Photo courtesy of Paula Allen

Lady Wildcats rally, advance to

district finals for 5th straight year

New Blooomfield junior Samantha Haas shoots over a Eugene defender to score two of her 24 points during Thursday night's district semifinal game at New Bloomfield.

Feb. 22, 2018

NEW BLOOMFIELD, Mo. --- One shot in the middle of the game can certainly mean a lot more than one shot in the middle of the game.

This one could not have been more in the middle --- and it could not have come at a bigger or better time for New Bloomfield.

After a sloppy and uninspired first half, Katie Kelly banked in an improbable running 15-footer at the first-half buzzer to pull the Lady Wildcats within 27-21 of the Eugene Lady Eagles in the Class 2 District 8 semifinals Thursday night.

New Bloomfield had never led and had trailed by as many as 12 points, so trailing by only six was a win --- and flipped the game in the opposite direction.

Coincidence that it flipped? Maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

The Lady Wildcats promptly dominated the Lady Eagles 18-4 in the third quarter to take charge on their way to a 57-51 victory, earning the program and coach Brett Craighead their fifth straight trip to the district finals.

Call them Kelly's Heroes, at least on this night.

"Momentum," Craighead said succinctly about the shot. "I thought that was really big for us, because something like that, you can really take as a positive going into the half. Especially since we had such a bad start."

No. 5 seed Eugene (16-11) had lost by 15 to top-seeded New Bloomfield (19-8) last month, but the Lady Eagles were determined not to let that happen again.

Sophomore Jodi Polly led that charge, as she scored 11 of her game-high 27 points in the first quarter to help stake Eugene to a 19-9 lead after one.

"I thought we were really, really nervous at the start of the game," Craighead said, "and I didn't think we had much intensity. This was the first game like this for three of our girls, there were a lot of people here, and I think they were just shell-shocked, at first.

"But in the end, I thought they responded very well."

The Lady Wildcats trailed by 12 on two occasions in the first half, but finished with an 8-2 run before the break --- capped by Kelly's buzzer-beater-banker.

Not sure if she called glass, or not.

"Our intensity started to change at the end of the second quarter," Craighead said. "Then, I thought we came out in the third quarter with a lot more determination and intensity.

"We started taking the ball to the basket ... I just thought we were a lot more aggressive."

Senior Madi Craighead scored nine of her 16 points in the third quarter, when the Lady Wildcats turned a six-point deficit into a 39-31 lead headed to the fourth.

Eugene did get within four points in the closing seconds, while New Bloomfield led by as many as 14 in the final frame.

"I was glad to see us come back from being down like that," Craighead said. "That showed me a little something."

Samantha Hass, a 5-11 junior, showed Craighead a lot --- 24 points, 12 rebounds and several blocked shots.

"She could do that every single night, she's capable," Craighead said. "As athletic as she is --- and she's really developed her left hand --- and her presence on defense ,they come in there and even if she doesn't block the shot, they're aware of her.

"She kept us in it until we finally got some shots to go."

The Lady Wildcats will be looking for their second straight district title and third in five years when they meet No. 2 seed Sturgeon (19-8) at 1 p.m. Saturday. Sturgeon advanced with a 41-37 win over Calvary Lutheran.

"We're going to have to play with the intensity that we played with in the third quarter tonight," Craighead said, "and do it for four quarters."

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