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By Denise Tucker
BOLIVAR – An ugly win is still a win.
Just ask Marshfield coach Shelly Jones.
The Marshfield Lady Jays hit 12 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to take a 39-29 Central Ozark Conference win against the host Bolivar Lady Liberators on Thursday night.
“Both teams struggled to score,” Jones said. “It came down to us hitting 18 of 20 free throws, and it was just enough to keep that span big enough, large enough that it was difficult for them to come back in the fourth quarter.
“But it wasn’t pretty basketball, by any means.”
Bolivar led 13-9 after the first quarter and 21-20 at the half. But lots of missed shots – for both teams – led to a combined eight points in the third quarter, as the Lady Liberators took a one-point lead (25-24) into the fourth.
The two teams continued to miss shots, but a change in defense helped Marshfield gain an edge. The Lady Jays shadowed Bolivar’s star junior, Michelle Gabani, taking that scoring/passing threat away from the Lady Liberators.
“She’s the engine that makes their team go,” Jones said. “She’s a great player and does some very good things with the basketball. And the problem is, she is so unselfish and she delivers the basketball. We were having a difficult time keeping up with the ball rotation. I thought they did a great job of that, and she did a great job of delivering.
“We did enough to win the war on the boards and to not allow them to get wide-open shots.”
Offensively, Zoe Bisby hit a 3-pointer from the baseline with 5:24 to go in the fourth quarter to give Marshfield its first lead (27-25) since it led 5-2 early in the first quarter.
“That was absolutely a huge shot because we hadn’t been making them,“ Jones said. “And to just finally get a little bit of a breath… I thought that gave a lot of life to our kids.”
Bolivar had trouble getting much going offensively, especially in the second half.
“Give Marshfield credit,” Bolivar coach Darin Archer said. “They did a great job of shutting down Michelle and we couldn’t put the ball in the hole the entire second half.
“Both teams battled and Marshfield made their free throws down the stretch. It is always a battle when these two teams get together and that was a great ‘W’ for coach Jones and her girls.”
But another factor to Bolivar’s struggles was the fact it was missing its second-leading scorer, Rheagan Hancock, who suffered a knee injury Monday night against Rogersville, and could miss up to six weeks.
“I could tell we were lost without her,” Archer said. “We were really playing well after Christmas and we had settled into roles, and all of that changed Monday.
“Hopefully, we can get adjusted to new roles soon and make the most out of the remaining games we have left on our schedule.”
And, ugly or not, the comeback victory was huge for Marshfield.
“For us, being able to focus on the road and hit 18 out of 20 free throws – and having to, because that was what was going in for us tonight – was being able to do that, executing the game plan down the stretch,” Jones said. “We’re young, we made some mistakes, but we were able to cover that up a little bit by making free throws.
“For us, it’s a huge conference win. Also, it was nice to play here because this is where our district is going to be held, and to be on the road and to play against a quality opponent.”
MARSHFIELD GIRLS 39, BOLIVAR 29
Central Ozark Conference game
MARSHFIELD – 9-11-4-15—39
BOLIVAR – 13-8-4-4—29
MARSHFIELD (6-14, 1-1) – Zoe Bisby 13, Dani Brewer 10, Savanna Vance 7, Caitlin King 5, Emily Aldridge 2, Kaylah Cottengim 2.
BOLIVAR (10-11, 0-2) – Michelle Gabani 9, Hannah Newcomb 7, Reaghan Lesh 7, Taylor Dial 3, Megan Spear 3.
Marshfield B 40, Bolivar B 21
Up next: Marshfield at Hollister, Monday; Bolivar at Buffalo, Monday
