The Neosho Lady Wildcats improved to 12-12 with a 65-36 win over the Willard Lady Tigers (3-18). Allison Burr posted 24 points for the Lady Wildcats, including four treys.
“It was good,” said Burr (soph.). “We haven’t been playing the best lately, so it was good to come out and get our groove into it. We’re young, but a lot is expected out of us. It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s good.”
Trailing 31-16 after the first half, the Lady Tigers pushed back in the opening minutes of the 3rd, shooting 9-2 over the Lady Wildcats. Leading 33-25, Makayla Hayes and Ashley Talley sank back-to-back treys for Neosho, 39-25.
Then Burr turned up the heat on the Lady Tigers, breaking away for 3 straight layups, 45-25.
Coach Grant Berendt was pleased with the Lady Wildcats’ offense.
“We shot the ball really well tonight. We’re capable,” said Berendt. “We’ve had a tough stretch against Republic, Ozark, and Branson. We show potential at playing like this against really good teams. Tonight I felt like if we can get some pressure going and get out and transition, we are a much better team. That’s what we got tonight.”
Both teams grabbed 2 points at the line, leaving the Lady Wildcats with a 20-point lead and less than 10 seconds in the 3rd, 47-27. A late possession and timeout gave the Lady Wildcats the chance to set up a final dunk. Burr took the pass and landed a 3-point buzzer beater, 50-27.
The situation did not improve for the Lady Tigers in the 4th, and the Lady Wildcats led 62-36 with seconds remaining in the 4th. Caitlyn Jordon dropped in a 3-point buzzer beater for Neosho, clinching a 65-36 trouncing over the Lady Tigers.
Following a 14-5 1st quarter, the Lady Wildcats went on a 13-2 run in the second, posting 9 of those points at the line. The Lady Tigers were aggressive defensively but struggled with missed shots. Willard’s Kennedy Burch broke the Lady Wildcats’ streak in the final seconds of the half with a trey, but the Lady Tigers trailed 31-16.
Berendt is looking ahead to districts.
“We came out and executed some things tonight that we’ve been working on,” said Berendt. “It’s better late than never now, right before districts.”
On Monday, Willard will host Nixa, and Neosho will face Webb City.
Willard 5 11 11 9 — 36
Neosho 14 17 19 15 — 65
Neosho: Allison Burr 24, Makayla Hayes 9, Sydney Linny 8, Ashley Talley 7, Caitlyn Jordon 5, Laken Schnackenberg 5, Brooke Stauffer 5, Makenzie Lindsay 2 — 65
Willard: Joran Stout-Mitchell 14, Josie Berry 6, Kennedy Burch 5, Lizzie Drennan 4, Brittney Mahan 2, Josie Sanders 2, Kelsie Carroll 2, Madi Bradley 1 – 36
