By Jeff Kessinger (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Chadwick coach Bub Payne’s voice started out with a pleasant request. It quickly turned into an urgent pleading.
“Shoot the ball, Paris!”
Cardinals senior Paris Gilbert did, finally, shoot the ball — and she shot it very well. Gilbert, the Mark Twain Conference’s Player of the Year, scored a game-high 18 points and Chadwick smothered the Bradleyville Eagles for a 47-25 Class 1 District 4 championship win at Ozark High School Friday night.
“I’ve always been like that. I like to pass the ball and get people open. That’s my thing,” Gilbert said. “I miss one shot and I feel like I can’t hit the broadside of a barn. But once I get in a situation where I have to score, I’ll take the ball to the basket and score.”
Nobody was scoring much in the first half. Chadwick got off to a sluggish start, missing its first three shots and turning the ball over twice. That allowed Bradleyville to take an early 6-2 lead. But the Cardinals turned things around with a 1-2-2 fullcourt trap.
“In big games you have to play defense to win,” Payne said. “That’s kind of a cliché, but tonight it worked. We had a slow start and that had a lot to do with nerves and having a relatively young team. But once things started clicking on the defensive end we got some turnovers and our offense picked up. That’s kind of what we’ve relied on all year, producing offense from our defense and getting steals and turnovers.”
The Cardinals harassed Bradleyville into seven straight turnovers to close the period and Paris Gilbert stuck home her own miss to make it a 6-all game after one quarter. That momentum carried over into the second. Chadwick reeled off an 8-0 run, capped by Abigail Smith’s 3-pointer from the right wing, to grab a 16-10 lead.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
But it was short-lived. Bradleyville closed the half on a 6-0 run of its own to even things at 16 going into the break. Maddie Shipley had four of those points, on a bucket in the lane and a layup in transition.
It was 18-all early in the third quarter when Chadwick started to pull away, thanks again to that defense. The Cardinals held Bradleyville to just one field goal in an 8-minute stretch to go on a 21-2 run to put the game out of reach. Bradleyville scored just 9 points in the second half.
“We were kind of disappointed in our defense in the first half,” Gilbert said. “I think we were a lot faster and more aggressive with our defense in the second half. We’re a fast-paced team, so that’s our kind of game.”
Gilbert did most of her damage inside the 3-point arc. She knocked down just one long-range jumper and was 3-for-5 from the foul line on her way to 18 points. She was not about to let a district title slip away from her
“This means a lot to me,” she said. “Last year we were the first seed and lost to Norwood in the district championship, and I knew this year I did not want that to happen again. I didn’t want my last game to be a loss as the first seed in a district final.”
It’s not easy being the lone senior, especially when the rest of the roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Payne said Gilbert has handled the responsibility well.
“She’s been a vocal leader all year and she’s guided us all the way through,” Payne said. “That’s 20 wins for us for the second year in a row and she’s a huge reason for that.”
Sophomore Abigail Smith finished with 13 to give Chadwick two scorers in double figures. Bradleyville was led by 8 points from Tay Sims and 6 from Heidi Todd.
Next up for Chadwick is a visit to No. 6 South Iron in the Class 1 Sectional. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 3.
“It’s going to be a tough game and we’re on the road, so that’s always more challenging,” Payne said. “We’re going to have the same gameplan. We’re going to play hard and we expect to win. When you believe you can win, good things can happen. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Box Score
BHS 6 10 4 5 — 25
CHS 6 10 20 11 — 47
Bradleyville — Paris Gilbert 18, Abigail Smith 13, Lexi Loveland 6, Chloe Burkhart 4, Paisley Gilbert 4, Hope Cover 2.
Chadwick — Tay Sims 8, Heidi Todd 6, Maddie Shipley 5, Zoie Sims 4, Addie Sims 2.
