Dec. 28, 2018
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- Except for one run by Jefferson City, the Hickman girls played the Lady Jays even in the first half Friday night.
8-8.
There was one significant problem for the Lady Kewpies, however, concerning that one run. A run makes it sound short, but this was more of a long-term relationship.
It spanned the 6:08 mark of the first quarter to the 1:38 mark of the second.
Jefferson City 31, Hickman 0.
Thanks for playing.
The Lady Jays used the massive 31-0 outburst on their way to a 68-20 rout of the Lady Kewpies in the semifinals of the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"I thought our energy and intensity were really good," Lady Jays coach Brad Conway said. "Overall, I was pleased with our effort, especially after (Thursday's game). We were sitting back on our heels and letting Blue Springs South kind of do whatever they wanted on offense."
Conway is your typical coach, always finding something their team could do better. Jefferson City beat Blue Springs South by 30, by the way.
Even when you win by 48, like Friday night, there's always something.
"We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds in the first quarter," Conway said, "and that's something we've been doing a good job of, keeping people off the glass."
The Lady Jays led 20-2 after the first quarter.
"You don't want to get in the habit of doing that," Conway continued, "especially when you come up against good teams. That's something we talked about at halftime."
It was 39-8 at halftime.
Gotta love coaches.
Hannah Nilges opened the game with a 3-pointer for Jefferson City (11-0, ranked No. 1 Class 5), before Hickman (4-6) got within 3-2 on a follow-shot by Kansas State recruit Emma Chapman with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
That turned out to highlight of the night for the Lady Kewpies, because they wouldn't score again for 12 1/2 minutes --- 14 straight missed shots and nearly as many turnovers.
Sure, some of it was bad offense, but there was also a lot of good defense being played by the Lady Jays. During the 31-0 saga, 16 of those points came in transition after a forced turnover.
"Once we get out on defense and get deflections and get steals like we did tonight," Conway said, "that can translate into easy offense. That's the way we played before Christmas break, and that's really what kind of blew it open."
As if a 31-point deficit at the half wasn't bad enough, it only got worse in the second half for Hickman. Jefferson City led 51-15 after three quarters and used a 17-5 scoring edge in the fourth to complete the 48-point blowout.
Caitlin Anderson led a balanced attack with 18 points for the Lady Jays, Kara Daly added 16, Nilges finished with 15, and Micah Linthacum scored 10.
The result sets up a championship rematch between Jefferson City and St. Joseph Benton (9-0, No. 6 Class 4) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Rackers Fieldhouse. Last year's game was dominated by Benton, 35-21.
Revenge?
"I don't know about that," Conway said, "but it's a reminder. We didn't play very well and they defended really, really well. Our energy wasn't very good that game and we didn't shoot the ball very well.
"We just didn't make good decisions with the basketball and that led to good opportunities for Benton."
The Lady Cardinal, a team known for their defense, had another shutdown effort Friday night with a 43-29 upset win over the Helias Lady Crusaders (7-2, No. 4 Class 4) in the other semifinal.
Benton basically scored half of its points in the first quarter, hitting five 3-pointers and building a 21-6 lead. The margin was 26-14 at the half and 37-24 after three quarters.
Bailey Russell led the winners with 14 points, while Taylor Koelling tossed in 13 points for Helias.
AT THE MACHENS GREAT 8 CLASSIC at Fleming Fieldhouse, the Jefferson City Jays were denied their first trip to the event's championship game in nearly a decade as they dropped a 58-49 semifinal decision to Kettering Fairmount (Ohio).
The Jays (6-4) held an 11-10 lead after one quarter, before the Firebirds (6-2) literally caught fire in the second. Namely, senior guard Jesse Reliford.
Reliford hit four 3-pointers in the frame and Fairmount outscored Jefferson City 22-12 to take a 32-23 at the break. The Jays got within 36-33 after three quarters, then the comeback was complete when Ben Folz canned a 3-pointer with 2:40 left to give the Jays a 46-45 lead.
But the comeback didn't last, as the Firebirds caught fire once again and outscored the Jays 13-3 down the stretch to pull out the nine-point win.
Reliford finished with 16 points for Fairmount, while Folz netted 14 points for the Jays, who will play Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) for third place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday Michael Appiah-Brefo chipped in 13 points in the losing cause and Ryan Brooks had 10.
Fairmount will meet Harvest Prep (Canal Winchester, Ohio) for the tournament title at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Warriors advanced with a 73-71 win over Mt. Lebanon in the other semifinal, a game that was won a top-of-the-key 2-point jumper by Chris Anthony at the buzzer.
In an entertaining loser's bracket game, the Blair Oaks Falcons used an 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to rally for a 57-55 win over the Helias Crusaders.
In a back-and-forth affair, Blair Oaks (6-4) led 9-7 after one quarter, before Helias (2-6) rallied to take a 28-23 lead at the break. The Crusaders led 40-35 entering the fourth and 47-42 with five minutes left, before the Falcons used the 11-0 run take a 53-47 lead with 90 seconds left.
The Falcons, who received 16 points from Nolan Hair, would hold on down the stretch. David Dell added 12 points for the winners, while Ben Cooper ripped the nets for 20 points.
MACHENS GREAT 8
At Fleming Fieldhouse
THURSDAY
FIRST ROUND
Harvest Prep (Canal Winchester, Ohio) 83, Blair Oaks 64
Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) 69, Helias 54
Jefferson City 57, Hopkinsville (Ky.) 52
Kettering Fairmount (Ohio) 73, Father Tolton 68
FRIDAY
WINNER'S BRACKET SEMIFINALS
Harvest Prep 73, Mt. Lebanon 71
Kettering Fairmount 58, Jefferson City 49
LOSER'S BRACKET SEMIFINALS
Blair Oaks 55, Helias 53
Father Tolton 68, Hopkinsville 65
SATURDAY
SEVENTH-PLACE GAME
Helias (2-6) vs. Hopkinsville (8-5), 2:30 p.m.
FIFTH PLACE
Blair Oaks (6-4) vs. Father Tolton (8-2), 4 p.m.
THIRD PLACE
Mt. Lebanon (7-2) vs. Jefferson City (6-4), 5:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Harvest Prep (7-0) vs. Kettering Fairmount (6-2), 7 p.m.
STATE FARM INVITATIONAL
At Rackers Fieldhouse
THURSDAY
FIRST ROUND
Jefferson City 58, Blue Springs South 28
Columbia Hickman 41, Poplar Bluff 40
Helias 62, Eureka 57
St. Joseph Benton 47, Blair Oaks 31
FRIDAY
WINNER'S BRACKET SEMIFINALS
Jefferson City 68, Hickman 20
Benton 43, Helias 29
LOSER'S BRACKET SEMIFINALS
Blair Oaks 53, Eureka 42
Blue Springs South 44, Poplar Bluff 28
SATURDAY
SEVENTH PLACE
Eureka (4-5) vs. Poplar Bluff (2-8), 1 p.m.
FIFTH PLACE
Blair Oaks (8-3) vs. Blue Springs South (6-4), 2:30 p.m.
THIRD PLACE
Helias (7-2) vs. Hickman (4-6), 4 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Jefferson City (11-0) vs. Benton (9-0), 5:30 p.m.
Loeffler's Link
Kara Daly (14) of the Jefferson City Lady Jays watches her short jumper drop through the hoop during the second half of Friday night's game with Hickman in the semifinals of the State Farm Holiday Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse.
Lady Jays use 31-0 burst to rout
Lady Kewps, move to title game
Buffington won't be
around this time for
Machens Great 8