There are consistent basketball programs in the Ozarks … and there's Walnut Grove.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers rolled to a home-court sweep of Fair Play Tuesday night, clinching both Polk County League titles in the process. The boys won their third-consecutive conference championship with a 76-55 victory, while the girls posted a fifth-consecutive title with a 46-33 score.
GIRLS
The blueprint to defeat the Lady Tigers begins and ends with Rylie Hejna and, for two quarters, Fair Play ran the plan almost to perfection.
Walnut Grove's junior post is a devastating finisher; however, it's difficult to score without the ball.
Fair Play's front-line combo of twins Paige and Maysee Harman chased, fronted and knocked away repeated entry attempts to the low post in the first half. As a result, the Lady Hornets were able to force Walnut Grove into lower percentage shots from the perimeter and take control of the tempo.
Fair Play head coach Alicia Mercer was pleased to find her team up 19-14 at the half.
"I was really happy with our first-half effort," Mercer said. "Our twins were a key factor in keeping the ball out. They also did a great job keeping them off the boards. We talked about how Raylie is a big force inside and how [Bayley] Harman is an outside-to-inside player. We wanted to stay in passing lanes, be aware of who's coming up, and getting out and getting those steals."
In the second half, Walnut Grove made a couple key adjustments that paid immediate dividends.
First, they moved Hejna to the high post and started working the offense through the elbows. With passing lanes opening up, the Lady Tigers were able to exploit their interior advantage.
Second, Walnut Grove deployed a suffocating, full-court press, which caught the Fair Play ball-handlers off-guard.
Both factors resulted in a lopsided, 15-4 quarter for Walnut Grove. After Hejna's bucket at 6:37 gave them the lead at 20-19, the Lady Tigers never looked back.
Hejna finished the game with a game-high 15 points for Walnut Grove. Bayley Harman and Grace McPhail joined Hejna in double figures with 10 points each.
Walnut Grove head coach Rory Henry was frustrated with his team's first-half inefficiency, but credited Fair Play for forcing the issue.
"We were very disappointed with our first-half performance, and credit Fair Play … they just played better than us," Henry said. "Their girls inside made it difficult. We made a few adjustments in the second half and tried to space the floor a little bit better in our zone offense. They came out with a lot better energy in the second half."
While Fair Play regained its composure in the fourth quarter, the Lady Hornets were unable to slow Walnut Grove's offense down and cut into the lead. Ashton Curl led Fair Play in scoring with 12 points.
The 46-33 Walnut Grove victory sets the PCL champions up with one final tune-up prior to districts. The Lady Tigers (17-8) travel to Fordland on Thursday, while Fair Play (12-11) faces Weaubleau on the road that same evening.
Walnut Grove Girls – 46, Fair Play Girls – 33
Walnut Grove 8 6 15 17 — 46
Fair Play 8 11 4 10 — 33
Walnut Grove Scoring: Raylie Hajna – 15, Grace McPhail – 10, Bayley Harman – 10, Taylor Dodson – 6, Myranda McVay – 3, Grace Miller – 2
Fair Play Scoring: Ashton Curl – 12, Maysee Harman – 8, Dahlia Simpson – 6, Paige Harman – 6, Anna Reeves – 1
BOYS
Senior night at Walnut Grove marked a special occasion for the Tigers.
Prior to the game, head coach Darin Meinders got to put the clipboard down and just be Dad.
Escorting Walnut Grove's do-everything guard, Dallas, to center court, the elder Meinders took a brief moment to reflect.
"I'm just proud," Meinders said. "Proud of the kid he is, and the work he's put in. Everybody asked if I was going to be emotional, and I'm really not. I told him, 'We're not done playing. You know, we've got a lot more to do.' He's a good kid, and I'm proud of his accomplishments, but I think he has a lot more left to accomplish throughout this year and his college career."
While Meinders and fellow guard Logan Thomazin provided plenty of fireworks in the 76-55 senior night victory, it was another sophomore who stole the show in the first quarter.
Hunter Gilkey scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the opening frame, connecting on four 3-pointers. The monster quarter helped propel Walnut Grove to a 27-10 lead, which would not be relinquished.
Gilkey talked about his role on the team and how the Tigers are able to maintain defensive intensity throughout all four quarters.
"I just try to do what I can to help the team," Gilkey said. "Whether I'm scoring, assisting, getting steals … anything. We work 30 minutes every day on full-court pressure and get our lungs going. It's just easy to keep it up."
Thomazin and Meinders joined Gilkey in double figures, showcasing the Tigers' balanced scoring ability with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
After falling behind 43-20 at the half, Fair Play would rally in the second behind Camden Welch and Ryan Rutledge; however, the Hornets were unable to cut more than two points from the halftime deficit.
Walnut Grove (23-2) closes out its regular season Thursday at home against Lighthouse Christian, while Fair Play (12-8) travels to Weaubleau that same evening.
Walnut Grove Boys – 76, Fair Play Boys – 55
Walnut Grove 27 16 21 12 — 76
Fair Play 10 10 23 12 — 55
Walnut Grove Scoring: Hunter Gilkey – 24, Logan Thomazin – 19, Dallas Meinders – 17, Kyle Keith – 8, Jaron Dishman – 4, Cory Countryman – 2, Cole Melton – 2
Fair Play Scoring: Camden Welch – 23, Justin Smith – 12, Ryan Rutledge – 9, Devon Roverstine – 6, Justin Viles – 5
JV Boys Score: Fair Play – 50, Walnut Grove – 41
