By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Cassville, Mo – Good things often happen when you attack the basket.
Fair Grove junior standout Alana Findley took that to heart in the second half, helping the Lady Eagles extend an 11-point lead from the first half and cruise to a 54-31 victory on Friday night against the Cassville Wildcats.
“We kind of just challenged them (in the first half),” Fair Grove head coach Jenny Talbert said. “We had an 11 point lead and we really wanted to push it to 20. We felt like we know how they like to play. They pass the ball around a lot and do a good job of screening and cutting.
“We thought if we pushed the lead to 20 – we thought it would be hard for them to run their offense. We told Alana at half time, ‘You gotta start attacking more. Good things happen when you attack.’ She did a good job of attacking the basket and getting points for herself and her teammates.”
Right off the bat, the Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with quick layups from Findley and junior Harley Maxwell to open the game. Findley and Maxwell would go on to combine for Fair Grove’s 11 points in the first quarter, holding the Lady Wildcats to only five points (all off free throws).
Cassville recorded its first field goal of the night with 2:51 left in the second quarter off a three-pointer from senior Hallie Long, but the Lady Eagles went into the locker rooms at halftime with a 21-10 advantage.
With five points in each of the first two quarters, Fair Grove emphasis was placed on pressuring the Lady Wildcats backcourt and crowding the lanes in the halfcourt to open the game.
“I thought we executed that pretty good,” Talbert said. “Got their guards a little frustrated and we were able to clog the lanes, so it was harder for Madi Stokes to score.”
The Lady Eagles received further separation from Cassville, outscoring their counterparts 14-11 fresh off intermission in the third quarter and cruised to 54-31 win with a strong fourth quarter showing.
While Fair Grove barely won the overall rebounding battle (32-30), they grabbed seven more offensive rebounds than the Lady Wildcats (14-7). Cassville also turned the ball over 20 times which proved to be detrimental in the game.
“I thought we did a good job defensively,” Cassville head coach Chris Shore said. “We just put ourselves behind the 8-ball by giving up too many offensive rebounds and turning the ball over. We just gave them too many extra possessions.”
Findley shot 10-for-18 from the field and finished with a game-high 24 points while grabbing eight rebounds and swiping five steals.
“She’s a stud,” Shore said. “Was (her attacking the basket) difficult to stop? Yes. Part of it was we were trying to force her from her left hand and we are not used to guarding somebody left-handed. We are usually guarding righties and forcing them to the left.
“She’s just a hard matchup. That is the best swing-player we have faced all year.”
Findley was not alone, though. Maxwell chipped in 20 points and collected a game-high 12 boards for the Lady Eagles as well. Lexie Sutherland had five points while Brooklyn Luna and Taylor Bell had three and two points, respectively.
For Cassville, Long and Madry McCrackin led the way with seven points apiece. Stokes, Audra Brooks, and Alondra Miller each had four points while Ashlynn Howe had three and Lauren Turner had two points on the night.
With the win, Fair Grove improves to 18-5 on the season and will travel to Stockton on Monday before facing off against unbeaten Strafford next Thursday.
“It’s our last week of the season,” Talbert said. “We look forward to playing Strafford. When you have a rival like that, it’s also back-to-back defending state champions and undefeated. It’s just fun to go out and play against great teams.
“We get to play them on our home floor on senior night. We are going to be really excited to give them our best shot and have fun against them.”
Despite their nine-game winning streak coming to a close, Cassville (18-4) looks to start a new streak as they host Aurora on Monday.
“Offensively, we are not shooting the ball with confidence,” Shore said. “We need to be shooting the ball a little bit better, but I feel like we are playing pretty well defensively. This game didn’t hurt us. We have four losses and all four losses are to state-ranked teams.
“These kind of teams make us better.”
