By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MARIONVILLE, MO – Marionville captured its own tournament title Friday evening and exacted a bit of revenge in the process.
The No. 3 Comets downed top-seeded Ash Grove 50-43 in the Lady Comet Classic championship matchup and evened up the season series between the two schools at 1-1.
Ash Grove claimed a 47-44 victory in December at the Walnut Grove Tournament.
Marionville was led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Avery Eden (14 points), Lanie Stokes (13 points) and Dally Pomeroy (10 points); however, the tournament MVP belonged to the Comets’ full-court defensive pressure – a chaotic blend of forced tempo and forced turnovers.
While Marionville’s defensive pressure was effective at limiting Ash Grove’s potent offensive attack, the frantic pace forced the host school into its share of mistakes, as well.
For Marionville head coach Casey Young-Newberry, turnovers are part and parcel to the game plan and something that must be an accepted result.
“They are so gritty, and I love it” Young-Newberry said. “We like to play fast, and we just have to figure out how to play into that, because they do that well. It’s like holding onto a wild horse and sometimes, you’ve just got to let them go. We’re going to have some turnovers but, in the end, I think we caused a few more.”
Ash Grove proved to be the early aggressor behind all-state honoree Bristol Lathrop.
The 6-foot-1 junior scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half and helped stake the Pirates to a 24-21 halftime lead.
With Marionville’s tallest player standing at only 5-foot-8, dealing with Lathrop required a team effort, according to Pomeroy.
“The defensive plan was to play a lot of help-side defense and look for their bigs on the back side, just considering our size,” Pomeroy said. “While also keeping a close eye on Millison Sapp, probably, as she’s one of their biggest offensive threats.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Pomeroy wasn’t wrong about Sapp, either.
The 5-foot-7 Ash Grove junior scored a game-high 18 points in the contest, eclipsing the 1,000-point career milestone early in the third quarter on a pull-up jumper from the elbow.
For Stokes, the moment served as a brief reminder there are bigger things in life than basketball – even among fierce rivals competing for a tournament championship.
“Millie is probably my best friend,” Stokes said. “She didn’t tell me that she was going to hit 1,000 tonight, because she didn’t want us to face-guard her, but I am glad I was there to watch her and am so happy for her – I love her to death.”
Marionville closed the gap early in the fourth quarter and tied the score at 40-40 on a Rylie Fletcher put-back.
For Stokes, keeping calm in the midst of chaos was key to her team slowly chipping away at the Ash Grove lead.
“Even though we’re really good in chaos, we still have to take a deep breath and make sure we get a good shot the next possession, because we’re not a big team,” Stokes said. “We have to slow it down, take our time and just know that the next one has to be the one we’re scoring on.”
The Comets were able to secure the lead moments later on a wild sequence that began with a Pomeroy jumper just outside the lane.
Eden then stole the inbounds pass and converted a quick layup to stretch the lead to four.
Marionville’s pressure continued to pay dividends, as Dally stole the ball and found Eden for a full-court layup and 46-40 lead.
Dally then stole another pass on the next possession and drove the length of the court to cap a 10-0 Marionville run and seal the victory.
Another key component in the victory was the fact the Comet defense held Ash Grove to a mere five points in the final frame.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
After the game, Young-Newberry praised Pomeroy’s ability to hit another gear and help her team close out the game late.
“(Pomeroy) just came in determined,” Young-Newberry said. “She kind of struggled getting to the bucket and getting anything to fall early in the game, and that’s her strength – I’m just going to go. That determination showed up in the fourth quarter when we needed it to.”
Up next for Marionville (15-3) is a Jan. 26 matchup at Sarcoxie. Ash Grove (14-5) travels to Lockwood that same evening.
The two teams will then meet up one more time this season in a Feb. 9 rubber match at Ash Grove.
“This will be our third time playing them this season,” Stokes said. “It’s kind of a rivalry, and it’s fun to play them. If we got to pick any team to play three times, I think it would be Ash Grove every time, because it’s a fun game to play, and we’re close with all of them.”
LADY COMET CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP: Marionville – 50, Ash Grove – 43
Marionville 09 12 15 14 | 50
Ash Grove 15 09 14 05 | 43
Marionville scoring: Avery Eden – 14, Lanie Stokes – 13, Dally Pomeroy – 10, Rylie Fletcher – 6, Nekalia Young – 4, Ashlin Carr – 2, Tinsley Marshall – 1
Ash Grove scoring: Millison Sapp – 18, Bristol Lathrop – 15, Brooke Nicholson – 8, Alivia Duit – 2
Third place final: Reeds Spring – 40, Clever – 37
Consolation final: Crane – 51, Monett – 44
