By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
SPARTA — Rae Little and her Chadwick teammates were hoping their momentum from a momentous sectional win at Delta earlier this week would carry over to their quarterfinal contest with Lockwood Saturday.
But when that didn’t happen and the Lady Cardinals endured what has become a customary slow start, they were mindful to stay composed.
Chadwick shook off its sluggish start and coasted to a 48-22 victory versus Lockwood that earned the Lady Cardinals their second Class 1 Final Four berth in three years.
After shooting 27 percent from the field and scoring only eight points in the first quarter, Chadwick broke the game open by outscoring Lockwood 28-11 over the second and third quarters.
“We weren’t frustrated because this whole year we’ve had a slow start to every single game, except the Delta game,” Little said. “So, when we have a slow start, we don’t freak out or get flustered. We know it happens. We don’t know why it happens, but it does. When we had the slow start today, we were like, ‘Next quarter we’ll be fine and we’re going to get on a roll.’”
Little and Emily Landry followed a similar path offensively on their way to starring roles for Chadwick. They both finished with 16 points. Landry had 10 first-half points and Little eight, with both of them making 4-of-9 field goals in the first half.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
But the Lady Cardinals feel their offense only serves a complement to their defense. They embrace their motto that they win with defense.
“Our defense was a big key. It’s a big key in all our games,” Landry said. “That’s what makes us go. That was a big part of this win. It takes us a while to get going. Our defense is always what holds us together. In the second half, our shots finally started to fall and everything kind of fell into place from there.”
“We wanted to come out with the same intensity we had in our last game. But we didn’t quite have that,” said Emily’s twin sister, Macy. “But about halfway through the second quarter, we got going. Our defense started getting steals and that got our energy going.”
Chadwick’s defense was up to the same standard the Lady Cardinals set while holding Delta to 34 points, or 38 below Delta’s season scoring average.
Chadwick forced nine Lockwood turnovers in the first half. The Lady Tigers managed just four points in the second quarter and fourth quarter.
On the season, the Lady Cardinals are allowing an average of 34 points a game.
Lockwood received 16 points from guard Asa Lasater.
Lasater opened the game by hitting her first 3-point attempt and was hopeful it would be a sign of things to come. But the Lady Tigers were scoreless over the first six minutes of the second quarter and never quite settled in.
“After hitting that first 3, I had some energy and was thinking, ‘Okay, this is our game. We can keep going from here,’” Lasater said. “But they started running their buzz-defense on us and we had too many turnovers. They got a run on us.”
Even in defeat, it was relatively easy for Lasater and her teammates to keep their spirits up, given their youth. She’s one of seven Lockwood freshmen out of the Lady Tigers’ 10 players.
“For as young as she is, she’s going to be a really good player when she’s a senior,” Little said of Lasater.
This was the Lady Tigers’ first District championship season since 2019.
“It’s unbelievable and so exciting to do this as freshmen,” Lasater said. “We didn’t think we could make it this far. Nobody thought we could make it this far. I never would have believed it. We’re so young and so small. But we all play really hard. Proving to ourselves and proving to other people what we can do is an amazing feeling.
“If we can do this as freshmen and keep getting better, I think we can make it to the state championship sometime,” she added. “We’re all so close and the friendships are amazing. It’s been a really fun season. I’m disappointed it’s over, but I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Chadwick (26-4) will face a familiar foe by meeting Walnut Grove (23-5) in a state semifinal Friday. The Lady Cardinals lost to the Lady Tigers 39-27 in the Pleasant Hope Tournament championship game.
Chadwick 48, Lockwood 22
LOCKWOOD (22) — P. Lasater 0 2-2 2, Hedeman 0 4-4 4, Abiatti 0 0-3 0, A. Lasater 4 5-10 16.
CHADWICK (48) — Little 6 4-6 16, Herd 2 0-0 5, E. Landry 6 3-6 16, M. Landry 3 1-2 9, Burkhart 1 0-0 2.
Lockwood 7 4 7 4 – 22
Chadwick 8 14 14 12 – 48
3-point goals – A. Lasater 3, M. Landry 2, Herd, E. Landry.
