By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The seventh-seeded Marshfield Lady Jays were able to use big second and third quarters to pull away from the Bolivar Lady Liberators for a 52-38 first-round victory in the Pink Division of the Pink and White Lady Classic on Tuesday morning at Kickapoo High School.
The Lady Jays, who improved to 8-2 overall, outscored Bolivar 28-15 over the second and third quarters and were able to withstand the Lady Liberators’ charge in the fourth.
“Bolivar is a really good team. They’re really well-coached and have a lot of nice players,” Marshfield coach Katie Pritchard said. “We knew coming into the game that it was a tough game for us; we respect them. They really did give a punch there at the beginning of the game, and then I think we were able to settle down a little bit.”
Marshfield pulled out to the early lead, but Bolivar battled back to take a 14-13 first-quarter lead – its only lead of the game.
Then, Marshfield’s version of “The Microwave” came in and provided the spark the Lady Jays needed.
Junior Lillie Findley came off the bench and hit three straight 3-pointers, the last one giving Marshfield a 26-20 lead late in the second quarter, before Halle Menzies’ shot at the top of the key put the Lady Jays up 28-22 going into halftime.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“When something’s not going right with a couple of our kids, and they’re not hitting, it’s nice to see someone like Lillie step up with confidence and shoot those shots,” Pritchard said.
Findley said the first half is usually her time, and that coming off the bench can be an advantage.
“That’s just where I get my momentum,” said Findley, who finished with 12 points, including another 3-pointer in the third quarter. “I think just watching the game from the bench and seeing how everything is going and seeing what we need to improve kind of helps me see what I need to do to help the team when I come in.”
Going into the fourth quarter, trailing 41-28, the Lady Liberators picked up the defensive pressure to minimize Marshfield’s offensive output, but it was too little too late.
Bolivar coach Ben Glasgow said he was pleased with his team, which finished 5-17 last season and is off to a 7-2 start this season.
“We are a lot better; we compete a lot better,” Glasgow said of this season’s team. “We didn’t just give away a game, they outplayed us. They made one little run with back-to-back shots at the end of the first half that gave them a six-point lead. They hit a few shots back-to-back in the third quarter and they kind of built the lead.
“We kind of hung around and made it a game, but we just never could quite close the gap. We didn’t have quite enough firepower to score enough at the end there, but I didn’t think we performed bad.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
Marshfield had three players score in double figures, led by Lauren Luebbert’s 13 points. Findley added 12 and Halle Menzies had 10 for the Lady Jays.
Bolivar was paced by Cora Roweton’s 13 points and Carly Cribbs’ 11. Glasgow said that Roweton has been under the weather, but that she was not going to miss this tournament.
Marshfield will face West Plains in the winners’ bracket at 9:30 a.m. today at Drury’s O’Reilly Family Event Center. Bolivar will take on Willard at 9:30 a.m., today at Kickapoo High School.
#7 MARSHFIELD 52, BOLIVAR 38
Pink and White Lady Classic
Pink Division first-round game
At Kickapoo High School
BOLIVAR 14-8-7-9—38
MARSHFIELD 13-15-13-11—52
BOLIVAR (7-2) – Carly Cribbs 11, Sidney Batten 4, Shelby Larimer 1, Dailynn VanDeren 4, Cora Roweton 13, Emma Goodman 5.
MARSHFIELD (8-2) – Lauren Luebbert 13, Abby McBride 7, Quinn Aldridge 8, Halle Menzies 10, Lillie Findley 12, Jordan Jung 2.
Up next: Pink Division (second round, winners’ bracket) Marshfield vs. West Plains, 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, O’Reilly Family Event Center; (consolation bracket) Bolivar vs. Willard, 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Kickapoo High School
