By Tyler F. Thompson (For Ozarks Sports Zone)
MARIONVILLE — The Miller Lady Cardinals (24-4) came into the Class 2 District 12 tournament at Marionville ranked third in Class 2.
The Marionville Lady Comets (24-5), ranked fifth, looked to exact some revenge.
Something had to give for the two programs that are more than familiar with one another.
The Comets gave the Cardinals all they could handle, again, defeating Miller 47-46 in come-from-behind fashion Friday evening for the Class 2 District 12 championship.
This marks back-to-back seasons in which the Comets have defeated the Cardinals in the postseason (57-52 win at Class 2 sectionals last season).
Junior guard Lanie Stokes led all scoring with 24 points, and it was her drive to the bucket and the and-one with 20 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference.
Stokes’s shot dropped through the cylinder, and the junior knocked down the old-fashioned 3-point play — catapulting her Comets to the Class 2 sectionals.
“It is so competitive, and that is what makes it so fun,” Stokes said of the rivalry. “I would not want to win districts with anyone else. I do not know if there was a chair open here, it was so fun.”
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The Comets exhibited their best Jekyll and Hyde personas, as they looked like a different team in the second half compared to first 16 minutes of play.
Marionville was kept in check in the first half, scoring 18 points.
Miller owned the boards in the first quarter, benefitted from second-chance points from senior Ashlynn Helton (1,000 career points) and senior phenom Loghann Leivan (1,500 career points), and looked like a well-oiled machine, forcing nine turnovers in the first half.
The Cardinals owned the 21-18 lead at halftime, but something took in the locker room at intermission.
The more the game progressed, the more the Comets — behind Stokes — kept driving the paint, getting to the charity stripe, and ticking away at the Cardinals lead with the clock stopped.
A few weeks back, the Cardinals bested the Comets, 61-54, primarily from perimeter shooting.
Tonight, the Comets adjusted.
“They outscored us by 18 points in 3-pointers, so that was a really big deal. We knew we had to guard the 3-point line more in this game,” Stokes said. “As the game kept going, I realized that the ball needs to be in my hands.”
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So, Stokes drove the interior, and hit the deck with reckless abandon, in pure Stokes fashion.
Her putback with 1:45 evened up the score, 42-42.
Stokes hit for 13 points in the final eight minutes of regulation, including six from downtown.
“These are two schools that love girls basketball,” Stokes said. “We are ready to battle every single time.”
Down two points with 20 seconds remaining in district game would melt some, but Marionville head coach Casey Young-Newberry said her team, while young, is built for the adversity.
Her halftime message was succinct.
“You are only down three and you have played like crap. And that is okay,” Young-Newberry recalled. “We are in this game and do not get down. We don’t have seniors on the floor, so keeping the freshmen and sophomores locked in and keeping them motivated, is big. These games are big.”
Miller had one final chance, but the Comets defense collapsed the lane and forced the turnover.
“I come from a long line of Comets, and defense wins championships and that is what we pride ourselves on. They played so great, they are gritty,” Young-Newberry said of her crew.
Scoring for Marionville: Stokes (24), Dally Pomeroy (8), Rylie Fletcher (6), Nekalia Young (4).
Scoring for Miller: Ashlynn Helton (13), Madelyn Leivan (11), Rachel Nunez (10), Layni Johnson (6), Loghann Leivan (4) and Addilyn Hohenfeldt (2).
Marionville faces Greenwood at Crane in the sectional round on Monday.
