By Calen VanNess (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Coming into Thursday night’s game, the Hartville Lady Eagles had not lost a Summit Conference game in over three years. Even though Fordland would have loved nothing more than to end that streak, Hartville’s four graduating seniors were not about to let it come to an end on their watch as they dominated the game from the opening tip and won 61-25.
Hartville (21-4, 6-0) wasted no time putting Fordland away as they started the game an 11-0 run within the first two minutes of the contest. By forcing 20 turnovers and contesting every shot, Fordland (8-16, 1-5) was unable to go beyond Hartville’s first quarter point total until late in the fourth quarter.
“We came out and played with a lot of intensity,” said Hartville’s head coach Steve Sanders. “I thought we guarded really well. We were able to get some points early in transition, and I think that was the key. We got off to a fast start and [kept the] momentum.”
Sanders knew tonight’s game would depend on how well his team guarded Fordland senior guard Abi Southard. They would not leave him disappointed.
“Southard is a really good player,” said Sanders. “I thought we did a good job stopping her as a team. You can’t just guard a kid like that with one person. It takes a group effort.”
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Southard led all Fordland scorers with 19 points. Ten of those points came in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.
Hartville had three scorers in double figures. Senior Grace Culver finished with a game-high 21 points. Junior Jadalyn Keith and sophomore McKinley Sanders added 14 and 12, respectively.
As for the graduating seniors, they cherished getting to play one more game together on their home floor, and it is something they will never forget.
“It was fun,” forward Katie Still said. “I will always remember it.”
“I loved playing with my girls one last time [at home],” added guard Aubrey Hardcastle.
It also comes with a little sadness knowing their time of playing high school basketball together is quickly approaching the end.
“It was definitely bittersweet to play with these girls on our home court one last time,” said senior guard Bailey Martin.
Sanders is aware that these four will be hard to replace, and he has nothing but praise for what they have accomplished throughout their high school careers.
“They will probably go down as one of the most successful classes in Hartville history,” said Sanders. “They’ve been driven to win. They are good basketball players, and, overall, they are just good kids. We are really proud of them and will miss them more than people will ever know. They all bring something to the table, and I am proud of them for that.”
Winning three straight conference titles is something these four seniors are extremely proud of considering how difficult of a task that is, especially in the Summit Conference.
“That’s hard to do,” said Still. “It just shows we can work together as a team very well and have been able to do that for three consecutive years [even with] people graduating.”
Senior forward Grace Culver credited her team’s work ethic and their coaches for their continued success.
“Winning the conference title three years in a row is something that not a lot of teams can do,” said Culver. “It’s all because of the hard work that everyone puts in every single day in practice, and our coaches who help us accomplish our goals.”
After finishing third-place in the Class 2 state championship last year, this team is excited to get the chance to surpass that memorable team’s success.
“I am excited for this postseason,” said Martin. “Looking back on last year, we have high hopes.”
“We are ready,” said Still. “We have big plans.”
What is even scarier for opponents is that the Lady Eagles may be playing their best basketball just as districts are set to begin.
“We have had a bunch of ups and downs throughout the season, but I think we are hitting our peak,” said Hardcastle. “If we just keep playing [the way] we are playing right now, I think we can do well throughout the postseason.”
“We played some of our best basketball [tonight],” added Culver. “I think that the best time to do it is when the postseason is about to start.”
They are not going to make it easy on anyone that stands in their way.
“We plan to come out and play like we know we can,” said Culver.
Sanders is fully aware that districts is going to be a fight to see who comes out on top, but he is confident that his team will be prepared and ready.
“We have a tough district this year,” said Sanders. “We want to take it one game at a time. Our goal is to get back to the Final Four and win the whole thing. Hopefully, starting Saturday, we will get a few things worked out, and we will be playing our best basketball.”
Hartville will begin their run at a state championship on Saturday at 12 pm when they take on Bakersfield. Fordland will take on Mansfield at 3 pm on Saturday. Both games will be played at Cabool High School.
Box Score
Hartville 21 15 16 9—61
Fordland 5 6 4 10—25
Hartville – Grace Culver 21, Jadalyn Keith 14, McKinley Sanders 12, Bailey Martin 7, Katie Still 3, Aubrey Hardcastle 2, Molly Brown 2
Fordland – Abi Southard 19, Kenzie Branson 3, Mikah Suter 2, Mahalia Burks 1
