“There’s no question about it that we need this momentum,” said Southwest coach Brad Phillips. “Big gust for us beating a Class 5 Kickapoo, beating Rogersville on their home floor and now a very pesky Fordland team today.”
Senior Michaela Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points. Sophomore Shannon Mitchell added 12.
“It’s real exciting to come up here and go 3-0 in this tournament,” said Michaela Mitchell. “Feeling like we are the underdog is one thing but I’m glad we showed up.”
“If we go big, we really like to go man to man,” said Phillips. “When we go smaller and quicker, we like to get up and pressure, which is what we did well today.”
The Lady Trojans led after the first quarter 14-7. However, Fordland answered with an 8-0 to start the 2nd quarter before Southwest took over the game for good. They finished the half on a 14-2 run and never looked back from there.
“We came out a little sluggish after a great win last night against Kickapoo,” said Phillips. “But we got into a little rhythm, got our legs back and then just started playing together.”
Ali Sparks led the way for the Lady Eagles with 11 points. Both Hatti Owens and Chelsea Cass each helped out with eight.
Fordland falls to 6-12 on the season. They play next on Monday at home against Conference foe Seymour.
With the win, Southwest improves to 16-3. They travel to Diamond on Monday.
Kickapoo claims 2nd
Natalie Closser scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to helped Kickapoo win 49-28 over the Logan-Rogersville Lady Wildcats.
“She was just really good today,” said Kickapoo coach James Pendergrass. She really lifted our team up and we need her to play like that every night.”
With the win, Kickapoo won 2nd place in the Lady Cat Classic sponsored by Citizens Bank of Rogersville.
Kickapoo led after every quarter and never trailed in the game. They scored the first seven points of the ball game in just 48 seconds before Rogersville called its first timeout to slow the pace down.
“I was really proud the way we came out today and played, especially after a tough loss last night,” said Pendergrass. “With our young team, it was nice to be able to rebound and compete the way we did today.”
Laura Vierkant chipped in 15 points for the Lady Chiefs. Sophomore point guard Jordyn Danzer helped out with seven points.
Kickapoo outrebounded the Lady Wildcats 31-16. The Lady Chiefs also forced 22 turnovers.
The Lady Chiefs were a bit sloppy as well, turning the ball over 17 times. Their coach may believe it’s because of the three games in three days.
“Their routine may be different but I think the biggest thing is the playing three days in a row,” said Pendergrass. “For this young team, it’s a bit harder for us to stay mentally tough for all three days.
Kickapoo has no seniors on their roster, so for stretches of games like this, Pendergrass is looking to his players that have been here before.
“Natalie had six seniors last year to play with,” said Pendergrass. “This year, we don’t have any and so, her, Jordyn Danzer and Hannah Schumacher have to bring those kids along with their varsity experience.”
Sam Stiles scored 12 points to lead all Lady Wildcats in scoring. No other player scored more than five points.
Logan-Rogersville is now 2-12 on the season. They host Springfield Central on Monday.
Kickapoo pushes their record to 10-7 and will travel to Ozark on Tuesday.
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