By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
DIAMOND —Trailing 44-43 with 1:40 to play in Friday’s Class 3, District 11 championship, Ash Grove junior Bristol Lathrop took a pass, glanced across court at a pass she declined to make and casually dropped a 3-pointer, hitting nothing but net.
The bucket put the Lady Pirates on top once and for all over Pierce City, delivering the first district title for Ash Grove since 2021 in an 52-44 win.
“She’s a high-percentage shooter who puts in a lot of work,” said Ash Grove coach Bryan Dean of Lathrop. “In those big moments, that’s why you put in all that extra work. It gives you confidence in that shot.”
But it wasn’t easy, the Lady Pirates got off to a slow start, and a veteran Pierce City team built an early lead on 3-pointers of their own, primarily from senior Faron Linn, who hit three of her four in the game in the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, Pierce City led 16-12.
Dean said he kept reminding his team to play their game, limit Pierce City’s possessions, and not get sped up into a pace they didn’t want to play.
“It’s a testament to Pierce City,” he said. “Those girls are buying in and they are hungry.
“They can knock down threes, and they can be real physical and get to the rim. We had to limit their possessions and take care of business at our end.”
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Ash Grove found another gear in the second quarter. Junior Millison Sapp completed an old-fashioned three-pointer to tie the game at 17 midway through the quarter, and soon after she hit a shot from behind the arc to give the Lady Pirates the lead. Meanwhile, the Ash Grove defense kept Pierce City to just a single point in the quarter, building a 27-17 half time lead.
“We’ve got ball players that can score at will at times,” Dean said. “We need to put the pressure on them and instead of giving them possessions, play with some intelligence, some IQ, and don’t let them influence that.”
Ash Grove (20-8) extended its lead to 31-19 midway through the third quarter, before the Lady Eagles could start chipping away. Pierce City held Ash Grove without a basket for the first three minutes of the final frame, pulling within one, 35-34, on a pair of free-throws by Payton Copeland with 6:26 to play and then tying the game at 35 when Paige Fenske hit one of two from the stripe with 5:07 to play.
Pierce City (20-8) took the lead at 40-39 on a three-pointer by Addison Avondet with 3:26 to play and extended it 26 seconds later when Linn stole the ball, drove to the basket and scored for a 42-39 advantage.
Despite a large and boisterous crowd, much of it wearing Pierce City green, Ash Grove didn’t let the pressure effect their shooting from the free-throw line. The Lady Pirates hit 10-straight free-throws in the game’s final 2:30, sealing the victory.
Sapp finished with 21, a point ahead of Lathrop to lead all scorers. Between the two of them, they scored all but 11 of the Lady Pirates points on Friday. Linn led Pierce City with 17, while Avondet added 11 and Copeland had eight points.
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Dean said Friday’s win is a salve for a program that has fallen just short in big games in recent years, including a one-point loss in the district finals a season ago.
“We’ve been right there too many times,” he said. “We’ve had players and teams that deserved it. We needed to get over this hump.”
Ash Grove’s road to the Final Four doesn’t get any easier. The Lady Pirates will face two-time defending champion Skyline (22-6) at 6 p.m. Monday at Liberal.
ASH GROVE 12-15-8-17 — 52
PIERCE CITY 16-1-12-15 — 44
AG: Sapp 21, Lathrop 20, McCullogh 5, Nicholson 2, Duit 2, Dowling 2
PC: Linn 17, Avondet 11, Copeland 8, Lasker 4, Fenske 4, Himes 2
