NEVADA -- Playing for a share of the Big 8 West crown, the McDonald County Lady Mustangs came out swinging against the Nevada Lady Tigers, but in the end it was Nevada which held the upper hand, putting the visiting Lady Mustangs away, 47-35, on Friday, Feb. 10.
The underdog Lady Mustangs (10-13, 4-2) took the fight to the Lady Tigers (19-4, 6-0) from the opening tip, playing perhaps their best quarter of the season while outscoring the home team, 10-4, behind sophomore post Roslynn Huston's six points and a 3-pointer from junior Anna Clarkson.
"That first quarter was one of our better quarters," said McDonald County coach Sean Crane. "When we played Seneca last week we flat out put them away in the fourth. Other than that, yeah, I was very impressed with how we did everything in that quarter."
Nevada fought back to win the second quarter, 20-12, taking a 24-22 lead into the halftime break.
Ninth-grader Carlie Martin hit for six points in the second quarter with Huston adding four more, but Maddy Majors and Lakyn Applegate each hit a 3-pointer and Clara Swearingen and Katie Johnson contributed two free throws each to fuel Nevada's rally.
"We showed up to play," said Crane. "The first half I was really impressed. We've come such a long way. The last two weeks we've gotten so much better. They're getting better and better."
Crane said the first half proved what he already knew about his team entering the big game.
"We came here to win," he said. "We didn't care that they were 18-4. It's great that I can have that mindset, but they did, too. You saw the way they played in the first half ... they were here to win. They weren't here for a token game, just a chance to maybe win a conference title. They didn't accept that. They were here to win it."
Nevada picked up its pace behind the 3-point arc in the second half with Majors hitting two more threes and Swearingen and Abbey Heathman one apiece. Huston scored four of McDonald County's seven points in the quarter and the Lady Mustangs fell off the pace, 40-29, at the close of the third.
The Lady Tigers made only one field goal -- a three by Halle Richmond -- in the fourth quarter but kept the Lady Mustangs at arm's length by sinking 4 of 8 free throws, while the visitors could only manage field goals by Clarkson and Martin, who also hit two free throws, for a six-point fourth.
"We held them to two threes in the first half, which is huge," Crane said. "When we've beaten Nevada in the past that's what we've done. Second half we gave up four in the third quarter and one in the fourth and that's just not going to get it done."
Huston and Martin finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively, to lead the Lady Mustangs. Clarkson finished with five points and Cooper three.
"We got a little too stagnant offensively toward the end," said Crane. "I loved our offense the first half. But hats off to Nevada. I think we were a little bit better than what they expected and they stepped up and played well."
Nevada's Majors led all scorers with 17 points. Swearingen added 11 points, Johnson six, Heathman and Richmond five apiece and Applegate three.
Nevada coach Blake Howarth said of coming back to get the victory, "It feels really good, especially after that first quarter. We were pretty stressed out at times, it looked like, and our girls did a great job of using their experience and depending on each other, working together as a team and bringing it back to where we needed it to be going into halftime."
And as for winning the Big 8 West title outright, he said, "Our girls have worked their tails off for our program. I love this group and am so happy for our girls tonight."
NEVADA 47,
MCDONALD COUNTY 35
McDonald County^10^12^7^6^--^35
Nevada^4^20^16^7^--^47
MCDONALD COUNTY (10-13, 4-2): Huston 14, Martin 13, Clarkson 5, Cooper 3.
NEVADA (19-4, 6-0): Majors 17, Swearingen 11, Johnson 6, Heathman 5, Richmond 5, Applegate 3.
McDonald County 65,
Reeds Spring 41
ANDERSON -- The McDonald County Lady Mustangs drubbed the Reeds Spring Lady Wolves, 65-41, in the Big 8 Crossover game played Monday at Mustang Arena.
For the second came in a row the Lady Mustangs (11-13) put together a very strong first quarter, this one a 19-4 opener against the Lady Wolves (5-17), who won one game in Big 8 East play.
Four of McDonald County's five starters scored in the first quarter. Carlie Martin hit for five points, Megan Elwood four and Anna Clarkson and Carlee Cooper three each. Roslynn Huston, who came in off the bench for senior Analisa Ramirez, who got the start on Senior Night, scored four points in the opening stanza.
Huston scored eight points in the second quarter, helping McDonald County stake a 38-16 halftime lead.
The Lady Mustangs added nine points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth while holding Reeds Spring to 14 in the third and 11 in the fourth.
Martin led all scorers in the game with 20 points. Huston registered 14, Cooper 10, Elwood seven, Townsend six, Clarkson three, Jamie Washam and Rylee Anderson two each and Natalie Gillming one.
Harley Watson and Kylie Fitzwater led the Lady Wolves with nine and eight points, respectively.
McDonald County 50,
Cassville 47
CASSVILLE -- The McDonald County Lady Mustangs kept their Big 8 West title hopes alive by battling to a 50-47 win at Cassville on Thursday, Feb. 9.
"That was a battle. We flat out fought in that one. They just wouldn't quite go away," said McDonald County coach Sean Crane.
McDonald County (10-12, 4-1) shot 32 free throws in the game, 22 of which came in the fourth quarter.
"It was very rough," Crane said. "I was really impressed with our young ladies. They kept their heads. They were getting knocked around all over the place and stayed focused on what we needed to do to win. That was a gritty win we had over Cassville."
The score was tied at 10-10 after one quarter of play. Cassville took a 21-20 lead at the intermission after an 11-10 second quarter. McDonald County then won the third quarter, 12-7, with Cassville taking the fourth, 19-18.
Carlie Martin, who made 6 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, led the Lady Mustangs with 17 points. Anna Clarkson, who turned in a 5-for-8 effort at the line in the fourth, finished with 14 points and Carlee Cooper 11. Megan Elwood added six points and Roslynn Huston two.
Up next
The Lady Mustangs return to the hardwood Friday with a junior varsity/varsity doubleheader at Hollister. The junior varsity game tips off at 5 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow. The Lady Mustangs will host Joplin on Tuesday, Feb. 21, for a junior varsity/varsity twinbill scheduled to start at 5 p.m.