Defense sets the early tone in Strafford’s 81-41 victory over Walnut Grove

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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Walnut Grove, Mo. — Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.

Strafford and Walnut Grove, two storied programs with postseason aspirations, put that mantra to the test Tuesday night.

While Strafford (15-0) — one of state’s top teams, regardless of classification — is known for scoring points in bunches from all five positions, its suffocating defense took center stage in the Lady Indians’ 81-41 victory.

Seniors Hayley and Kayley Frank led Strafford with 24 and 21 points, respectively. Hayley Frank also pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds.

The Lady Indians opened the game with a 12-0 run in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from Hayley Frank and classmate Madison Chittenden.

At the other end, Strafford’s size and speed limited any open looks for Walnut Grove.

Lady Tigers’ head coach Rory Henry had hoped to pressure Strafford into some early mistakes and create transition opportunities of his own, but also knew the task would be daunting.

“The main thing that we wanted to do was try and pressure them and get up and run,” Henry said. “We couldn’t do that, because we couldn’t score. They’re so good, defensively, and that’s what my fear was.”

Walnut Grove sophomore Lauren Johnson finally got the Lady Tigers on the board with a free throw at the 4:55 mark.

Strafford head coach Steve Frank praised his team for setting the tone early at the defensive end.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

“I say that over and over,” Frank said. “It’s the unstatted thing. We spend a lot of time, every day, working on the little things, defensively. We try to take away people’s strengths, and our kids are really good about knowing what the game plan is — and they stick to it.”

Walnut Grove’s primary strength this season has been its guard play, with sophomore Faith Gilkey spearheading a drive-and-kick attack.

Strafford junior Logan Jones drew the key defensive assignment and was charged with keeping Gilkey out of the lane.

“Faith is a really good driver, obviously,” Jones said. “She can also shoot the three, but our main focus was to clog the lane, so she couldn’t drive and finish as much. We knew it was going to be a track meet the whole time. We knew they could get it out and run, and we knew we could get it out and run.”

Walnut Grove made a brief rally midway through the first behind a pair of baskets from senior Grace McPhail and Gilkey; however, Strafford was quick to answer.

While the Lady Tigers worked to clog the lane and limit Strafford’s interior game, the three-time Class 3 state champions were more than willing to settle for open looks from the perimeter.

The Lady Indians ended the quarter with an 11-0 run to go up 25-5, and the Frank sisters notched another trio of 3-pointers.

With running lanes shut down, Coach Frank was pleased to see his squad look for, and convert, open shots elsewhere.

“We always like transition,” Coach Frank said. “Defensively, that will create the transition to get out and kind of put people on their heels a lot of times. It really changes the ball game. Tonight, we didn’t get that early, but we did a really good job with execution, hit some shots there early and got on them right off the bat.”

Strafford took a 45-19 lead into the half, and then opened up the third quarter with a game-clinching, 18-0 run.

Chittenden attributed the game’s big runs to her team’s ability to score from a variety of positions and in a variety of ways.

“Sometimes, during our games, we come out really slow,” Chittenden said. “I think, this game, we did a really good job of taking it to the middle, jump-stopping and kicking it out. I think with such a diverse team, if we don’t get what’s in the middle, we do have the girls who can kick out. We’ll find a way to score, either way.”

Despite the loss, Henry viewed the game’s journey as much more important than the end result.

“We know how good Strafford is,” Henry said. “And there’s a reason we wanted to play them. You want to play the best to gauge where you’re at. Obviously, they’re a lot better than us — they’re a lot better than everybody — but we did some really good things at times in the game.”

Battle-tested with a tough schedule, Henry also feels Walnut Grove (12-2) is in better shape after trading baskets with a team like Strafford.

“We’re just looking at the big picture,” Henry said. “It’s going to make us better. We’re not going to see any team in the state — Class 1, or any other level — that’s going to be as good as them, in my mind.”
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Varsity Final: Strafford – 81, Walnut Grove – 41

Strafford 25 20 24 12 — 81
Walnut Grove 05 14 07 15 — 41

Strafford scoring: Hayley Frank – 24, Kayley Frank – 21, Madison Chittenden – 9, Logan Jones – 9, Emma Compton – 5, Taylor Dormann – 5, Taylor Treat – 4, Paige Danielson – 2, Taylor Chrisman – 2

Walnut Grove scoring: Faith Gilkey – 15, Lauren Johnson – 11, Makayla McVay – 8, Grace McPhail – 7

JV final: Strafford – 34, Walnut Grove – 3 (2 Quarters)

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