By Calen VanNess (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After watching the Hartville Eagles boys’ team dominate districts for six consecutive years, the Lady Eagles decided it was their turn to get in on the fun by winning their district title game and setting up a date with the Neelyville Lady Tigers for a trip to the quarterfinals. The Lady Tigers (23-5), however, came into Wednesday night’s sectional game ready to spoil the party.
In a tightly-contested game for three quarters, Neelyville was able to finally put away the Lady Eagles (25-4) with a 64-49 win. Junior guard Autumn Dodd led all scorers with 20 points, while junior guard Jentri Worley added 14 points.
While holding on to a 43-36 lead early in the fourth quarter, Lady Tigers sophomore forward Lexi Liau knocked down an enormous three-pointer after Neelyville was able to gather the offensive rebound and kick it out to the wide-open Liau. The Lady Eagles were unable to answer as Neelyville then went on to score eight out of the next ten points and open up a 54-38 lead.
Neelyville coach Becky Hale was happy with the outcome but knows there is room for improvement.
“We won,” said Hale. “That’s basically all we did. The first half we didn’t come out ready to play at all, and we have to get that fixed, but we got it done when it mattered most, and I am happy about that.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
After Neelyville increased its lead to nine points early in the second quarter, Hartville battled back to take the lead 23-22 after junior guard Skylar Divine made a three-pointer late in the half and senior forward Grace Still broke the deadlock with a free throw. After halftime, though, Dodd went to work and scored 13 second-half points, and the Lady Eagles were never able to muster enough offense to keep pace.
Dodd knew her team did not play their best early in the contest but was proud that they were able to finally put it all together and pull out the victory.
“It was a little bit rough when we came out,” said Dodd. “We all pulled together and had each other’s back and showed a lot of grit. We had to keep calm and play our game like we know we can play.”
One of the keys to Neelyville’s victory was their ability to attack the glass on the offensive end and get second chance opportunities. Senior forward J’Kayla Fowler provided the inside presence to keep many of the missed shots alive for her team.
“When we miss our first shot, we always need to get a second shot,” said Fowler. “We don’t just let it go.”
Sophomore forward Grace Culver led the way for the Lady Eagles with 14 points, and junior guard Sadie Chisum chipped in 12 points.
Although it was not the outcome that Hartville head coach Mike Percival would have liked, he spoke highly of his team and praised their opponent.
“Proud of the kids,” said Percival. “They played really well and played hard. We had a great season, but sometimes it is not a matter of how good you are, it’s how good the other guy is, and we ran into a buzz saw tonight.”
Percival also knows that the future is bright and is already looking forward to his team working to get better.
“We will graduate four seniors,” said Percival. “We have two or three young ones coming. We will go back to work in May and start for next year.”
As for Neelyville, they are expecting a battle against Oran at 1:00 pm on Saturday at Three Rivers Community College.
“We are going to have to work hard,” said Hale.
Box Score
Neelyville 16 8 13 27—64
Hartville 9 14 8 18—49
Neelyville – Autumn Dodd 20, Jentri Worley 14, J’Kayla Fowler 13, Lexi Liau 8, Rhegan Tutor 5, Tori Harlow 2, Mackenzie Hobbs 2
Hartville – Grace Culver 14, Sadie Chisum 12, Alexys Coltrane 6,Grace Still 5, Skylar Divine 5, Katherine Still 5, Jadalyn Keith 2
