By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
HOLLISTER — Reeds Spring’s path to its first girls basketball district championship in a generation wasn’t an easy one on Friday night.
The Lady Wolves had to battle through a tough shooting night from the field, along with Aurora’s deliberate pace on offense, meant to limit Reed Spring’s possessions, and a Lady Houn defense that fought and clawed its way through the entirety of the Class 4, District 11 championship.
Tied at 18 at the half, Reeds Spring found just enough offense to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 40-29 victory and the program’s first district crown since 2001.
“They ran us defensively with that flex,” said Reeds Spring coach Damon Asbill. “It was wearing us down on the offensive end. The minute we switched to a 1-3-1 my girls got their legs, got rested and started dropping shots.”
Aurora coach DJ Gutscher said the deliberate way his team played with the ball was intentional, designed to help his depleted squad stay in the game.
“Our team has overcome a lot of adversity to get to this point,” he said. “We started two different kids tonight that didn’t start on Wednesday, but they didn’t even bat an eye.”
Aurora led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Gutscher said he didn’t want his team to play slow Friday, but he wanted them to be deliberate.
“You could look out there and see we were undersized,” he said. “Our plan was to keep them away from the basket and be selective with our shots.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Reeds Spring (21-7) took its first lead of the game early in the second on senior Allie Johnson’s bucket near the elbow with seven minutes left in the half.
A couple of 3-pointers pushed the Lady Wolves lead to 16-11, but Aurora roared back, dropping a trey and a couple of baskets to take an 18-16 lead with less than a minute to go in the half.
Junior Saylor Johnson, Allie’s younger sister, stole the ball and drove for a basket, leaving the game tied at the break.
Reeds Spring advanced to the district title game a year ago, falling to Logan-Rogersville, and that experience helped Friday night, Asbill said.
“I think we learned a lot from that,” he said. “So, when we came out and were stifled a bit in that first period, we settled down pretty quickly, where last year we were frazzled. It was nice to have a second year in this game.”
Aurora’s Kylee Phelps tied the game again at 23 with 4:21 to play in the third quarter, but the Lady Wolves scored the final four points of the quarter and led 27-23 going into the fourth.
Reeds Spring didn’t allow a basket for the first 3 ½ minutes of the final frame, building a 29-23 lead before Aurora sophomore Lyla Seitz hit a basket while being fouled. Seitz hit the free-throw, pulling the Lady Houns within three at 29-26.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
A breakaway basket from Allie Johnson and another from Illyssa Finney-Allen helped Reeds Spring pull away, along with several late free-throws from Finney-Allen, Saylor Johnson and Emma Thompson.
Saylor Johnson led all scorers with 18, while Allie Johnson added eight points and Finney-Allen had seven.
Aurora (12-14) was led by Phelps with 12. Freshman Taianna Yandall scored six, and Seitz and senior Brooke Blevins each had 5.
Reeds Spring will face Nevada (21-4) at 6 p.m. Monday at Monett High School.
REEDS SPRING 6-12-9-13—40
AURORA 9-9-5-6— 29
RS: S. Johnson 18, A. Johnson 8, Finney-Allen 7, Fitzwater 4, G. Johnson 2, Thompson 1
AUR: Phelps 12, Yandall 6, Seitz 5, Blevins 5, Feringa 1
