By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
The stage would seem to be set for Strafford’s Emma Compton, Emma Mullings and Lauren Jones to join their older sisters on a Lady Indians team ranked No. 1 statewide.
Kyndall Compton, Zoey Mullings and Logan Jones were part of Strafford’s state championships teams from 2016-2020.
Strafford’s current outfit made its claim for No. 1 in Class 3 by beating Willard 70-47 in the Willard Tournament championship game Saturday. Skyline, the pre-season No. 1, has already tasted defeat.
“We want to get there badly, like our sisters in the past,” Emma Mullings said of being ranked No. 1. “We’re going to get there, hopefully.”
The Lady Indians played championship defense Saturday, while jumping on top of Willard by counts of 21-7 and 35-15 in the first half.
Willard finished 8-of-24 from 3-point land.
“We knew their shot is the 3, so we came out with a hand in their face,” Mullings said. “We got out and pressured them.”
“We knew they were shooters, so we had to get a hand in their face and make sure they didn’t shoot over us,” Jones said. “We also wanted to stop them on the drive and have help-defense.”
“I’m super proud of our kids. We showed a lot of poise defensively,” coach Dustin Larson said. “We grew tonight.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Mullings enjoyed the constant chatter from the Lady Indians on the court.
“When we talk, we become a very good defensive team,” Mullings said. “When we’re talking, it makes me feel that the other girls have got my back. We’re all on the same page when we talk. We know where each person is supposed to go or if there is a screen and we need to help.”
Offensively, Strafford received 14 points from Compton, 13 from Jones and Laney Humble, 12 from Matti Walker and 11 from Mullings.
Larson valued the presence in the paint Walker provided.
“Maddi is continuing to grow,” he said. “She can have some highs and lows. She doesn’t believe in herself like she needs to. She can get down on herself. But we think the world of her and want to see her keep getting better all season.”
Willard’s Ella Sims swished a half-court heave while making a trio of 3-pointers. But the Lady Tigers never got on track offensively.
“Ton of credit to Strafford and coach Larson,” Willard coach J.J. Adamson said. “Their kids applied a ton of pressure and we were not able to connect.
“We’ll shoot the ball better as the season goes along. We’ve got to do a better job with our shot selection,” he added. “We’ve also got to do a better job of punishing teams who are trying to take the 3-point shot away from us by doing a better job getting to the basket. Our kids are capable of that.”
The All-Tournament Team was made up of Compton, Mullings, Humble, Willard’s Carolina Crawford, Kailyn Washington and Briele Adamson, Bentonville West’s Laynee Tapp, Harrison’s Reese Ricketts, Blue Springs’ Jayla Cornelius and Bolivar’s Cora Roweton.
STRAFFORD (70) — Rust 1 0-0 2, Compton 6 0-0 14, Jones 5 0-0 13, Humble 4 4-4 13, Chrisman 1 0-0 2, Mullings 4 0-0 11, Heil 1 0-0 3, Walker 6 0-3 12.
WILLARD (43) — Anderson 0 2-2 2, Hall 1 1-2 4, Howard 2 0-0 5, Mills 1 1-2 3, Sims 3 0-0 9, Crawford 1 0-0 3, Washington 5 1-2 12, Adamson 1 2-2 5.
Strafford 21 22 13 14 – 70
Willard 10 15 7 11 – 43
3-point goals – Jones 3, Mullings 3, Sims 3, Compton 2, Humble, Heil, Howard, Crawford, Washington, Adamson.
