Johnson and Massa push Woodland past Kelly in hard-fought district win

BENTON, Mo. — Woodland snapped a two-game losing streak to district rivalry Kelly on Wednesday, pulling away for a 48-37 road victory behind big performances from Tallie Johnson and Addy Massa.

The Cardinals (8-6, 1-0 BCS Tri-County) leaned on a balanced offensive attack and timely defensive stops to claim the win, their first against the Lady Hawks (6-8, 2-1) Scott-Mississippi) since the 2023 SEMO Christmas Tournament.

While the victory was secured, Woodland coach Paul Lynch pointed to areas in need of improvement.

“Overall I don’t think we played with a lot of energy,” he said. “But give credit to Kelly for playing hard, physical and scrappy. We have some sickness going around, but we’re not about making excuses. We have to find a way and we’re looking for consistency still.”

Woodland built a double-digit lead by halftime, leading 30-20, and maintained that cushion in the second half.

Johnson, who led all scorers with 19 points, was instrumental in the Cardinals' offensive flow, particularly finishing around the basket with strong drives and clutch plays.

“It was definitely a slow start, but we pushed through the adversity,” Johnson said. “We played with heart and did what we needed to do. We drew fouls really well, held the ball, slowed it down, and played our game towards the end.”

Kelly tried to mount a late charge, cutting the deficit to 43-34  after a clutch 3-pointer by Paige Klipfel.

However, Woodland responded immediately, with Johnson converting a conventional three-point play and Ella Cook sealing the victory with a strong take to the basket that pushed the margin to 48-34 with less than three minutes remaining.

“We knew it was going to be a tough district game, and we had to fight through it,”  Massa said, who contributed 16 points. “We just want to focus on conditioning to be ready for the district tournament.”

Woodland's offense was sparked by the versatility of Johnson and Massa, with both players efficiently creating opportunities in transition and in half-court sets. The Cardinals also did a decent job of capitalizing on their free-throw shooting, converting 11 of 18 attempts (61 percent), and using aggressive drives to force fouls throughout the game.

Kelly committed 17 fouls, a byproduct of overcommitting defensively, especially when trying to contain players like Johnson, who excels at drawing contact and finishing through traffic around the rim.

“Tallie Johnson really stepped up tonight and finished well around the basket,” Lynch said. “Our underclassmen gave us some really good minutes too.”

Despite a fourth consecutive BCS Tri-County Conference Even after capturing their fourth consecutive BCS Tri-County Conference Tournament title just a week ago, Lynch knows his team still has room to grow and build momentum for the remainder of the season.

“We’re just trying to find the energy and consistency right now,” he said. “But we’ve been finding a way to win that is what’s important.”

The Lady Hawks showed brief sparks of resilience but struggled to sustain offensive flow, often caught in stagnant sets or forced into rushed decisions. Despite some solid individual efforts, they couldn’t string together the kind of consistent possessions needed.

“The girls just have to build their confidence,” said Kelly coach Matthew Blissett. “Right now, we’re trying to get them to believe that they’re good ballplayers because they are. Once they get that confidence, they’ll be able to do a lot of things that they did not think they could do.”

Cecily Hall led Kelly with 12 points and played a crucial role in keeping her team competitive.

“Woodland is a real good team and I saw some solid improvements from our girls tonight,” Blissett said. “I want to give a big shout-out and thank our assistant coaches, Isai and Jaci Campos. They’ve taken over the rebounding and shooting drills during practice and I’ve seen a big improvement in those categories.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a battle and we did that for the most part,” he concluded. “We’re just still learning how to play in the tough games and win down the stretch.”

Kelly will return to the court at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, for a conference tournament matchup at Oak Ridge (9-7, 3-2 Scott-Mississippi). Meanwhile, Woodland will travel to Puxico (2-12, 0-2 Ozark Foothills) on Jan. 27.

__WOODLAND 48,  KELLY 37__

Woodland 15 15 8 10 — 48

Kelly 8 12 11 6 — 37

Woodland (48) — Tallie Johnson 19, Addy Massa 16, Ella Cook 6, Mallary Barks 3, Peyton Hinkle 2, Mollie Long 2. FG: 18. FT: 11-18. F: 8. (3-pointers: Massa 1. Fouled out: None.)

Kelly (37) — Cecily Hall 12, Paige Klipfel 7, Gwen Essner 5, Kaylee Still 4, Peyton Ratley 4, Rylee Burns 3, Blaire Riley 2. FG: 11 FT: 7-10. F: 17. (3-pointers: Klipfel 1, Essner 1, Burns 1. Fouled out: None.)