By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
WALNUT GROVE, MO – Walnut Grove got a sneak peak at a potential district final opponent Friday night.
The senior-night opportunity wasn’t wasted.
The Tigers – No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 1 District 6 tournament – rolled to a 43-18 victory over No. 2 Wheatland thanks, in part, to a stifling defensive effort and an ongoing adjustment to life without injured all-state point guard Ellie Smith.
“You know, we lost Ellie Smith, our point guard, a couple weeks ago to an ACL injury,” Walnut Grove head coach Rory Smith said. “So, we’re trying to figure out ourselves; kind of a new identity without her on the floor. It’s been a little bit of a struggle trying to figure it all out with a couple people playing new roles. We were playing very well when Ellie was in there, and we’re just trying to get back to where we were.”
While Smith’s floor leadership has been missed, classmates Jacie Gavisk and Rachael Kruger did their part to pick up the slack, combining for 21 points on the evening.
The senior duo was also tasked with defending Wheatland’s primary offensive weapon, senior Kiarah Blation.
A 1,000-point scorer, Blation finished with a game-high 16 points; however, the 5-foot-9 standout was challenged repeatedly in the paint by Walnut Grove’s front line.
“Rachael kind of took on that assignment to guard (Blation), at first, and then Jacie helped,” Henry said. “They kind of tag-teamed the effort tonight with her, and she’s a great player – physical, can rebound, really, really does a good job, and she’s a load. I thought our kids did a really nice job tonight making her take tough shots and earn everything she got.”
Walnut Grove jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. A 19-8 first-half run set the tone on offense, while the Tigers clogged the interior on defense and contested every look Blation was able to get.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“We’ve been working on defense a lot in practice,” Gavisk said. “We play against some older girls to get us prepared. I just try to make sure everybody keeps their head up so we can keep the ball rolling. We’re all in a good mood and we don’t want to get down on ourselves.”
The Tigers extended the lead to 20 in the third quarter, holding Wheatland to just two points in the frame.
With 30 seconds remaining in the contest, Smith moved to the scorer’s table to check in for one final time on the Walnut Grove court.
While Henry had planned on his senior point guard merely getting an ovation from the crowd prior to running out the clock, the girls had other plans.
With seconds remaining, the ball rotated up to Smith at the top of the key.
Instincts took over, and the injured senior connected on a deep 3-pointer from the center court logo.
“It was very special,” Gavisk said of the final basket. “We passed it to Ellie and the whole bench was like, ‘Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it!’ Coach Henry was like ‘Nooooo,’ and then she shot it and it went in, so it was pretty special. Definitely not the plan, but it was kind of our plan.”
“I’m glad she did that, because she deserves it,” Henry said of the late 3-point attempt. “She’s had a whole career here and, you know, it’s cool for her to go out on senior night like that.
Walnut Grove’s three-time all-state senior Ellie Smith suffered an ACL injury a couple weeks ago. On Friday night, she checked in late and hit this three-pointer on senior night. pic.twitter.com/JEQ73q62Mf
— Ozarks Sports Zone (@OzarksOzone) February 15, 2025
Up next for Walnut Grove (17-5) is a road matchup with Fair Play on Monday, Feb. 17. Wheatland (17-6) travels to Humansville that same evening.
Varsity Final: Walnut Grove – 43, Wheatland – 18
Wheatland 05 03 02 08 18
Walnut Grove 10 09 11 13 43
Wheatland scoring: Kiarah Blation – 16, Macy Pearson – 2
Walnut Grove scoring: Jacie Gavisk – 11, Rachael Kruger – 10, Ashtyn Anderson – 6, Sadie Loehr – 5, Kyndal Henry – 5, Ellie Smith – 3, Kelli Albert – 2, Ana Vinson – 1
