By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The number five and six teams of class four faced off Monday night, and the Lady Wildcats pulled out the one-point victory.
“It’s typical within the last 3 or 4 years since we’ve been playing each other: a low-scoring, last possession game,” said Logan-Rogersville head coach Denny McHenry. “They play really good matchup, which is hard to score against, and we play good man, which is hard to score against. Shots become a premium.”
The Lady Wildcats showed patience against the Lady Zizzers’ zone in the first quarter, but the host team outscored Rogersville by 3 (9-6) thanks to the play of MacKenzie Brunson and Morgan Mahan.
In the second quarter, Rogersville’s 6 points were solely from free throws, while West Plains struggled from the charity stripe, connecting on only one of seven attempts on the night. The Zizzers had three buckets in the quarter to maintain their lead, 16-12.
Rogersville’s defense came up big in the third quarter with timely forcing of turnovers. The Lady Wildcats were patient on offense, and Maci McHenry and Jordyn Gault each connected from downtown to help outscore the Lady Zizzers by 5 in the quarter.
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But the fourth quarter held all the theatrics expected of a couple of state-ranked teams. The West Plains defense forced turnovers as Rogersville stalled, and the Zizzers managed to put on a run that narrowed the Lady Wildcats’ lead to just one point with 15 seconds left.
Rogersville used their low foul total to their advantage, fouling two times to cut the 15 second time to just 9 seconds. As the Lady Zizzers attacked the basket in the final seconds, Jordyn Gault swatted the shot to preserve her team’s 31-30 victory.
“It’s hard to win games scoring 30 points,” said Lady Zizzers head coach Scott Womack. “I thought our defense played well enough to win, but we didn’t make enough plays offensively to get the job done. We had three or four opportunities down the stretch, but Rogersville did a good job of not giving us any good looks. We are struggling from the free throw line and having problems finishing around the basket. We have got to get more consistent on the offensive end.”
Coach McHenry said this was the first victory with his team he has experienced at West Plains. “If one team gets a lead on another it’s because one team is making contested shots, and tonight that didn’t happen. We were just happy to get out of here with a win, especially with the Pink & White seeding in the morning. To be seeded in that tournament is prestigious and we feel good about it if we are lucky enough to get a seed.”
The Lady Wildcats move to 4-2 on the season and face Aurora Thursday, while the Lady Zizzers will take on Ozark.
Scoring for Rogersville:
Shayley Dunavant 2
Jordyn Gault 9
Shelby Ince 4
Maci McHenry 10
Taylor Overstreet 6
Scoring for West Plains:
Liesel Garrett 2
Hailey Meeks 1
MacKenzie Brunson 12
Bre Harlan 4
Morgan Mahan 11
