Carl Junction grinds out sectional win over Rogersville

carljunction-vs-robersville-51-2

By John Miller (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Nixa, Mo. – All game long, Rogersville dared the Carl Junction guards to shoot the ball from the perimeter. Finally, Kate Dreiling took the bait.

With 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter and her team trailing 24-22, Dreiling – wide open on the left-wing – sunk a go-ahead trey, helping her team to a 27-24 Class 4 sectional win over Rogersville at Nixa High School on Tuesday night.

“They were doubling a lot on Megan and Kaitlin (Scott), so it left me open a lot,” Dreiling said. “(Coach Brad) Shorter told me to have some faith and shoot the ball.”

Dreiling’s 3-pointer was the Bulldogs’ only 3-point make the entire night.

Kaitlin Scott finished 11 points to lead the Bulldogs, including nine in the fourth quarter. Maci McHenry scored 11 to pace the Wildcats.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

Rogersville played five in the paint all game, surrounding the Scott sisters and forcing Carl Junction’s guards to make plays.

“What a great game plan for them,” Shorter said. “(Rogersville coach Denny McHenry), you know he’s going to do a great job. We have seen double and triple teams all year long on the Scott sisters but never five kids in the paint all the time.”

While Rogersville sunk in defensively, Carl Junction played 2-3 zone most of the game. Both offenses were patient and passive. As a result, few points were scored. Rogersville led 7-5 after one, 12-7 after two, and 18-12 after three.

“We play a slow tempo,” Shorter said. “It didn’t bother us that the score was 12-7, or whatever. It doesn’t matter. We talk many times about it. If we win 1-0, that’s fine. We’re okay with that.”

The Wildcats had a 22-18 lead with just under three minutes remaining but were outscored 9-2 to finish the game. They struggled with turnovers against Carl Junction’s extended 2-3 zone and missed 4 of 5 free throws in the final period.

“I’m so proud of my girls,” McHenry said. “We stuck with what we’ve done all year, and that’s play defense first and be opportunistic in offense. It almost won us a sectional game (Tuesday night), but we came up a little bit short.”

Carl Junction will now meet Osage in the Class 4 sectional, played on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.

“We’re onto the next game now,” Dreiling said. “That’s all that matters.”

Rogersville 7 5 6 6 24
Carl Junction 5 2 5 15 27

Rogersville: Maci McHenry 11, Jordyn Gault 5, Hailey Brown 3, Taylor Overstreet 3, Shelby Ince 2
Carl Junction: Kaitlin Scott 11, Megan Scott 5, Kenzee Shanks 4, Shila Winder 4, Kate Dreiling 3

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