March 5, 2016
Sikeston girls see district title slip by in most agonizing way
Dexter's sixth district title in a row and second over the Bulldogs was an utter heartbreaker for Sikeston, who watched as their best chance to win their first district title in school history slipped away.
By Chris Pobst ~ Standard Democrat
sports@standard-democrat.com
SIKESTON, Mo. -- It happened so fast. And when you saw it, you cringed.
Sikeston's Tyra Bonner made an instinctive play that would have been fine in any other situation except the one she found herself in with 21 seconds left in a district title game.
But with a chance for the Sikeston girls basketball team to break a 40-40 tie in the final minute against Dexter, Bonner called a timeout Sikeston didn't have.
It was a play that after it unfolded, the capacity crowd at the Sikeston Field House instantly felt empathy for the senior.
Although there was still time to make a stand, the end result was a technical foul which led to two free throws, possession to Dexter and a 43-40 win over Sikeston on Friday at the Sikeston Field House during the Class 4, District 1 tournament.
Dexter's sixth district title in a row and second over the Bulldogs in as many years was an utter heartbreaker for Sikeston, who watched as their best chance to win their first district title in school history slipped away.
"I guarantee you emotions, instincts kicked in and called it," Sikeston coach Matt Schonhoff said. "It's not her fault. It's absolutely not her fault."
If it wasn't for Bonner though, the Bulldogs wouldn't have found themselves in that position in the first place.
The senior buried a three with 38 seconds left that tied the game at 40-all. It was her defensive pressure on Dexter's Dakota Reynolds that forced a wide throw to Chaylea Mosby that was tapped away by Erica Peet.
Antravia Green raced to scoop up the live ball and while falling out of bounds, the junior willed a toss back to Bonner to save it. After Bonner corralled Green's throw with both hands she signaled for the timeout.
Dexter coach Chad Allen tried to do the same thing.
"I was trying to get a timeout and it was my fault because I didn't call it quick enough," he said. "We were just fortunate that they ended up calling a timeout and they were out of timeouts."
Despite the mishap, Sikeston still had a shot to tie the game in the end.
Mosby hit the first of the technical free throws but missed the second with 21. 3 seconds left. Reynolds was fouled eight seconds later and she made both of her free throws after a 1-and-1 opportunity to give Dexter a 43-40 lead.
"To get those free throws were huge for us," Allen said.
With a chance to put her team even further ahead, Reynolds was ready for them.
"I was pretty nervous but we've been practicing our free throws all year," she said. "I was pretty confident in myself that I was going to make them."
The inbounds pass after Reynolds' last free throw went to Kiera Steward who shook off a double team and tossed a pass to Bonner in the corner. Bonner lost control, regained possession and fired a good look from three with five seconds left that bounced high off the rim and out. Tyeshia Mitchell grabbed the rebound and put up a desperation putback but it fell out too.
"We got a good shot off, just short-rimmed it and ran out of time," Schonhoff said.
It's easy to look back after the fact, but a key timeout that could have been pocketed less than a minute earlier would have eliminated Sikeston's technical foul all together.
At the 1:03 mark, Krysten Garrison put the Bearcats up 40-37 after Chaylea Mosby found the sophomore wide open under the basket. Sikeston went to inbound the ball, except the four other players sprinted towards the other end of the court.
"When we had to burn the timeout when everybody left, that obviously came back and bit us," Schonhoff said.
Dexter's motivation was at a high after last week's trip up to Sikeston.
The Bulldogs entered the Bearcat Event Center and snatched a 74-66 win away from the Bearcats to win the SEMO Conference regular season title outright.
"It motivated us a lot," Reynolds said. "We were ready."
Garrison was a go too. The sophomore, who had just four shot attempts during last week's matchup, blistered Sikeston for 20 points and 11 rebounds. She scored eight in the third quarter continuing a trend of Garrison carrying her team throughout.
"I was ready for the challenge," Garrison said. "I really wanted them to get the ball to me."
Dexter's offensive gameplan centered around Garrison, attempting to hammer the ball inside to her every chance they got.
"We really wanted to try and get the ball inside and really we weren't flashing to the ball, our post wasn't, the last time we played them," Allen said. "I thought we did a better job of doing that tonight. (Garrison) got more touches because of it."
And Dexter needed each one of them as Sikeston came out firing from behind the arc.
The Bulldogs went 3 of 7 from three which helped them to a 13-9 first quarter lead. Miranda Harrison, who finished with eight points and three key rebounds down the stretch, along with Bonner and Steward each buried first quarter threes for the early advantage.
"They've improved so much. They've improved their shooting tremendously," Allen said. "They extended their lead in the first quarter and that really shocked us. It was great our girls buckled down defensively after that."
Buckled down is one way to describe it. Suffocation is another.
Sikeston was forced into five turnovers and did not record a field goal in the second quarter. Dexter's defense caught fire causing Sikeston to shoot 0 for 8 from the floor. Mitchell hit two free throws at the 4:24 mark giving the Bulldogs a 15-13 lead. Dexter closed out the first half with a 7-0 run to lead 20-15 at the half capped by a three from Reynolds at the buzzer.
"We picked the wrong quarter to go cold," Schonhoff said. "We got stagnant on offense, stopped moving and shots that normally have gone in for us this year picked the wrong time to go out. That's just high school basketball."
A slow-paced, close game, Sikeston was looking up at a 31-28 Dexter lead going into the fourth quarter after Steward knocked in a three just before the third quarter buzzer. They eventually fell behind by six until Bonner drained a three to cut the lead to 36-33 with 3:39 remaining.
The Bearcats pushed its lead back up to five shortly after but Bonner came to Sikeston's rescue once again.
Peet caught the inbounds and was immediately double-teamed and kicked a pass to Bonner wide open on the wing. Bonner nailed it with 38 seconds left sending the overflowing Sikeston contingent into a frenzy.
"This environment last year got to them," Schonhoff said. "This year it didn't. That's just the maturity of the girls."
Sikeston's year ends after yet another historic season. They topped their total wins mark, won a second SEMO Conference championship and made their third-ever appearance in a district championship game.
They finished with a 22-5 record giving them back to back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
"These girls have been the cornerstone for it," Schonhoff said. "Obviously we wanted to be district champs and for some odd reason, it didn't happen. It sucks the way that it ended but I'm very proud of our girls and our program. They work their tails off. Can't ask for anything more."
The Bearcats (22-5) move on to play Fredericktown at Jackson High School in Jackson, Mo., on Tuesday at 6 p.m., in their Class 4 sectional.
Sikeston 13 2 13 12 -- 40
Dexter 9 11 10 12 -- 43
SIKESTON (40) -- Kiera Steward 6, Tyra Bonner 9, Larysa McClellon 4, Erica Peet 2, Miranda Harrison 8, Tyeshia Mitchell 11. FG 14 FT 5-9 F 15. (3-pointers: Steward 2, Bonner 3, Harrison 2. Fouled out: none.)
DEXTER (43) -- Dakota Reynolds 5, Melanie McKuin 2, Cheyenne Mosby 5, Krysten Garrison 20, Chaylea Mosby 11. FG 16 FT 9-16 F 7. (3-pointers: Reynolds 1, Che. Mosby 1. Fouled out: none.)
Advertisement
Advertisement