Walnut Grove shines defensively in Pleasant Hope Tournament championship game

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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

No one will accuse the Walnut Grove Lady Tigers of wearing their emotions on their jersey sleeves.

“That’s one of our weaknesses for sure,” said Walnut Grove senior Rachel Kruger. “We get told a lot that we need to show more passion and energy.”

The Lady Tigers prefer to let the results speak for themselves.

“It’s just how they are, personality-wise,” said Walnut Grove coach Rory Henry. “We’re on them all the time about being passionate, finding excitement and being motivated.

“You can’t tell whether we’re in a championship game or a funeral sometimes.”

So far, the results indicate that this program will once again be playing meaningful basketball come March – where a fitting celebration might finally ensue.

Walnut Grove (12-2 overall, No. 2 MBCA Class 1 state rankings) claimed its second tournament championship of the season with a 39-27 victory over Chadwick in the finals of the Pleasant Hope Invitational on Friday night. Senior forward Jacie Gavisk scored a game-high 12 for Walnut Grove.

The Lady Tigers put the clamps on the high-powered, state-ranked Lady Cardinals in the second half. Chadwick scored just one point in the fourth quarter and 10 total after halftime.

Entering Friday’s contest, only two-time defending Class 3 state champion Fair Grove and Class 6 Carthage held Chadwick under 50 points in a game this season.

“I think we have an elite-level defense,” Henry said. “That showed tonight. You look at the points Chadwick has put up against multiple teams. I was really proud of our effort and how we played defensively.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

Walnut Grove’s defensive dominance helped the Lady Tigers overcome a sluggish night on offense. The Lady Tigers had their second-lowest scoring output of the season; the fewest was a 46-36 home loss to Class 2 No. 1-ranked Skyline on Jan. 7.

“Chadwick’s a very good team. The way we started the game, we weren’t prepared as well as we thought we were,” Henry said. “We didn’t come out with a lot of energy, we had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers, we were getting beat on rebounds and things like that. We knew we were going to have our hands full.”

Locked in a tie game entering the fourth quarter, Walnut Grove’s by-committee approach would help the Lady Tigers pull away in crunch time.

Five players each scored a basket – including treys by Sadie Loehr, Ashtyn Anderson and Kelli Albert – as Walnut Grove outscored Chadwick 13-1 in the final eight minutes.

“We had some kids who stepped up with big shots,” Henry said. “When you’re an elite-level defensive team and you have an off night on offense, you’re still in any game.”

Chadwick (7-3 overall, No. 6 in Class 1 MBCA rankings) threw multiple defenses at Walnut Grove throughout the night. The Lady Cardinals came out in a man-to-man defense early on, a style Walnut Grove rarely faces, and later switched to a 3-2 zone.

“We haven’t played very many teams that will be able to switch defenses like that,” said Walnut Grove senior Kelli Albert, who finished with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. “We’re used to them just sitting in the lane and not going very far (out) in a zone.”

Walnut Grove’s offense finally picked up in the second quarter. The Lady Tigers outscored Chadwick by nine to lead 22-17 at halftime.

Chadwick erased the deficit in the third quarter to forge a tie. Sophomore Emily Landry scored five of her team-high 11 in the third quarter for Chadwick.

Walnut Grove returns to action Jan. 21 at Humansville, followed by a Jan. 25 matchup against state-ranked Macks Creek. Chadwick will compete in the Stockton Tournament next week.

Walnut Grove 39, Chadwick 27
Chadwick 13 4 9 1 — 27
Walnut Grove 9 13 4 13 — 39

Chadwick (7-3 overall) – Emily Landry 11, Rae Little 7, Mary Landry 5, Ella Herd 4
Walnut Grove (12-2 overall) – Jacie Gavisk 12, Sadie Loehr 9, Ashtyn Anderson 6, Kelli Albert 6, Rachel Kruger 3, Kolbi Abert 2, Ellie Smith 1

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