Cassville, Mo. (For OzarksSportsZone.com) -- Despite foul trouble and being out-rebounded in the first half, the visiting Mt. Vernon Lady Mountaineers used a big third quarter to pull away from Cassville for a 60-40 win Thursday night.
Starting center Tamiaya Henderson picked up two fouls in the first quarter as well as a third midway through the second. Cassville took advantage, out-rebounding Mt. Vernon 13-12 in the first half. But Audrey LaSalle hit 3 of her 5 three-pointers in the first quarter as Mt. Vernon would lead 15-6 at the first break.
Mt. Vernon would stretch its lead to 13 in the second quarter as Mackenzie Farmer would score six points in the period. Cassville would stage a rally going into the half though. Sophomore guard Raeghan Blisard would hit 8 of her team-high 14 points in the 2nd, and the Lady Wildcats would close with a 6-0 run to go into the locker room down by seven, 25-18.
LaSalle came out of the locker room hot, hitting 2 quick threes. Despite Henderson picking up her fourth foul quickly, Mt. Vernon began to have success in the paint.
“When Audrey’s hitting 3-pointers it opens things up inside,” said Mt. Vernon head coach Jamie LaSalle. “She’s one of our main scorers so she has to have that mentality.”
LaSalle and Farmer would score on drives to the hoop and freshman forward Laynie Dake would come off the bench to finish with seven boards. Seven different players scored for Mt. Vernon in the third as they outscored Cassville 25-12 in the frame to grab a commanding 50-30 lead going into the final period.
Coach LaSalle pointed to the Lady Mountineers dominance on the boards in the second-half, 23-6, as the key to their victory.
“The biggest difference was our offensive rebounding. We got some put backs and when you do that, you get the other team down,” said LaSalle. “I told them we could out-rebound them, but we couldn’t stand out there and watch it. We had to crash the boards.”
LaSalle led all scorers with 19 points, including 5 three-pointers. Farmer added 14 points and a game high 9 rebounds. Blisard had 8 rebounds to go with her 14 points for the Lady Cats.
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