Kynah Steele Erupts Over Shamrocks; Tiger Girls No Longer Winless

Worth County’s girls are no longer winless following Monday’s 43-31 win over North Harrison. The game featured two teams that had not won a game yet. Something had to give, and both teams played with the kind of desperation one sees when both teams are hungry for a win. But the tale of the tape told the story for Worth County. The Tigers had improved on their rebounding the last two games, but had turned the ball over 23 times in those games, both losses. Worth County finally took the last step needed to start winning games; they cut their turnovers down to a season low 11 while forcing 26 themselves. Meanwhile, they held their own on the boards against Erica Gerken, Jaxcynn Hansel, and Carmon Fordyce, all of whom were flying to the glass all night long.

The shots started falling early for Worth County as Keira Hardy hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Kynah Steele and Kynah got a putback. Jaci Davis scored off a drive, but Kynah Steele knocked one down from the high post off a pass from Hardy and then Kambree Briner got a tip, Kristen Tracy got a steal, and Kynah finished. Kambree Briner got a driving lane and converted off Kynah Steele’s inbounds pass, and then Kristen Tracy got a putback to make it 13-2 after one quarter.

The game turned into a defensive struggle, with North Harrison chipping away in the second quarter. Jaci Davis hit back to back jacks to cut it to 13-8. Kynah Steele scored off a drive, but then Lani Briggs got on the board to cut it to 15-10. With North Harrison hanging around despite being outplayed, anything could happen, but a costly sequence for the Shamrocks happened late in the first half when Kristen Tracy ran the floor and got a pass from Kambree Briner. If she gets to where she can run the floor consistently, she could help turn the Tigers’ fortunes around in future years; Northwest Missouri State turned their fortunes around this year, going from an average team to an MIAA contender after they made having post players run the floor a point of emphasis in the offseason.

Following that play, Tracy got a putback with 9 seconds left, and the Tigers were up 19-10 at the half.

Worth County switched from a zone to a man to man press and got immediate dividends when Kambree Briner got a steal and made one of two from the line. Lani Briggs hit a 3-pointer, but then Kynah Steele, who has saved her best games in both softball and basketball for the Shamrocks since junior high, started taking over. She got a putback after a Keira Hardy steal, added a free throw, and then hit a shot off a Kambree Briner pass to make it 26-13. Kristen Tracy knocked one down from the high post. Jaci Davis knocked down a runner to cut it to 28-15, but then Kynah Steele channeled Caitlyn Clark, knocking down a logo three at the buzzer to make it 31-15.

But North Harrison would not go away as they suddenly put together one of their most productive quarters of the year. With Lani Briggs slashing to the basket at will, Erica Gerken setting screens like a football lineman throwing a block on people, and Jaci Davis chipping in a three, the Shamrocks got it down to 36-25 by the 4:30 mark and 39-29 at the 2:01 mark. But each time, the Tigers had an answer, with Keira Hardy and Riley Ridge beating them with backdoor looks. Finally, Worth County was able to run out the last two minutes for the win.

For Worth County, Kynah Steele had 20, Kristen Tracy 10, Keira Hardy and Kambree Briner 5 each, and Riley Ridge 3.

Kynah Steele had 8 blocks, nearly getting a triple double. Rylee Ruckman and Kristen Tracy had 1.

Kynah Steele had 10 boards. Kristen Tracy had 8, Kambree Briner 5, Rylee Ruckman and Rayleigh Smith 3 each, Riley Ridge 2, and Keira Hardy 1.

Kambree Briner had 5 assists. Kynah Steele had 4, Kristen Tracy 3, and Keira Hardy 1.

Keira Hardy had 7 tips. Kynah Steele had 5, Kambree Briner 4, Kristen Tracy 1, and Rayleigh Smith 1.

Kristen Tracy and Kambree Briner had 4 steals. Rylee Ruckman, Riley Ridge, and Rayleigh Smith had 2 each, and Keira Hardy 1.

For North Harrison, Lani Briggs had 15, Jaci Davis 13, Jaxcynn Hansel 2, and Kira Robertson 1.

Jaxcynn Hansel had 3 blocks.

Jaxcynn Hansel had 11 boards. Erica Gerken and Carmon Fordyce had 9 each, Jaci Davis 4, Kira Robertson 2, and Lani Briggs 1.

Jaci Davis had 4 assists. Carmon Fordyce had 3, Lani Briggs 2, and Kira Robertson and Erica Gerken 1 each.

Carmon Fordyce and Erica Gerken had 3 tips each. Kira Robertson and Jaxcynn Hansel had 2 each, and Lani Briggs 1.

Jaxcynn Hansel had 2 steals. Erica Gerken, Lani Briggs, Jaci Davis, and Carmon Fordyce had 1.