By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
CHADWICK — Make room for another banner to hang from the rafters at Chadwick.
The Cardinals earned their first Class 1 State Tournament berth since 2009 by downing Richland (Essex) 57-46 in a quarterfinal Saturday.
It will be a good problem for Chadwick players to have after this season while trying to find room for a banner recognizing their forthcoming trip to the Class 1 Final Four. Much of the gym’s walls are adorned with banners commemorating the Lady Cardinals’ repeated Class 1 state berths, including their 2005 state championship.
“Before the season, (coach Shawn Guerin) had us come into the gym and look around to see where we want our banner at,” guard Tristian Smith said. “He told us we were going to make it.”
“We don’t know where, yet,” guard Grady Person said of the banner’s location. “If you can’t tell, we’re going to have to do some moving around. There’s not much room.”
“Maybe we’ll move the (Missouri) flag over and put the banner behind (the north bucket),” forward Clayton Garrison said.
Chadwick (27-3) beat Richland (23-8) at both ends of the court.
The Rebels finished their season with a scoring average of 66.2 points a game. They put up 74 points on a 23-4 Risco team in the Class 1 District 2 championship game.
The Cardinals held Richland to 17 first-half points and 30 through three quarters. Rebels guard Hayden Conner hit a pair of 3-point goals while scoring eight points in the first quarter, but was scoreless the rest of the game.
“We brought defensive intensity,” Smith said. “That was the plan, 32 minutes straight of playing our butts off on defense and working as hard as we possibly can.”
“Defense is what gets us going,” Preston said. “It all revolves around our defense.”
Chadwick played zone defense most of the night and had to shuffle players around shortly after Garrison picked up his fourth foul with 5:06 remaining.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“They were coming at me in the middle (of the Cardinals’ zone), so we made an adjustment and put Mason Rogers in the middle. He did a heck of a job in there,” Garrison said.
Offensively, Chadwick received 25 points from Garrison, 13 from Preston and 11 from Smith.
Garrison poured in 17 points in the second half. His night also included 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Garrison was 11-of-17 shooting from the field. Richland had no answer defensively against him, but Garrison kept true to a concentrated effort to keep his teammates involved.
“Whenever our other guys are shooting, they’re gaining more confidence,” he said. “I think we’re more of a team if I’m dropping in 25 and we’re all scoring. (Preston and Smith) are stepping up big. Grady is knocking down big shots. I’m proud of him. Tristan is shooting good and they’re both handling the ball well.”
The Cardinals closed extremely well, netting 13-of-16 free throws in their 21-point fourth quarter to deny Richland any hope for a comeback.
Chadwick’s lead was at least five points for almost the entire second half.
Chadwick will next tip off at 10 a.m. Friday against Green City (27-2) at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The other Class 1 semifinal will pit Dadeville (22-9) against Braymer (21-9).
The top three ranked teams in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s final regular-season Class 1 Poll are not in the Final Four. Chadwick was ranked No. 4, Green City No. 6, Dadeville No. 9 and Braymer was not ranked.
Chadwick 57, Richland 46
RICHLAND (46) — Williams 4 3-6 11, Conner 3 0-0 8, Sanders 1 0-0 3, Tilley 2 5-6 9, Hughes 4 4-6 12, Pope 1 1-1 3.
CHADWICK (57) — Preston 3 5-6 13, Smith 3 4-4 11, Garrison 11 3-4 25, Rinyon 2 4-5 8.
Richland 13 4 13 16 – 46
Chadwick 14 7 15 21 – 57
3-point goals – Preston 2, Conner 2, Sanders, Smith.
