By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@Matt Turer
Sparta, Mo. — The Sparta Tournament championship was squarely in the spotlight Wednesday night for a battle between two of area’s final three undefeateds.
Gainesville and Norwood both entered Wednesday sitting on 12-0 records but it was the Bulldogs that pushed that mark to 13-0 in a 44-29 win.
Beyond joining Class 3 power Strafford as one of two undefeated programs remaining in either boys or girls basketball in the Ozarks, the win gave 2-seed Gainesville (13-0) its eighth consecutive win over 1-seed Norwood (12-1), dating back to Feb. 9, 2012.
CLICK HERE FOR GAINESVILLE VS. NORWOOD PHOTOS
But despite that recent dominance and despite having more success against common opponents this season, the Class 2 No. 4 Bulldogs were still a spot behind Class 2 No. 3 Norwood in the state rankings. Don’t think for a second they didn’t notice.
“It was incentive to go out there and win and show that we’re out there to get it done,” tournament MVP Annie Noah said.
Noah—one of four Bulldogs to finish with 10 points—collected her second tournament MVP of the season after earning the same honor in the Mountain Grove Tournament.
“We’re pretty confident right now,” Noah said. “We work hard every day in practice. We’re a team. We hustle together. We even eat together on gamedays. So as long as we’re a team, we’ll win as a team. I think we have a pretty good chance to stay undefeated for a while.”
Gainesville has now won 87 of its last 98 games dating back to the 2013-14 season.
“Obviously when you win ballgames you feel good,” Gainesville head coach Morris Jenkins said. “It’s not all about that, but it makes you feel well. Our goal is not go undefeated. Our goal is to play hard every night. We know we’ve got a lot of tough teams ahead on our schedule…but it feels good to win. Feels good to be where we’re at. But we want to try to keep getting better.”
Both teams got off to a slow start Wednesday with Norwood leading 3-1 nearly four minutes into the first quarter, but Gainesville closed the quarter on an 8-1 run to go up 9-4.
Norwood seemed to find a groove offensively in the second quarter, getting six of Jenna Ogletree’s 10 points in the frame and outscoring Gainesville 11-10 but never being able to regain the lead.
That offensive output disappeared for Norwood in the second half. The Pirates totaled just nine points in the third quarter and five in the fourth as Gainesville forced them into a number of low-percentage shots from beyond the arc and seemed to be able to contest every opportunity in the paint.
“We talked to our players yesterday and today in the shootaround about probably the biggest key of the game was to out-rebound them and to play position defense, and I thought for the most part we did,” Jenkins said. “When we stayed in a position, we were able to force them into contested shots and that was our goal.”
Norwood’s 29 points were its lowest output of the season by 24 points, with the previous low coming in a 53-41 win over Hartville. The Pirates had been averaging 65.8 points coming into Wednesday night.
“We never get the chance to show off our skills against extremely good teams and I’m very proud of my team and how we handled this,” Gainesville senior point guard Destiny Scott said. “We’re very excited.”
Scott played a huge role in Gainesville’s defensive efforts and ended tied for the team lead with 10 points. Normally pretty stoic on the floor, the senior let out an emotional yell late in the third quarter after drawing an offensive foul.
“I was just really excited and pumped up,” Scott said. “I guess I just couldn’t control it anymore. Big games bring out big emotions. It’s very exciting.”
Leading 34-24 in the closing seconds of the third, Michia Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating three to end the quarter and put the Bulldogs up 13 entering the fourth. That 13 point lead felt nearly insurmountable with the game’s slow pace.
The first half saw 20 fouls between the two teams with 12 being called on Norwood.
FINAL: Gainesville 44, Norwood 29
Gainesville: 9 10 18 7 – 44
Norwood: 4 11 9 5 — 29
Gainesville- Michia Jenkins 10, Annie Noah 10, Destiny Scott 10, Shelly Smith 10, Aspyn Britt 2, Chasity Mansker 2
Norwood- Emma McIntosh 10, Jenna Ogletree 10, Sara McIntosh 4, Chloe Crain 3, Emily Chadwell 1, Marla Chadwell 1
