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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
STRAFFORD — Injuries and illnesses kept some key players out of the lineup, but the highly anticipated showdown between the state’s top two Class 3 teams was still one to remember.
Reese Schaaf led all scorers with 25 points, Macie Mays added 21 and No. 2 El Dorado Springs withstood a late rally to record a 55-53 victory over top-ranked Strafford on Monday evening.
Playing without injured all-state guard Emma Compton, the Indians trailed the Bulldogs by seven points early in the fourth quarter before closing the deficit to two with 2:04 to play.
Without a shot clock to force them to shoot, the Bulldogs then went nearly 110 seconds without attempting a shot before the Indians finally forced them to the foul line with 16.4 seconds left.
The free-throw was no good and Strafford grabbed the rebound, but missed two shots that could have tied or won the game in the final eight seconds — and the Bulldogs escaped victorious.
“The girls played tough and they played strong,” El Dorado Springs coach Beau Swopes said. “Normally we have a kind of a stall game and we really haven’t put it in with these young kids. So it was kind of hard to go to that, but Reese and Macie did a great job on the outside just being strong and taking some punishment on the outside as they worked the ball.”
The Bulldogs’ already-young lineup was even younger on Monday, as Swopes said Tevi Gurley woke up with an illness that has been circulating through the El Dorado Springs locker room. The all-state volleyball player — and Drury commit — is one of just three seniors on the roster.
“We had a few girls this morning that didn’t feel real well this morning, but as the day went by they got some rest and got to feeling better so we were able to come down,” Swopes said. “But Tevi woke up with a stomach bug. At this point in the season, we just wanted to let her go ahead and rest that off. Would we have loved to have her? Yeah, but she’s at home getting better.”
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Swopes said “a couple” additional players also woke up feeling ill, but suspected the adrenaline that comes from having a chance to play the state’s No. 1 team might have aided their recovery.
“Now it’s starting to wear off,” he said. “I look at some of them and it looks like they don’t feel well at all anymore, but they played well and they played hard. That’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Without Gurley available, virtually all of El Dorado Springs’ offense ran through Schaaf and Mays.
Schaaf, a senior who will continue her career at Drury, and Mays, a standout junior, scored all but two of the Bulldogs’ first-half points as the Bulldogs entered the break facing a 27-24 deficit. The duo then combined for 14 of the Bulldogs’ 16 third-quarter points as they took the lead for good.
“Every night, they’re going to give you everything they possibly have offensively and defensively — even probably a little bit more than what they should,” Swopes said. “They did a great job tonight. They’re always really good leaders. They put in the work, whether it be in the weight room, classroom or extra time in the gym. It’s great to have kids like that.”
At the start of the fourth, Mays (19 points) and Schaaf (17) had scored 36 of the team’s 40 points. That included six consecutive points from Mays that turned a five-point deficit into a 40-39 lead.
“We both just try to go out there and give it our all and try to lead our team,” Mays said. “I’m proud of how some other teammates stepped up. It’s a team effort. It’s a team win. I’m proud of all of us.”
Schaaf added eight points in the fourth quarter, each of them at a key juncture in the game.
She hit a 3-pointer that gave El Dorado Springs a 48-41 advantage midway through the quarter, which was the largest lead of the night for either side. After Bailey Chrisman hit back-to-back treys to cut Strafford’s deficit to a point, Schaaf converted an and-one to put the Bulldogs ahead by four.
Laney Humble, an all-state pick at Sparta last year who transferred to Strafford prior to this season, made it 53-51 with 2:45 to go, but Schaaf hit a contested layup to restore the four-point advantage.
Chrisman, who led Strafford with 23 points and five 3-pointers, hit two free-throws to make it a one-possession game with 2:04 remaining. But El Dorado Springs went into keep-away mode and held possession until Strafford fouled them three times to finally put them into the bonus.
The Indians thought they might be able to catch the Bulldogs quickly in transition – and did – but a layup rolled around the rim and fell out with 7.5 seconds to go. Another shot was off the mark.
“We left enough time that we thought we could get a turnover,” Strafford coach Dustin Larsen said. “We had to put them on the line. Thankfully, we got the ball. We had planned – if we had set and had time – we had something we were going to run, but in that situation we had an opportunity to get an easy one. We had two opportunities. I’m just proud of our kids taking those shots and getting those shots. We got the opportunity we needed. They have to hold their head high and be proud because both of those girls that got those shots played unbelievable games.”
Larsen said Compton, the senior all-state guard, is close to returning from the injury that sidelined her. Strafford was also without fellow senior Mattilyn Walker, who will be out longer.
“It’s going to be a little bit, but (Walker’s injury) is not as bad as we thought,” Larsen said. “With Emma, we’re getting so close to the end. We’re just trying to make the right decision so we don’t extend an injury that may take her out longer. Our team got better tonight. Super proud of our growth and how hard our kids played and competed. The whole group stepped up.”
El Dorado Springs concluded a grueling section of its schedule in which it played Miller (No. 3 in Class 2), Skyline (No. 3 in Class 3) and Strafford in a 10-day span. The Bulldogs lost to the Cardinals, but have beaten two of the top three teams in their class with the playoffs looming.
“I don’t really pay attention to the rankings much because, honestly, anything could happen,” Schaaf said. “When we look at Strafford and see their name on the paper, they are No. 1-ranked. But anybody can beat anybody and I think that’s what we did tonight.”
The Bulldogs will look to carry the momentum from the stretch into the playoffs, where they’ll be looking to avenge an overtime loss that denied them a trip to the Class 4 Final Four. Now that they’ve dropped down to Class 3, there’s a chance this game was a preview of a state semifinal.
The Bulldogs would welcome that opportunity, should it materialize.
“Strafford is good,” Swopes said. “I know they were missing some kids and they gave us everything that they had. It was a great game. I hope that there’s a rematch later on in the future in Springfield.”
EL DORADO SPRINGS (17-3) 12 12 16 15 — 55
STRAFFORD (16-4) 16 11 12 14 — 53
