[wpbvideo id=’307006′]
By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The teams in Friday night’s White Division championship of the Pink and White Lady Classic are all too familiar with one another.
Mid-Lakes Conference foes, second-seeded Skyline and fifth-seeded Fair Grove, faced off for the White Division title with Round One going to Skyline, 65-53, at Drury University’s O’Reilly Family Event Center.
In fact, three of the four finalists in the Pink and White divisions were from the MLC. Strafford captured the Pink Division earlier in the evening with a 66-35 win over Mount Vernon.
On Friday night, it was Fair Grove that got off to a fast start in taking a 22-15 lead after the first quarter, led by Harley Maxwell’s 14 points. The 6-foot-2 junior post, along with fellow junior Alana Findley, dominated the boards and the paint in the first half, scoring 35 of the Lady Eagles’ 37 first-half points for a 37-32 lead.
“We knew going in that they were going to be a matchup problem, but we didn’t want it to be that big of a matchup problem,” Skyline coach Kevin Cheek said. “We really talked at halftime that we were going to have to pressure some kids hard enough that one, they’re uncomfortable getting into their stuff.
“In the first half, we just kind of let them walk the ball to where they wanted to and they threw it to Findley or Maxwell and they turned and scored. I thought in the second half that was the first time I saw ball pressure the way I remember seeing ball pressure in the past.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
And did the Lady Tigers pressure.
Skyline not only limited touches for Findley and Maxwell in the second half, the Lady Tigers also limited the Fair Grove offense, holding the Lady Eagles to just 16 second-half points.
“They pretty much took away our post, they really packed it in on their man-to-man defense; just really cheated in on our post players and our guards couldn’t hit any outside shots,” Fair Grove coach Jenny Talbert said. “When you don’t make any outside shots, it’s hard to help your posts get any release down there inside.
“Hats off to Skyline for doing a good job of adjusting their defense to take away our post game.”
As the Fair Grove offense cooled off, Class 2 Player of the Year Kaylee DaMitz and the Skyline offense heated up.
DaMitz’s scoring output was steady in the first half though she and the team seemed to be forcing the issue at times. That all changed in the second half.
“I thought Kaylee had a different look about her when she was around the rim (in the second half),” Cheek said. “We did a heck of a job with kids coming off the bench. Sarah Cunningham did a great job on Findley. We had Keelie Holmes, Kylie Craig and Chloe Cole coming off the bench and I thought they did an outstanding job.”
Trailing Fair Grove 39-34, Cunningham hit a 3-pointer that sparked the Lady Tigers. And, after multiple turnovers by both teams, DaMitz tied the game at 39 on a layup with 1:35 to go in the third quarter, and the momentum began to swing Skyline’s way as it took a 44-42 lead heading into the fourth.
That is when DaMitz took over. The Pittsburg State signee scored 15 of her game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter, helping to spark an 11-0 Skyline run.
“Kaylee gets us going, and sometimes when things are a little bit sluggish, once in a while she’ll try to do too much,” Cheek said. “Some of that was in the first half, but in the second half she kind of calmed down. We got an easy one or two and the next thing you know we had a little momentum and then it got really fun.”
Next up, the Lady Tigers travel to Strafford for an MLC matchup of reigning state champions.
“They’re a handful any way you look at it,” Cheek said. “Monday we’ll start trying to get ready for Strafford, and that’s a big game. You have to give a little bit of props to the Mid-Lakes Conference (having three of the four finalists). It’s going to be a battle. (With the upcoming schedule) there’s not any easy ones left and that’s how it’s designed.”
But to win a White Division title is special for the Skyline seniors.
“It’s a big deal, especially for those seniors,” Cheek said. “They won one as freshmen and now, as seniors, their big deal was, after they won one, they changed the trophy and they wanted one. It’s a big deal for them; a testament to what they can get done when they get determined.”
Pink and White Lady Classic
White Division championship
No. 2 Skyline 65, No. 5 Fair Grove 53
FAIR GROVE 22-15-5-11—53
SKYLINE 15-17-12-21—65
FAIR GROVE (11-2) – Harley Maxwell 27, Maddie Clark 1, Lexie Sutherland 4, Alana Findley 20, Cydney Fullerton 1.
SKYLINE (12-0) – Kaylee DaMitz 34, Autumn Garrett 6, Sarah Cunningham 7, Keelie Holmes 7, Chloe Cole 7, Valen Logan 2, Kristen Miller 2.
[wpbvideo id=’306670′]
