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Things snowball against NMCC in 81-33 semifinal loss to Twin Rivers
MALDEN -- Unable to overcome a rough start, third-seeded New Madrid County Central fell to second-seed and defending champion Twin Rivers 81-33 on Monday in the Class 3, District 1 Tournament semifinals at Malden High School.
"You can't throw the ball in the ocean," Lady Eagles' head coach David Crockett said. "It just snowballs on you. We couldn't make shots on offense and then we just kind of dropped our heads on defense.
"One thing lead to another and next thing you know the game is out of hand."
After a bucket on their opening possession NMCC went on nearly six minute stretch where they were held without a field goal. This allowed the Lady Royals to build a 20-3 lead with 3:48 still to play in the first quarter thanks in large part of Maci Shearer and Jaysea Morgan scoring seven and six points respectively in the period.
The Lady Eagles rebounded with a 7-2 run to enter the second period back within 12-points, but it wasn't long before Twin Rivers was pulling away again.
After trading shots to start the second quarter the Lady Royals put together six straight baskets as part of a 15-1 run. They closed out the half with five consecutive points to take a 28-point advantage into the break, 45-17.
"We really studied film and what they did," Twin Rivers head coach Kelly Westerfield said of NMCC. "I came over here Saturday morning and we knew what they liked to do so we would force them to do something else. I think we did that pretty well. We made them take some uncomfortable shots."
Twin River came out in the second half and continued their dominance, holding the Lady Eagles scoreless the first four minutes of the third quarter. They reeled off nine straight points during this span to pull away by 37 points, 54-17, with 4:21 left in the period.
A put-back from Whitney Williams broke NMCC's drought with 3:28 left in the third before the Lady Royals closed out the quarter on a 16-5 run. With a more than comfortable 45-point lead entering the fourth Twin Rivers ensured a turbo-clocked final period on their way back to the championship game.
"I told the seniors, this one game doesn't define our season," Crockett said of the loss. "We've done more than people ever thought we would do after what we lost last year. I'm proud of each and every girls in that locker room.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, but somebody had to lose. We just couldn't make shots, we didn't compete at times and we have to get in the gym and hopefully get better."
Leading the Lady Eagles was Williams and Rashaunda Summers with nine points each. Shanterra Water added seven points to NMCC's cause.
For the Lady Royals, Casey Douglas scored a game-high 18 points, inlcuding 11 points in the third quarter alone. She was followed closely by Shearer with 17 points while Hannah Sadler and Jaysea Morgan contributed 13 and 12 points respectively.
Despite the high scoring totals, Westerfield was most pleased with her team's discipline in only turning the ball over seven times in the first half and 12 times on the game.
"That's amazing for us," she said. "That's been the thing that's been killing us all year. We shoot ourselves in the foot just making poor pass selections, getting still, getting sloppy and getting scared. I preached at them for a couple days now.
"We watched video and watched how bad we looked. I finally feel like they just took it to heart and the switch went off. We played experienced tonight and I feel like we haven't done that all year."
Twin Rivers will play Doniphan for the title Thursday at 6 p.m. at Malden High School.
With the loss NMCC finished their year above the .500 mark. With so many people questioning how they would replace stalwarts Benesha Childress and Karen McGloson coming into the season, Crockett is pleased with how his team stepped up to put together a solid campaign.
"This year was more of people who had been role players stepping up into leading roles," Crockett said. "I knew they were there and I told people at the end of last year we could win 15 games and I feel like we've let two or three games slip this year. Yes we rebuilt because of what we loss, but those girls have been here.
"This group of seniors has the best record (combined) in the four years I've been here. I'll miss every one of them and they all have a special place in my heart."
| Twin Rivers | 22 | 23 | 25 | 11 | - | 81 |
| NMCC | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | - | 33 |
TWIN RIVERS (81) -- Jaysea Morgan 12, Shana Jennings 2, Maci Shearer 17, Hannah Baxter 2, Hannah Sadler 13, Kira Cunningham 8, Kylee Lewis 3, Kathryn Gehrke 2, Casey Douglas 18, Darian Doser 4. FG 36, FT 6-9, F 19. (3-pointers: Shearer 1, Cunningham 1, Lewis 1. Fouled out: none.)
NMCC (33) -- Shanterra Waters 7, Monica Davis 2, Amirah Ruff 2, Keisha Rainer 2, Whitney Williams 9, Erica Palmer 2, Rashaunda Summers 9. FG 12, FT 9-30, F 13. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)