By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MANSFIELD, MO – While it’s no secret Springfield Catholic freshman Riley Hein has emerged as a perimeter threat this season, you can now add game-changer to her growing list of credentials after Friday night’s showcase performance.
Hein connected on a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to break open a tight contest and catapult the Fightin’ Irish to a 47-42 victory over Mountain Grove in the Lady Lions Invitational championship.
Hein got out to a slow start, hitting just one of her first five shots from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-10 wing finished with a team-high 17 points and was 7-15 from the field with four 3-pointers.
“My teammates drove in, and I was just trying to be open for them,” Hein said of the back-to-back triples. “I just shot it and let it go. I had to have faith they were going in, because the first few didn’t.”
From the opening tip, both teams found themselves operating at a near out-of-control pace, reflected by an 8-7 first quarter score and a combined shooting percentage of 22%.
“That first quarter was just a track meet,” Catholic head coach Mike Foley said. “It was as fast as you could run up and down the court and shoot the ball – that’s not our style of ball.”
In the second quarter, Mountain Grove’s Raylee Stenzel began to find her rhythm.
The senior guard scored 9 of her game-high 20 points in the quarter and helped push the Panthers to a 21-16 halftime lead.
“Mountain Grove did an amazing job,” Foley said of the opening half. “They sped us up and they got us pressing. We got running 100 miles an hour, and we couldn’t get back into our tempo.”
“When you have players that you’ve coached for four years, you know their personalities,” Foley said. “They don’t respond well to me screaming at them. They respond well with ‘Hey, use your head; think through this,’ and they don’t get down on themselves, and they don’t lose their cool.”
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True to Foley’s words, Catholic responded in the third frame.
Hein, Lila Griesemer and Peyton Wiseman combined for 13 of the team’s 18 points and sent the Irish into the final quarter up 34-33.
Foley credited Wiseman’s efforts, in particular, in slowing Catholic’s attack down and refocusing the offense.
“Peyton Wiseman is a great leader,” Foley said. “She talks them through things when they make a mistake. She might be a little harsh sometimes and, other times, she might mother them … so I’m not the only one coaching out there.”
For most of the final frame, both teams were unable to maintain momentum and stretch the lead beyond a mere possession.
Midway through the period, Griesemer and Wiseman each hit a free throw to tie the score at 37-37, setting the stage for Hein’s late-game heroics.
While Foley has always known Hein’s capabilities as a big-time shot maker, her transition to the varsity squad and chemistry mesh didn’t happen overnight.
“Riley is an amazing athlete, an amazing kid and our knock-down 3-point shooter,” Foley said. “When you have an upperclassmen-led team, and you have a freshman that can play and do what she did tonight, I had to hold her back a little bit and let all the other girls get to know her, because they’re all seniors. When we got to game 15, I just sat down and told the girls, ‘Riley’s earned the time to start.’”
Up 43-37 – it’s largest lead of the game – Catholic was finally able to hold on down the stretch for win and tournament title.
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Hein led the Irish with 17 points, while Alice Farmer and Griesemer finished with 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Mountain Grove was led by Stenzell’s 20 points and Landry Golden’s 13.
Up next for Catholic is a road matchup with Forsyth on Monday, Feb. 3. Mountain Grove hosts Ava that same evening.
Varsity Final: Springfield Catholic – 47, Mountain Grove – 42
Spfd Catholic 07 09 18 13 47
Mountain Grove 08 13 12 09 42
Catholic scoring: Riley Hein – 17, Alice Farmer – 9, Lila Griesemer – 8, Peyton Wiseman – 4, Makenna Phipps – 4, Riley Webster – 3, Annabelle Cleeton – 2
Mountain Grove scoring: Raylee Stenzel – 20, Landry Golden – 13, Stella Benson – 6, Rowen Kelly – 3
