The Neosho Lady Wildcats overcame a 21-19 halftime deficit by outscoring McDonald County 27-21 in the second half to claim a 46-42 decision on Jan. 25 at Neosho High School.
McDonald County scored the game's first eight points, six by sophomore Kristin Penn, before Neosho final got on the board with 4:01 left in the first quarter on a free throw by Maile Gindling.
McDonald County led 10-6 at the end of the quarter and stretched the margin to 19-11 midway in the second, but Neosho used an 8-2 run to close out the half to trail 21-19 at intermission.
Neosho took its first lead of the game with 4:03 left in the third quarter at 24-23 on a free throw by Madi Flynn. The lead then changed hands four times in the final four minutes of the period, with Neosho holding a 30-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The lead changed hands four more times to start the fourth quarter before Penn hit consecutive baskets to tie the game at 37-37 with 3:22 left. But Neosho scored seven of the next nine points to take a 44-39 lead with under a minute remaining to pull out the win.
"I thought until tonight we hadn't put four quarters together, and tonight we did," said coach Chris Kennedy. "We had a couple of lulls trying to get to half when we had a couple of kids get into foul trouble. The kids responded well when Neosho took the lead and really competed very hard. I was very proud of the girls. They really played hard and that will carry a long way down the road."
Penn finished with 14 points, while Lily Allman added 12, to lead the Lady Mustangs. Rounding out the scoring were Rita Santillan with seven points, Ragan Wilson with five, and Sydney Killion and Alexia Kitlen with two each.
Flynn led Neosho with 18 points, while Oliva Hixson added 15.
McDonald County, 5-11 on the season, begins play in the Seneca Girls Basketball Tournament on Jan. 31 against Purdy at 6 p.m. at Seneca High School.
Neosho claimed a 40-36 win in the junior varsity game. The Lady Wildcats led 17-10 at halftime and held off a late Lady Mustang rally for the win.
McDonald County was led by Abigail Wiseman with seven points, followed by Addy Mick, Adasyn Leach, Kloe Myers and Killion with six each, Alexia Estrada three and Mollie Milleson two.
McDonald County won the freshman game, 35-30, behind eight points each from Leach and Madison Grider. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Mustangs were Myers with seven and Wiseman and Ebenee Munoz six each.
Cassville
McDonald County picked up its fifth win of the season with a 42-23 win over Cassville on Jan. 22 at Cassville High School. McDonald County jumped out to a 20-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and was never threatened the rest of the way.
McDonald County was led by Penn with 13 points and Wilson with 11. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Mustangs were Santillan with five points, Caitlyn Barton and Mattie Leach with four each, Killion three and Sam Frazier two.
In a two-quarter junior varsity game, Cassville outscored McDonald County 19-15.
Estrada scored six points for the Lady Mustangs, followed by Killion with three points and Myers, Wiseman and Munoz with two each.
Sports on 01/31/2019