By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After just half of a quarter of play on Saturday, things looked bleak for the Clever Lady Jays.
But despite being down nine points without scoring a point in the opening four minutes, Clever coach Clark Satterlee didn’t panic. He called a timeout, he calmed his youthful team, and his Lady Jays responded in kind.
Clever calmly and methodically erased the early deficit, forced overtime, and then closed the game with a 16-3 run to clinch a 64-55 win and the Class 3 District 12 title over Pierce City at Clever High School.
It is Clever’s second-straight district title and third championship in the last four years under Satterlee.
“I was calm after I called that timeout and I told the girls that I had no doubt that we are going to come back and make this into a game,” Satterlee said.
“I think they saw that I wasn’t worried, and when we made our first shot right after that, things were much better.
“Throughout the game, an 8-0 run or 9-0 run might happen and you don’t notice it as much, but when it’s at the start and you have zero on the scoreboard, it sticks out.”
Freshman Kinley Burk sparked the early run with a pair of 3s from the left wing that woke the Clever crowd from its slumber.
Junior Kenzie Camp added a 3 and then followed seconds later with a steal and a layup as the Lady Jays cut into the Pierce City lead.
Junior Ella Newman’s free throw tied the game at 16, but Piece City senior Macie Crowther buried a 3 as time expired to put the Lady Eagles back ahead 19-16 after an up-and-down first quarter.
Pierce City led by three points (37-34) as the back-and-forth play continued in the third quarter, when the Lady Jays scored 10-straight points to build a 44-37 lead in less than two minutes. Burk had a pair of buckets in transition and Argo added a steal and layup during the run.
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“Burk has really come on strong for us the past couple of weeks,” Satterlee said. “She’s reached double digits now I think in three-straight games. She can light it up, and when she got hot tonight, we did a good job of finding her. She was converting at a high rate.”
Pierce City was able to chip away at Clever’s lead and regained the lead early in the fourth quarter. A pair of buckets from Pierce City junior Addison Avondet tied the game at 48-all. Junior Lilianna Lasker followed with two free throws and Crowther added a basket from the post to put the Lady Eagles back in front by four points (52-48) with 4:25 left to play.
But momentum was about to turn once again in this back-and-forth affair.
Over the final four minutes of regulation, Clever freshman Bella Argo scored six-straight points, tying the game with a steal and a layup to force overtime with just over a minute left.
“Bella has been pretty consistent for us all year and her scoring has come along as the season has progressed,” Satterlee said. “She’s been good for close to a double-double on most nights, and now she’s starting to get that point per game average up a little bit higher, which has been big for us.”
Argo admitted to feeling the pregame jitters, but said the pressure was gone once the ball went in the air.
“I felt a lot of pressure. I was so scared at the beginning, that I thought I was going to dribble it off my foot or something,” Argo said with a laugh. “But it got easier and I didn’t feel nerves anymore after the tip off.
“The first half, I missed a couple of shots and got in my head, but in the second half I prayed and it built my confidence.”
Camp scored the first three points of overtime for Clever on a rebound and put back conventional 3-point play.
“Once we got the lead in overtime, we were super patient and tried to work for a layup,” Satterlee said. “Defensively, we guarded hard and rebounded a little bit better in that overtime period and we didn’t give them any second chances. That was the difference.”
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The Lady Jays outscored Pierce City 10-1 in overtime to seal the win and the district title.
“I think we are playing really well right now,” Argo said. “We are rotating the ball around more on offense. We have to keep rebounding well. I think that’s been helping us a lot throughout the season.”
Clever will play at El Dorado Springs March 4 in the Class 3 state sectionals, with the time to be determined (TBD).
“Because we are young, we are a team that is probably built for next year, but I told the girls let’s see how far we can go, because I feel like we are playing with house money,” Satterlee said. “The pressure won’t be on us.”
