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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield, Mo. — With two minutes remaining in the game, Skyline had only a pair of free throws and a single basket to show for its fourth-quarter effort.
After racing out to a 13-point lead late in the third, the Lady Tigers found themselves struggling to hold off a late surge from Rogersville in Wednesday’s White Bracket quarterfinal of the Pink & White Lady Classic.
Fortunately for Skyline and head coach Kevin Cheek, tournament games aren’t about style points.
Tournament games are about survival.
“There’s things in life that you have to battle through that you have no control over, and then there’s things in life you have to battle through that are self-inflicted,” Cheek said. “A lot of that fourth quarter from about four minutes on was self-inflicted, but it’s about winning a basketball game and trying to get better.”
After heading into halftime with a 24-23 lead, Skyline erupted in the third quarter to build its largest lead of the game.
Senior Kaylee DaMitz scored 11 of her game-high 24 points in the quarter, mostly due to opportunities created at the defensive end.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
With DaMitz struggling to connect from outside, Cheek urged the Class 2 Player of the Year to take the ball to the basket.
“We talked this week about being a little more aggressive, offensively, just because there’s times when we really need a bucket,” Cheek said. “She does a good job distributing, but there’s times when we really need a basket.”
After struggling in the first half, DaMitz simply wanted to make things happen on the defensive end and help spark Skyline’s energy.
“We just wanted to get our momentum going and try to come out strong,” DaMitz said. “It just kind of happens when you’ve got a good team, and I have a good team around me. Once we start working together, we get to rolling.”
While Skyline seemed prepared to run away late in the third quarter with a 40-27 lead, Rogersville had other plans.
Junior Jordyn Gault hit a pair of 3-pointers, and sophomore Shelby Ince added 6 points off the bench to lead a 15-4 run for the Lady Wildcats.
Rogersville would eventually cut the lead to a single point at 48-47 with 30 seconds remaining; however, a late turnover ended the rally.
Senior Kristen Miller and DaMitz each hit a free throw to extend the lead, and Rogersville’s final 3-point attempt to send the game into overtime fell short.
Cheek was quick to praise his battle-tested group of seniors, who have been to three-straight Final Fours and won a state title last season.
“There’s, for the most part, four seniors and a junior out there a lot,” Cheek said. “Those kids have played a lot of basketball, so experience had a lot to do with it. After it got to two minutes down the stretch, we knew it was going to come down to free throws.”
DaMitz was joined in double figures by junior Autumn Garrett’s 13 points. Gault scored 16 to lead Rogersville.
Both teams continue play in the Pink & White on Thursday. Skyline (10-0) plays Nixa in the White Bracket semifinals, while Rogersville (5-5) faces the Aurora in the consolation round.
Varsity final: Skyline – 50, Rogersville – 47
Skyline 19 05 16 10 — 50
Rogersville 11 12 08 16 — 47
Skyline scoring: Kaylee DaMitz – 24, Autumn Garrett – 13, Valen Logan – 2, Kristen Miller – 2, Chloe Cole – 9,
Rogersville scoring: Jordyn Gault – 16, Taylor Overstreet – 9, Maci McHenry – 8, Shelby Ince – 8, Hailey Brown – 3, Sophia Nixon – 2, Syndey Dunavant – 1
