WEBB CITY -- Cora Roweton, Bolivar's 6-0 senior post, scored all of her game-high 22 points in the first three quarters of the game in leading the third-seeded Lady Liberators to a 61-33 victory over the sixth-seeded McDonald County Lady Mustangs in the opening round of the Class 5 District 7 Tournament played at Webb City on Thursday, March 2.
"It's frustrating and it stinks," McDonald County head coach Sean Crane said after his team's season-ending loss. "We've been playing really well lately and I didn't think we played very well tonight. But this group came a long way from last year. We had a tough year last year, but we got a lot better as the season went along."
Bolivar moved on with a 19-8 record while McDonald County finishes at 13-14.
"Going into the game we thought we matched up really well with Bolivar," Crane said. "We liked our matchup, but they came to play and just outplayed us. We've talked about our really young talent and we did look really young at times tonight."
Bolivar, coming off a nine-day layoff, outscored the Lady Mustangs by a 17-9 count in the first quarter before adding a 20-13 second for a 37-22 lead at the intermission. The Lady Liberators then kicked their press up a notch, producing a 23-7 third quarter and 60-29 cushion heading into the final quarter, which McDonald County won by a 4-1 count.
"I think they had 24 or 26 rebounds at the half and 13 of them came off second chances," Crane said of the Lady Liberators. "You can't let a team like that shoot it three or four times a possession. They're just too good and they're going to score."
Following Roweton in the scoring column for Bolivar were freshman guard Carly Cribbs with 16 points and senior forward Dailynn VanDeren with 10.
McDonald County freshman guard Carlie Martin, the only Lady Mustang in double figures, scored 10 points.
The game not only marked the end of McDonald County's season, but also the end of the high school basketball careers of Lady Mustang seniors Megan Elwood, who scored five points, and Analisa Ramirez.
"We're losing two wonderful young ladies who we're going to miss a lot," said Crane. "They're great human beings, great people, and they've meant a whole lot to our program."
He added, "We've got a lot of young talent. We'll return four starters and we have a lot of young talent coming back. Hopefully we'll take these good experiences and move on."
BOLIVAR 61,
MCDONALD COUNTY 33
McDonald County^9^13^7^4^--^33
Bolivar^17^20^23^1^--^61
MCDONALD COUNTY (13-14): Martin 10, Huston 7, Elwood 5, Cooper 5, Trudeau 3, Gillming 2, Townsend 1.
BOLIVAR (19-8): Roweton 22, Cribbs 16, Van Deren 10, Bryan 6, Batten 5, Goodman 2.
Bennett Horne/McDonald County Press McDonald County's Natalie Gillming (center) pushes her way into position for a rebound between Bolivar's Emma Goodman and Claire Giglio during their Class 5 District 7 Tournament matchup at Webb City on Thursday, March 2.
Bennett Horne/McDonald County Press McDonald County seniors Megan Elwood (left) and Analisa Ramirez share a hug in front of head coach Sean Crane at the end of their season-ending loss to Bolivar in the Class 5 District 7 Tournament at Webb City on Thursday, March 2.