By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
WILLARD – The Steelville girls’ basketball team continued its historic run in the 2021 postseason by knocking off Class 3 No. 1 Miller 62-54 in an all-Cardinals quarterfinal round Saturday afternoon to reach the first final four in program history.
Just three days prior, Steelville (22-6) snapped Strafford’s bid for a possible sixth-straight state championship with a 50-41 sectional win over the Lady Indians – another first for Steelville. Miller, which advanced past Ash Grove 52-41 in sectionals, was looking for its first final four appearance since Coach Hannah Wilkerson led the Lady Cardinals to a third-place finish as a senior in 2010.
On Saturday, Steelville used a 14-0 run in the third quarter, including three of its nine 3-pointers, to provide some cushion in taking a 44-37 lead midway through the quarter.
“Our defense is usually a lot better than that,” Wilkerson said. “Usually, we can contain shooters a little bit better than that and we didn’t. We got a seven-point lead and they went on a run and didn’t look back.”
Steelville jumped on top early with a 6-0 run to open the game and Miller closed the quarter on a 4-0 to pull within 17-14 of Steelville, which hit five 3s in the first.
Miller extended its run to 9-0 by starting off the second quarter with a 5-0 advantage to take its first lead of the game (19-17) with 6:55 remaining. The teams traded baskets for much of the quarter before Miller used another 5-0 run to take a 32-27 lead with less than 25 seconds to go. But, just ahead of the halftime buzzer, Tobi Pennock found Alyssa Church at the top of the key for a 3-pointer as Steelville was back within two (32-30) heading into the locker room.
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Another 5-0 run for Miller to open the third quarter put the Lady Cardinals up seven (37-30), forcing Steelville to call time out at the 6:15 mark.
“They’re a really good offensive team,” Steelville coach Seth Collins said. “When they got good looks, they knocked them down. And, sometimes you just have to tip your hat to them because they just make plays, and we just had to stay tough.”
Steelville rattled off 11 straight points to put its Lady Cardinals on top (41-37) as Miller called time out at 4:17. Miller turned the ball over and Steelville hit another 3 for its 14th-straight point and a 44-37 lead.
“Our defense, we really worked to get steals and go the other way,” said Church, who scored 14 points for Steelville. “I couldn’t have done it without my team. We really just focus on defense. Our defense leads to offense and when we click on both ends, that’s dangerous.”
Sydney Baker scored on a high-low play from Haylee Woodall to give Steelville a 50-41 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Miller then responded with another run – 7-0 – to pull within two points (50-48).
But, Miller went just 2-for-10 from the free-throw line after that, while Steelville went 10-for-12, including 6-for-6 in the final minute of the game.
“In the second half, we just didn’t play good,” Wilkerson said. “In the first half, (we were) hanging on to a lead and we didn’t even play our best defense. Then, we had our opportunity to shut the door in the second half and we just didn’t.”
Collins said his team played Saturday much the same way it did against Strafford, and will look to keep it going in the Class 3 semifinals against Lift for Life Academy.
“I can never question our girls’ toughness ever again because they proved me wrong time and time again,” Collins said. “When you’re playing good teams like that, and you’re able to come back, especially when things aren’t going your way from time to time, it’s big.
“We’ve been extremely tough these last few weeks. All the credit goes to our girls and what they do on the floor. We knocked down some big shots and just showed a lot of toughness.”
Miller, which ended its season at 28-2, was led by its lone senior, Lili Merrick, with 19 points. Claudia Hadlock, who added 16 points, is one of four juniors for Miller, which also fields three sophomores on the roster, providing hope for another postseason run.
“Now, it’s waiting to restart the process,” Wilkerson said.
Class 3 Quarterfinal
STEELVILLE 62, MILLER 54
STEELVILLE 17-13-18-14—62
MILLER 14-18-9-13—54
STEELVILLE (23-6) – Sydney Booker 17, Haylee Woodall 4, Naomi Perkins 14, Tobi Pennock 8, Alyssa Church 14, Daylan Pryor 3, Regan Martin 2.
MILLER (28-2) – Claudia Hadlock 16, Lili Merrick 19, Kaylee Helton 9, Alyssa Hill 5, Payten Richardson 5.
Up next: Class 3 semifinals – Steelville vs. Lift for Life Academy, 6 p.m., March 12 at Hammons Student Center
