By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
EL DORADO SPRINGS, MO – Both Neely Schaaf and McKinli Mays struggled to find an early offensive rhythm; however, when El Dorado Springs needed them most, the talented duo delivered in spades.
Schaaf and Mays combined for 41 points and helped spearhead a 55-39 victory for the Bulldogs over Clever in Tuesday’s Class 3 sectional round matchup.
After shooting a mere 20 percent from the field in the second quarter, Eldo found themselves on the wrong end of a 29-26 halftime score.
Clever’s long, athletic front line of Bella Argo and Brooke Wheeler caused problems at both ends of the court and paced the first-half Bluejays effort with 10 and 12 points, respectively.
With the Bulldogs trailing and looking out of sorts offensively, head coach Beau Swopes sent out a challenge to step up the defensive effort in hopes of igniting the offense.
“In the first half, we didn’t make shots,” Swopes said. “We switched up a little bit, went to our full court pressure, and the girls did a good job. I feel like so many times defensively, if we can get going, it helps our offense – and all of the sudden it started going. The girls were doing a better job of communicating, and then on the offensive end, we got some quick buckets.”
In the third period, Eldo’s pressure defense started opening up scoring opportunities in transition for the home team.
“I think we came out a little timid, because (Clever) obviously has bigger girls than us,” Schaaf said. “So, I think it was important to just drive at them and try to create open shots for my teammates.”
With Schaaf serving as the Bulldogs’ facilitator, Mays became the primary benefactor.
The 5-foot-6 junior’s breakaway layup at the 5:49 mark resulted in a conventional 3-point play and tied the score at 31-31.
On the very next possession, Mays hit a pair of free throws to put Eldo up for good at 33-31.
“We’ve had some girls just step up and do things, and (Mays) did a great job tonight,” Swopes said. “Her defensive pressure gets deflections, and she gets out to easy baskets. She did a great job of going and attacking their bigs and finishing on the inside. I’m sure there are some shots she wished she could have back, but she played well.”
Mays poured in 12 of her 20 points in the third to help Eldo stretch to a 41-36 lead heading into the final quarter.
“At halftime, they told us to really get after it on defense,” Mays said. “And so that’s how I kind of got my offense going – when I play really hard defense, get some steals there and get the ball. That’s how I feel my defense translates to my offense.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The fourth quarter, for all intents and purposes, belonged to Schaaf.
Quiet for three quarters, the all-state senior erupted for 10 of her game-high 21 points in the final frame and helped trigger a 13-0 run to seal the win.
“I had a super-cold third quarter,” Schaaf said. “So, I thought I would just get after it on defense. and once our defense started to flow, then my shots started to fall – and we never looked back from there.”
“(Schaaf) is a competitor, and she’s going to get out there and do some things,” Swopes said. “She was pretty frustrated earlier with her shot all the way through the third quarter. They finally left her open, and you could see she caught it, shot it in rhythm and got one to fall. She’s one of those kids that, even when her shot’s not going in, she’s such a big item for us on the defensive end and really helps us.”
The Bulldogs’ fourth quarter dominance was punctuated by a 14-3 advantage in the period – an Argo 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining represented the lone Clever score.
Argo and Wheeler each scored 14 points to lead the Bluejays.
“The girls really stepped up as two totally different teams between the first half and the second half,” Swopes said. “We told the girls we’d like to come out with that fire right off the bat, but we’ll take the win and get ourselves ready for the next one.”
Following the game, Clever head coach Clark Satterlee praised his young team’s performance and development throughout the season.
“I thought we had a good season,” Satterlee said. “We were pretty young, so I was happy with the overall growth we had, and I thought we were playing our best at the end of the season. We played a really good first half and did what we wanted to do. In the third quarter, we gave up a few offensive rebounds that really hurt, they got put-backs and scores. With Mays and Schaaf, if you give them a lead, it’s just hard to come back.”
Clever ends its season at 15-13.
Up next for No. 5 El Dorado Springs (19-7) is a March 8 quarterfinal round matchup at No. 1 Fair Grove (25-5). The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles 51-44 at home on Jan. 14.
Class 3 Sectional Final: El Dorado Springs – 55, Clever – 39
Clever 15 14 07 03 – 39
Eldo 17 09 15 14 – 55
Clever scoring: Bella Argo – 14, Brooke Wheeler – 14, Kenzie Camp – 6, Kinley Burk – 5
Eldo scoring: Neely Schaaf – 21, McKinli Mays – 20, Alexis Collins – 7, Braylie Steward – 5, Avery Floyd – 2
