By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In a battle of Ozark conference rivals, the Lady Zizzers topped the Rolla Lady Bulldogs at West Plains Monday night, 77-63.
Tied at 25 midway through the second quarter, West Plains scored the final 14 points in the frame to earn a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“It was a great atmosphere,” said West Plains head coach Scott Womack. “We knew it would be a high-intensity game, and it was.”
Womack said after a slow start, his team starting rolling on defense in the second quarter. “That got us going,” he added. “They were playing an offense where they weren’t guarding everybody, and Georgia and especially Olivia stepped up and made some big shots. Zoey and Kaylea also hit some big threes, and that’s what you’ve got to have. When they concentrate on one or two players, you have to have other players step up.”
Meanwhile, Mizzou commit Ashton Judd did what Ashton Judd does and put up 23 points on the night; Lady Zizzer teammate Olivia Lawson shot a career-high 20 points. Savannah Campbell led Rolla with 19 points.
“Ashton gets beaten up every night with two to three girls on her and she does a good job keeping her composure and still finding ways to get her points,” said Coach Womack.
Rolla head coach Charley Parker credited Coach Womack on his talented team. “West Plains is hands-down one of the best teams in Southwest Missouri,” he said, “and Ashton Judd is a special player. They are a great program, and well-coached. We came out tonight and both went at it, but we had an 8-minute stretch that we just turned it over, which led to easy-transition buckets for them and put them at the free throw line. Then we exchanged baskets in the third quarter and finally cut into the lead in the fourth, but we were just gassed by the end of that and had let them get too spread out from us.”
The teams battled for the first three minutes without a score, then Georgia Osborn put the Lady Zizzers on the board with a big shot from downtown. Jessica Pritchett answered with her own three for Rolla, and Savannah Campbell was responsible for the next five points. Willow Gideon put up six of her eight total points in the frame, and the Lady Bulldogs closed the quarter with a 5-point lead.
With the score tied up halfway into the second, West Plains began to apply pressure and Ashton Judd’s steal and layup set off a scoring drive. Kaylea Dixon followed with her own steal dished to Olivia Lawson, and Allyssa Joyner earned an assist on Judd’s layup. Lawson next nailed back-to-back threes, and a jumper from Judd put the Lady Zizzers up 39-25 at the half.
West Plains widened the gap to 20 points in the third, but Madison Mace and Resa Martin opened the fourth quarter with three points each. Rolla would narrowly outscore West Plains in the frame but could not overcome their deficit.
“There’s a good chance we could see these guys down the road,” said Coach Womack.
“We know it’s a battle anytime we play them.” Coach Parker agreed. “My girls fought hard all the way to the end and that’s all I can ask for. We’ll come out swinging next time and see what happens; I hope to see them again in a couple of weeks.”
The Lady Zizzers are now 18-3 on the year and undefeated in the Ozark conference. They host Kickapoo Thursday night. Rolla moves to 17-5 on the season and will host Waynesville Thursday night.
Scoring for West Plains: Ashton Judd, 23; Olivia Lawson, 20; Georgia Osborn, 11; Zoey Williams, 8; Kaylea Dixon, 8; Allyssa Joyner, 4; Hannah Judd, 3.
Scoring for Rolla: Savannah Campbell, 19; Madison Mace, 14; Jessica Pritchett, 12; Willow Gideon, 8; Resa Martin, 7; Faith Coates, 3.
