By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For 16 minutes, the Clever Lady Jays achieved peak basketball performance.
Clever’s first half was so good that its coach had to dial back his talking points at halftime.
“We were about as efficient and had everything go our way, the right way, in that first half as it could,” said Clever coach Clark Satterlee. “At halftime, there wasn’t much I could say for a negative. That was about as well we could play. It was impressive to see.”
The early wallop carried Clever to a 57-40 victory over Ash Grove in the championship game of the Marionville Lady Comet Classic on Saturday night.
The Lady Jays led 41-18 at halftime following two dominant quarters. Clever made nine 3-pointers in the first half.
“We made a lot of shots, but I (give credit) to the girls that we took a lot of great shots,” Satterlee said. “Part of the reason we shot such a good percentage was that we moved the ball, we got great shots, and we got the ball to our shooters.
“Defensively, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We rotated well.”
Brooke Wheeler, Clever’s lone senior, led the way with a game-high 26 points. She torched Ash Grove for 24 points in the first half, including 18 in the first quarter.
“It’s really my teammates,” Wheeler said. “They get me the ball, they screen. They’re the ones who get it to me for those open shots. I just try to knock them down.”
Wheeler made six of Clever’s 10 3-pointers on the night. She was on fire all week in the tournament and put up similar performances in Clever’s prior wins (versus No. 5 seed Monett in the quarterfinals and No. 1 seed Marionville in the semifinals).
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“I don’t know what it is,” Wheeler said. “Just getting in the gym and working, that’s really the key. Working with this team, they make me better. We’re meshing well together, and it’s showing out on the court.”
Clever pulled off the gas in the second half, but Ash Grove (11-5 overall) could never cut the deficit to single digits. Sophomores Bristol Lathrop and Millison Sapp, who were both named to the all-tournament team, led Ash Grove with 13 points apiece.
Kenzie Camp had 13 points for Clever. Camp and Wheeler made the all-tournament team for Clever.
Saturday’s matchup was a rematch from earlier this season (Dec. 16), when Ash Grove defeated Clever 57-54 at home. That outcome snapped Clever’s streak of 10 straight wins versus the Lady Pirates dating back to the 2016-17 season.
Since then, Clever (8-8 overall) has steadily improved with its young, new-look lineup. Clever has one senior (Wheeler) and two juniors (Camp and guard Ella Newman). The rest of the roster are sophomores or freshmen.
The team was thrown into the fire early on, with games against the likes of Aurora, Kickapoo, Logan-Rogersville, Marshfield, Walnut Grove, West Plains and others.
“We’ve fought and we’ve hung around, but we’ve needed some games like this that we had a chance to win and put some of that stuff together. And we did,” Satterlee said. “I see this tournament, for us, as a preview for districts.
“It’s kind of like a mid-season district tournament. You can see how you’re doing and how you’re handling adversity. We passed the test this week.”
The trio of Wheeler, Camp and freshman Bella Argo have paced Clever’s offense.
“It’s been good to have those options,” Satterlee said. “We’ve done a good job, like this week, where if somebody is making shots, then we find them and not be upset if someone doesn’t score as much this game as the other game.”
Wheeler, who transferred in from nearby Nixa over the summer, has become acclimated to her new team.
“I love it,” Wheeler said. “I went to Nixa all my life and love all the people there, of course. I’ve really found a home at Clever. These girls, the whole school, have just made my experience the best it could be. It’s made it all worth it.”
Clever returns to action Monday night at home versus Monett. Ash Grove hosts Lockwood the same night.
Clever 57, Ash Grove 40
Clever 24 17 8 8 — 57
Ash Grove 9 9 11 11 — 40
Clever (8-8 overall) – Brooke Wheeler 26, Kenzie Camp 14, Lex Flood 7, Bella Argo 7, Ella Newman 3
Ash Grove (11-5 overall) – Bristol Lathrop 13, Millison Sapp 13, Cora Duit 9, Myah Johnson 3, Brooke Nicholson 2
