By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Kourtney Shipley’s back-to-back baskets to end the first half were huge.
Not only did it swing the momentum, flipping a 27-26 deficit into a 31-27 advantage, but it was also the catalyst of a run that would ultimately be the final haymaker.
Bradleyville scored the first 11 points of the third quarter, opening a 42-27 lead, on its way to a 64-54 win in the championship of the Mark Twain Conference Tournament.
“It was huge for her to hit those shots,” said Bradleyville coach Autumn Thomas. “Our team feeds off of her play. She gets us going and as she goes, we go. She had a tough night, but we came out on top.”
Shipley finished with 17 points, 11 of which came during that 16-0 run. Three Lady Eagles finished in double figures.
Shipley, as well as younger sisters Gracie and Maddie, played through adversity as their mother, Tracey, was taken by ambulance to the hospital after fainting during the game.
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Gracie, a sophomore finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
“We chose to finish the game tonight because we knew our mom would of wanted us to,” said the eldest Shipley. “She has always been to every game and loves the game just as much as us. We knew that if we finished the game strong for her, that’s what would make her happy.”
Chadwick controlled the game for much of the first half thanks to a 12-2 run that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter, helping them grab a 16-12 lead.
The Lady Cardinals defensive pressure, awkward at times, was giving the Lady Eagles fits.
“They ran that triangle and two, manning up on Kourtney and Emily with three people packing the paint and that’s where we get most of our points,” said Thomas. “They took away our 3’s and our post presence and it forced us to be a little stagnant.”
Sophomore Stevi Jones led Chadwick with 19 points.
Bradleyville improves to 14-4 with losses coming to Class 3 teams MV-BT/Liberty and Conway, as well as Class 2 teams Blue Eye and Gainesville.
Thomas believes that schedule and those early losses are a large reason why her Lady Eagles have now won 10 of their last 12 games.
“Playing the bigger schools early and even taking those losses has made a difference in the way we’ve played,” said Thomas. “Once you see teams like this it only makes you better, we just want to remember what that was like when we get into districts and beyond.”
