By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Ozark, Mo. — Utilizing strong defense and dominant play on the boards, Kickapoo downed Ozark 66-53 in Thursday’s Class 5 District 11 championship.
On a night where both teams shot below fifty percent from the field, points and scoring runs came at a premium.
Kickapoo’s freshman quartet of 6-foot Indya Green, 6-foot-1 Rachel Senn, 5-foot-10 Chloe Merced and 6-foot-2 Madie Barrett made it difficult for Ozark’s front line to operate and minimized the amount of second-chance opportunities.
The Lady Chiefs jumped out to an early lead in the first half on the strength of a balanced attack from senior Hannah Collins, Merced and Green.
Kickapoo led 32-21 at the half in a game controlled by the Lady Chiefs’ interior defense.
While Ozark was able to find early success attacking the basket, Kickapoo limited those opportunities to one-and-done attempts.
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“We built [the lead] by getting stops, getting defensive rebounds and limiting what [Ozark] could do in the first half,” Lady Chiefs head coach Jim Pendergrass said. “They got to the foul line in the first half, and that kind of stopped our momentum, but we didn’t give them a lot of extra chances.”
In the third, Ozark rallied behind strong play from 6-foot-2 senior Macey Putt, defensive pressure and improved perimeter shooting.
The Lady Tigers closed the quarter with a 12-2 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Olivia Hanks and junior Annie Sheer. The run helped Ozark cut the lead to a single possession at 45-42.
For Ozark head coach David Brewer, the third quarter rally was a welcome relief from a first half of missed opportunities.
“First half, we just left a lot of points out there that we usually get,” Brewer said. “We felt like, if just took care of those things and put some pressure on, we might have a chance to get back in it, and we did.
In a momentum-changing sequence that proved to be the game’s pivotal point, Kickapoo opened up the fourth quarter with a huge conventional three-point play from Green that helped spark a 9-0 Lady Chiefs run to start the period.
Pendergrass praised the freshman forward’s performance in a pressure-packed environment.
“Indya Green, to be able to get a great start in the fourth quarter; to get the momentum back on our side — because it wasn’t,” Pendergrass said. “We were struggling, but to be able to turn that around in the fourth quarter to start off that way … tremendous lift. She’s definitely a presence for us, and she’s a tough player. She stepped up tonight, we really needed her and she performed.”
With a series of miscues, Ozark’s third-quarter momentum vanished in a matter of moments.
“The problem becomes, when you put pressure on someone like that, you’ve got to keep the pressure on,” Brewer said. “At the start of the fourth quarter, we had two or three straight turnovers, allowed them to get it back to eight and now they’re comfortable again.”
Ozark would attempt to rally once more, but Kickapoo’s interior defense stiffened with Green leading the way.
In the final three minutes, Green registered a key steal and two blocks, the second of which was a straight-up play in the pocket versus Putt.
“I had to make sure I didn’t foul at that moment,” Green said. “If I fouled, I knew that was going to set our team back, so I just made sure I had my hands straight up, and it just felt really great to get that block from her.”
Collins led the Lady Chiefs in scoring with 16 points and was joined in double figures by Merced and senior Jordan Wersinger, who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Green finished just behind the trio with 9 points and 17 rebounds.
Putt led the Lady Tigers with 18 points.
With the victory Kickapoo (21-6) advances to the state sectional round to play Friday’s District 12 winner — either Nixa or Republic — on Wednesday, March 7.
Varsity Final: Kickapoo – 66, Ozark – 53
Kickapoo 16 16 13 21 — 66
Ozark 11 10 21 11 — 53
Kickapoo scoring: Hannah Collins – 16, Chloe Merced – 12, Jordan Wersinger – 11, Indya Green – 9, Rachel Senn – 8, Jaden Wiley – 4, Leah Fredrick – 4, Madie Barrett – 2
Ozark scoring: Macey Putt – 18, Madi Braden – 9, Katie Mayes – 8, Olivia Hanks – 6, Anna Hitt – 5, Annie Schear – 5, Brooke Pace – 2
