By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
FAIR GROVE – Ashton Judd admitted she was a little bit nervous when West Plains’ two-time all-stater, Mackenzie Brunson, went to the bench after picking up her third foul just two minutes into the game Friday night.
But, the 5-foot-11 junior forward stepped up and carried the Lady Zizzers to their second-straight Fair Grove Girls’ Invitational title by scoring a game-high 23 points in West Plains’ 64-27 victory over the Lebanon Yellowjackets.
“I knew that we had to step up and I had to step up,” said Judd, who also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked three shots. “I knew we had to play as a team and I knew we had to work hard without her, and that we’d have to step up to the plate.”
And, they did.
Led by Judd’s nine first-quarter points, the Lady Zizzers jumped out to a 20-6 lead and didn’t let up. West Plains, which improved to 4-0 on the season, did not allow a point in the second quarter until Lebanon hit a couple of free throws with 3:10 left, and West Plains outscored the Lady Jackets 14-6 for a 34-12 advantage at halftime – all with Brunson on the bench.
“Those girls really stepped up and did a nice job,” West Plains coach Scott Womack said. “Georgia Osborne hit two big 3s, and of course, Ashton just took over the first half. I thought our freshman (Alyssa) Joyner really played well, tonight.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Joyner, a 6-0 forward, added 15 points, two rebounds and two steals for the Lady Zizzers.
Lebanon (2-1) came out of the locker room strong and outscored West Plains 15-12 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 19 points, backed by sophomore Raegan McCowan’s 10 third-quarter points. But, the Lady Zizzers held Lebanon scoreless in the fourth on their way to the championship.
“Give them credit; they’re really a good team in all phases,” Lebanon coach Jacky Payne said of West Plains. “And, Coach Womack, he’s been around a while, like I have. He’s really got a great program there. Those girls played well, they made shots, they played defense and rebounded.
“But, I was really proud of our kids. We were down at halftime and really weren’t making any shots. We came back in third quarter and actually outscored them, and they weren’t letting up. We won one out of four quarters; that’s kind of a moral victory in some ways, but we’ve got to get better. We will get better.”
Brunson returned to the West Plains lineup to start the second half, but it took her and the Lady Zizzers, who dominated the entire tournament, a while to get back in the flow.
“When you sit there that long, it’s just hard to get in the rhythm,” Womack said. “We kind of lost a little momentum with the lead. I didn’t think we came out in the third quarter with the momentum. We finally kind of got going again.
“I’m just proud of where we’re at right now this early in the season, with the group that we have.”
Fair Grove Girls’ Invitational
Championship
WEST PLAINS 64, LEBANON 27
LEBANON 6-6-15-0—27
WEST PLAINS 20-14-12-18—64
LEBANON (2-1) – Jocee Pettyjohn 5, Raegan McCowan 18, Makayah Alexander 3, Destiny Zimdars 1.
WEST PLAINS (4-0) – Georgia Osborn 6, Mackenzie Brunson 7, Drew Harris 3, Alyssa Joyner 15, Ashton Judd 23, Jade Barry 2, Kaylea Dixon 5, Mary Claire Gohn 3.
Third place – Fair Grove 60, Clever 53
Fifth place – Rogersville 46, Springfield Catholic 32
