In a game in which everything came together, Worth County's girls finally found a way to win -- get Ashley Reynolds (18 points) and Lauren Null (10 points) going at the same time, get production from posts Delaney Davidson and Jessica Garrett, dominate the glass, and shut down the other team on defense. Throughout the year, Worth County had nights in which either Reynolds or Null were on, but the other one was not. But not only did Lauren Null score double figures, she did all she could to help Worth County win as she nearly had a triple double with seven assists and nine boards. Ashley Reynolds had a double double, getting 11 boards to go with her 18 points. And the production from the posts was there as well, with Jessica Garrett getting a career-high 7 points; Delaney Davidson came off the bench to spell Garrett and made the most of her limited minutes, getting seven boards. Worth County finally found a way to overcome their shooting woes as they had trouble all year getting over 20%; they were able to do so by getting 49 boards as a team.
All of this resulted in a 51-37 win over Nodaway-Holt in a battle of winless teams before districts. It was like a playoff game for both teams as they both faced state-ranked opposition Tuesday night in the opening round of districts. It looked like another long night for Worth County as everything that Nodaway-Holt threw up went in during the early going. They got a 3-pointer from Alycia Keith right off the bat to go up 3-2. Worth County fought back to lead 5-3 as Brooke Gilland hit a free throw and then banked one in from the right wing. Darcy Brown answered with a shot from the right wing to tie it, but Lauren Null hit two free throws to make it 7-5.
But the shooting barrage continued for the Trojans as a steal and 3-point play by Amanda O'Riley sparked a run that put them up for a long time to come. Alycia Keith scored from inside for the Trojans to make it 10-7. Lauren Null found Akaysha Ragan open from the left side to cut it to one, but then Keith launched her second 3-pointer of the night and Jodi Holmes scored from inside to make it 15-9 before Jessica Garrett answered with a free throw to make it 15-10 after one quarter.
Faced with the task of trying to shut down Holmes and Keith, Worth County went to a triangle and two against them. Initially, nothing worked as Amanda O'Riley banked home a 3-pointer and consecutive buckets from Darcy Brown made it 22-14 at the 3:01 mark. It threatened to turn into a copy of the Polo game, where a banked 3-pointer by the Panthers seemed to sap the air out of the Tigers right off the bat. But then all of a sudden, Worth County began finding their offensive rhythm and attacking the basket against the Trojans -- something they had not been doing all year. Consequently, Nodaway-Holt began hacking and fouling. The Trojans were down to six players after being down to eight for the Northeast Nodaway game a few games earlier, and their lack of depth began to show as they began playing not to foul instead of playing to win.
As a result, Worth County began grabbing the offensive glass at will and began getting shots to drop. Lauren Null got a free throw, followed by putbacks from Ashley Reynolds, Kiley Reynolds, and Lauren Null that made it a 22-21 game at the half. The Tigers started off where they left off as Lauren Null found Kiley Reynolds open on the left wing and then Jessica Garrett added a putback to put Worth County back in front 25-22 as Nodaway-Holt continued hacking and fouling, with Alycia Keith and Darcy Brown both picking up their 4th fouls early in the period. But then Nodaway-Holt answered with a flurry as Brown got a drive, Holmes added a free throw, and Keith went coast to coast for a layup to put Nodaway-Holt back in front 27-25. Brown picked up her 5th foul during the run, but the Trojans were still very much a part of the game.
But then Ashley Reynolds, who had been quiet all game, suddenly got going as everything started to drop for her. Lauren Null found her cutting inside to tie the game at 27 and then Jessica Garrett found her open on the left baseline to put Worth County back in front at 29-27. Brittany Shipps got a 3rd-chance putback to tie it back up at 29, but then Lauren Null found Reynolds all alone in the right corner for a 3-pointer to put Worth County up for good at 32-29. Reynolds added a free throw and then Lauren Null cut to the basket at the buzzer to put Worth County up 35-29.
Jodi Holmes answered with a free throw to make it 35-30 to start the 4th quarter, but Ashley Reynolds would not be denied. Jessica Garrett got a putback and then Reynolds followed with a shot from the left side off a feed from Lauren Null and then cut inside for another basket to push the lead into double digits at 41-30. Reynolds then added a free throw and then Lauren Null found Delaney Davidson inside off an inbounds play to make it 44-30. Free throws by Null, Davidson, and Reynolds as well as Alycia Keith's 5th foul, leaving the Trojans with 4 players, put the game out of reach. Jodi Holmes got some late steals against the Tiger second string, but Delaney Davidson got a putback and Akaysha Ragan added two free throws for Worth County in the closing seconds.
No comments:
Post a Comment