The Walnut Grove Lady Tigers used a 27-point second quarter Tuesday night to blow their Class 1 sectional game wide open, on their way to a 66-38 victory over Polk County League foe Wheatland at the Meyer Wellness and Sports Center on the campus of Southwest Baptist University.
“They played really well,” Walnut Grove coach Rory Henry said of his team. “That second quarter, I was super-proud of the group. That’s what we’ve been trying to get at all year. Our ball movement was excellent. Of course, they had to knock down shots, but it was just exciting to see it all come together. I’m very proud of them.”
Sophomore Bayley Harman sparked the second-quarter onslaught by hitting four 3-pointers. Extra time in the gym has benefitted the Lady Tiger guard.
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“I have been running through a slump,” Harman said, “but practice hours – staying after and shooting extra shots, coming in earlier – it’s really helping and paying off.”
Harman opened the game with a 3, and Wheatland sophomore Gracie Fatino answered with one of her own. But the Lady Tigers worked their high-low game, mostly to junior forward Raylie Hejna, who scored eight of her 15 points in the first quarter, and Walnut Grove took a 19-10 lead.
“Raylie did a good job of establishing herself inside, and we knew that was our big advantage,” Henry said. “She is a great player and not very many teams can match up with her. So, we knew that we had that at our disposal.”
And then the flood gates opened in the second quarter for Walnut Grove.
The Lady Tigers went on runs of 8-0, 7-0 and 9-0, with six players putting points on the board, lifting Walnut Grove to a 46-17 halftime lead.
“They shot unbelievable,” Wheatland coach Jeremiah Bryan said. “Everything they threw up went in. The ones they missed, we bobbled the rebound and turned it over.”
Not only were the Lady Tigers shooting lights-out, their defense caused problems for the Lady Mules – including leading scorer, freshman Madison Sutt, who was averaging 20 points per game coming into the sectional game.
“They’re a good team, and they’re a good, young team,” Henry said of Wheatland. “So, we really just wanted to focus in on their ‘big three’ (Sutt, Ashley Horton and Fatino), and try to make some of the other girls beat us.”
And it was Harman’s assignment to stop Sutt.
“She’s really good at crashing the boards and I’m not so great at it, so that was my main focus coming in – limit her to a certain amount of shots and block out and rebound,” Harman said.
And it was Walnut Grove’s goal to limit Sutt’s touches.
“We wanted her to be in single digits (Sutt scored 8 points),” Henry said. “She’s a great player (as a freshman), and she’s gonna be even better. … We really wanted to focus on her and I thought Bayley did an excellent job, especially with blocking out. We wanted to keep her off the boards tonight.”
But Wheatland didn’t have much of an answer for Harman and Hejna, who combined for 41 points and 16 rebounds for Walnut Grove.
“Hejna is a beast,” Bryan said. “She’s tough to guard. You can front her, you can guard her on the backside, but she’s gonna score, either way. And, Harman shoots lights-out. They’re a good team, and I hope they go a long way. I hope they win (state) four years in a row.”
But first, Walnut Grove must face a familiar foe.
The Lady Tigers play Drexel (25-4), a 47-38 sectional winner over Otterville, in the Class 1 quarterfinals on Saturday at Clinton High School.
Walnut Grove has knocked off the Lady Cats in the Class 1 sectionals the last three years in a row.
“They’re going to come with a lot of extra motivation for us, and it will be exciting to go play them,” Henry said.
WALNUT GROVE 66, WHEATLAND 38
WALNUT GROVE – 19-27-16-4—66
WHEATLAND – 10-7-15-6—38
WALNUT GROVE (21-9) – Bayley Harman 26, Grace McPhail 11, Myranda McVay 2, Kylee Verbeck 2, Raylie Hejna 15, Taylor Dodson 6, Grace Miller 4.
WHEATLAND (22-7) – Ashley Horton 13, Gracie Fatino 13, Madison Sutt 8, Ashley Poley 2, August Shields-Smith 2.
Up next: Class 1 quarterfinals – Walnut Grove vs. Drexel, 1 p.m., at Clinton High School
