By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It’s a big change from the run-you-off-the-court style of some past Walnut Grove teams.
But whatever it takes to win, the Walnut Grove Lady Tigers will adapt.
Walnut Grove showcased its new, rugged style in an impressive 59-35 victory over Marionville in the championship game of the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic on Saturday night.
“Over the years, we’ve had teams that are more guard-oriented where we want to attack you and pressure you,” said Walnut Grove coach Rory Henry. “With this team, we feel like we want to punish you inside and play with a physical group. More of a ground-and-pound, I guess you could say.
“It’s fun – we try to figure out what best suits our team year to year. We play off what we think our strengths will be.”
Size is certainly a strength this season. The Lady Tigers (9-1 overall, No. 2 MBCA state rankings in Class 1) boast four starters who are 5’8” or taller, including 6-footer Jacie Gavisk. All-state point guard Ellie Smith (5’6”) doesn’t shy away from contact, either.
Walnut Grove’s physical presence took its toll on an undersized and undermanned Marionville team. The Lady Tigers drew 25 fouls and shot 30 free throws on the night.
“We talk about it every day: We want to be more physical than the other team,” Henry said. “We talked after the game in the locker room about defense being our staple and playing with physicality. We do have the size that most small schools don’t have.”
Walnut Grove’s physical style is bred in practices, which can look like an obstacle course event at times.
“We do a lot of physical drills,” Gavisk said. “(Coach Henry) gets the mats out and he beats on us with the mats. That prepares us for more physical games.”
Seniors Ellie Smith (22) and Rachael Kruger (19) combined for 41 points to lead the Lady Tigers, who repeated as tournament champions.
“It’s a great accomplishment for us,” Henry said. “This group doesn’t get real excited about a whole lot. It’s good, because I think that what they really want is the prize at the end. But this is still a big win for them.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Afterwards, Walnut Grove’s players accepted the championship plaque in businesslike fashion.
For this program, bigger goals are always on the mind.
“It’s a great accomplishment and it’s something we need to get before we go into our postseason,” Gavisk said. “We celebrate this, and then we’re onto the next.”
Added Smith: “We’ll celebrate now, but we’re going to keep getting better and keeping working toward bigger things. All of the tradition and teams here in the past, they’ve had that same goal. We’re looking for the same thing.”
After leading by five at halftime, Walnut Grove broke the game open in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers outscored Marionville 21-7 in the decisive frame.
“Marionville came out and their defense was good. It kind of threw us into a loop in the first half,” Henry said.
Third quarter woes have plagued the Lady Comets’ in the early season stretch.
“We got over some big humps this week that we needed to get over. We still have a lot to work on – that third quarter is our next goal that we have to conquer,” said Marionville coach Casey Young.
Despite the loss, it was still a memorable week for the Lady Comets. Marionville (7-3 overall) was the Cinderella of the tournament this year.
As the No. 7 seed, the Lady Comets upset No. 2 seed Macks Creek then beat No. 6 seed Fordland to reach Saturday’s title game.
The Lady Comets were happy to flip the script after losing in the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed last year.
“Before the Macks Creek game, I told them, ‘I don’t know if you know this or not, but last year the 7-seed knocked off the No. 2 seed… So, it can be done,’” Young said. “They didn’t think I was very funny with that. Every game we played this week, leading up to tonight, we had a plan and went out and executed it. They were excited to beat Macks Creek. That was a good win to get under our belts for sure.”
Sophomore Lanie Stokes scored 16 to lead Marionville. Stokes and teammate Dally Pomeroy made the all-tournament team.
Smith, Gavisk and Rachael Kruger received all-tournament honors for Walnut Grove. Gavisk was named tournament MVP.
“We’ve yet to put our shooting together with our post play and size. Tonight, we did that,” Henry said. “In this tournament, we’ve started to do that.”
Walnut Grove 59, Marionville 35
Marionville 12 7 7 9 — 35
Walnut Grove 9 15 21 14 — 59
Marionville (7-3 overall) – Lanie Stokes 16, Anna Bright 9, Dally Pomeroy 5, Rylie Fletcher 5
Walnut Grove (9-1 overall) – Ellie Smith 22, Rachael Kruger 19, Jacie Gavisk 7, Kelli Albert 6, Ana Vinson 3, Sadie Loehr 2
THIRD PLACE: Bue Eye 37, Fordland 35 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Fordland – 5-6-13-11 — 35
Blue Eye – 3-6-11-17 — 37
F: Kayleigh Steimel 10, Lily Kindall 9, Kenzie Haskins 9, Bailey Cook 4, Chloe Spoon 3
B: Kaylee Wilson 12, Angelina Bettlach 9, Chloe Kilgore 6, Kenzie Garrison 5, Emmalee Litel 4, Anna Craig 1
CONSOLATION: Macks Creek 59, Sparta 53 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Sparta – 9-9-17-18 — 53
Macks Creek – 7-15-25-12 — 59
S: Layne Forgey 14, Reese Loveland 8, Sydney Willis 7, Izzy Campbell 7, Anna Blackmon 6, Sophie Lilly 4, Sami Jo Walker 3, Bryndilson 2, Claire Rains 2
M: India Willis 21, Brooklyn Duggan 14, Addie Ratliff 13, Ava Willis 6, Taelor Osborn
SEVENTH PLACE: Wheatland 40, Pierce City 36 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Pierce City – 3-15-10-8 — 36
Wheatland – 12-8-11-9 — 40
P: Lili Lasker 11, Faron Linn 6, Macie Crowther 6, Addison Avondet 6, Ayla Renkoski 4, Paige Fenske 3
W: Kiarah Blation 19, Moriah Box 8, Kate Murphy 6, Charley Crouch 5, Macy Pearson 2
