarterfinals at Drury’s O’Reilly Family Event Center.
“All year long, we’ve not looked ahead and taken it one game at a time,” Strafford coach Steve Frank said. “That’s what’s been so good about this group of kids. They’re so resilient. They never talk about what happened last year or anything ahead. I think that’s what makes them so special: they come in and put on their hard hats every day and go to work. That’s why they’ve been able to accomplish what they have done this year.”
PHOTOS: STRAFFORD VS. SOUTHERN BOONE
Strafford (31-0 overall) will face Lutheran North (22-8 overall) in the Class 3 state semifinals at 1:40 p.m. on Thursday, March 9 at Hearnes Center in Columbia. Since losing to Marshfield in late January of 2016, Strafford has won 47 straight games – highlighted by a 2016 state championship.
“Last year was really exciting because it was our first time making it to state,” Oliver said of winning in the quarterfinals. “This year, I think, is a lot more exciting because it’s my senior year, we’re undefeated and it’s a good way to go out.”
Strafford also beat Southern Boone, 69-37, in a neutral-site game earlier this season. Oliver made five 3-pointers in the first quarter and Strafford was able to score almost at will in its transition attack.
Offense wasn’t quite as easy for Strafford in the rematch, but the Indians led comfortably throughout the game.
Southern Boone got as close as 13-9 early in the first quarter, but Strafford reeled off eight straight points to take a 12-point lead.
Strafford led by 13 (25-12) at halftime and by double digits for the entire second half. Strafford was able to assert its dominance despite leading scorer Hayley Frank saddled in foul trouble for much of the contest.
Kayley Frank and Hayley Frank scored 14 and 12, respectively, for Strafford.
“We’ve got so many court-smart players on the court,” Steve Frank said. “They’re students of the game. They’re kind of like coaches on the floor. They understand situations. We’ve been junk-defensed a lot lately and they understand who’s open, who’s not and what (the opposition) is trying to take away. That just all goes in to some very smart kids out there on the floor. They do a great job, they make my job easy.”
The Indians were superb at the free throw line, making 25 of 26 attempts.
In its two games at the state final four last year, Strafford was a combined 27-for-30 at the free throw line. Oliver credited a routine practice drill for Strafford’s free throw shooting.
“We play a game, it’s called, ‘Free throw rotation,’” Oliver said. “You make two free throws at each basket and you have six baskets. However many baskets you have left at the end of a certain amount of time, you have to run that many lines. So that kind of motivates us.”
Saturday’s outcome marked another comfortable win for Strafford. The Indians have only had two games decided by single digits this season: a 76-75 win over Mercer County (Kent.) in the Pink and White title game, and a 65-57 win against Rogersville on Dec. 19.
Strafford 61, Southern Boone 34
Strafford 13 12 14 22 — 61
Southern Boone 7 5 8 14 — 34
Strafford – Abby Oliver 17, Zoey Mullings 16, Kayley Frank 14, Hayley Frank 12, Logan Jones 2
Southern Boone – Emma Anderson 13, Skyler Beeson 6, Isabella Smith 4, Megan Barnett 3, Kylie Shoot 3, Carrie Ponder 3, Kailey Goodrich 2
