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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Nevada’s pregame activity may not continue, but on Monday night, it was appropriate.
Playing for a conference championship on Valentine’s Day, the Lady Tigers snacked on chocolate-covered strawberries before their game at Springfield Catholic.
“That probably shouldn’t be a ritual for us,” said Nevada coach Blake Howarth. “But after hitting seven 3s in the first half, maybe we’ll have to keep buying those.”
The Lady Tigers followed their hot shooting start with a dominant second half on defense to defeat Catholic 49-42 and earn the Big 8 Conference championship.
Nevada sophomore Clara Swearingen finished with a game-high 22 points.
Monday’s outcome marks the third time in four seasons that Nevada has won the Big 8.
“It feels great,” said Nevada senior Grace Barnes. “We struggled a bit last season, so this feels good to bounce back and win some games.
“If you would’ve told us last year that we’d win this year, it may have been surprising, but we put in a lot of hard work to earn it. We’re excited about it, either way.”
Despite seven first-half 3-pointers, Nevada trailed 27-26 at halftime.
Howarth said he emphasized defense during his halftime chat with the team.
“There were a couple of situations where I felt like we weren’t playing up to our best potential,” Howarth said. “I had to challenge a couple of the girls at halftime and they responded in the correct way with our defense. It shows how good of a group we have.”
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The Lady Tigers took control in the final two quarters, holding Catholic to single-digits for much of the second half with a 2-3 zone defense.
Said Swearingen of the second-half surge: “We just decided that we wanted it more and didn’t want to go home losing.
Bailey Ast’s 3-pointer put Nevada up for good, 44-34, with three minutes remaining.
The Lady Tigers (16-6 overall, 7-0 Big 8) finished with nine 3-pointers overall.
“Fire at will,” Howarth said of his team’s willingness to take 3-pointers. “All of our girls have the green light.”
Swearingen, who made three 3-pointers herself, accounted for all 12 of Nevada’s points in the second quarter.
Catholic had four players score nine or more, led by Katie Galligo’s 13 points.
The Lady Irish (14-10 overall, 4-2 Big 8) finish the regular season with a non-conference game at Bolivar (Feb. 17) and a makeup home game against Reeds Spring (Feb. 21).
Nevada wraps up its regular season with road games against El Dorado Springs (Feb. 17) and Marshfield (Feb. 22), and a home game against Sedalia Smith-Cotton (Feb. 18).
Howarth said his squad is reaching its peak at the right time of the season.
“Our girls, they have so much chemistry right now,” he said. “We’re clicking and we’re clicking really well. There’s no place we’d rather be than here in the gym, playing basketball.”
Nevada 49, Springfield Catholic 42
Nevada 14 12 11 12 — 49
Catholic 14 13 6 9 — 42
Nevada (16-6 overall, 7-0 Big 8) – Clara Swearingen 22, Maddy Majors 11, Grace Barnes 7, Abbey Heathman 6, Bailey Ast 3
Springfield Catholic (14-10 overall, 4-2 Big 8) – Katie Galligos 13, Avery Swisshelm 10, Peyton Wiseman 10, Avery Ahlstrand 9
