Bravettes eliminated with OT loss

~ Walnut Grove edged Scott County Central 41-38 to reachthe final four.

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- After upsetting top-ranked Delta, the Scott County Central girls basketball team couldn't take the last step into the Class 1 Final Four.

But the Bravettes came ever so close.

In a quarterfinal game that featured slim margins the entire way, Walnut Grove outlasted Scott County 41-38 in overtime at the West Plains Civic Center on Saturday.

Walnut Grove (26-3) advances to the state semifinals in Columbia on Friday, while Scott County ends its season with a 20-8 record.

"We were right there and this game could have gone either way," Scott County coach Semona Penrod said. "We kind of struggled today. We've been playing well, but it was just one of those days."

Still, the Bravettes had plenty of chances to build on Tuesday's sectional victory over Delta as the Bobcats were dealt their first loss.

Scott County held a 38-36 lead with one minute remaining in overtime, but the Tigers scored the game's final five points.

After the squads entered the 4-minute extra session tied 36-36, neither team scored for nearly 3 minutes.

Senior guard Brittney Peet put the Bravettes ahead 38-36 on a driving shot with 1:17 remaining.

The Bravettes appeared to catch a break 9 seconds later as Walnut Grove missed two free throws, but the rebound was knocked out of bounds off a Scott County player.

Walnut Grove's Emily Simpson then drilled her fourth and final 3-pointer of the day with exactly 1 minute left to put the Tigers up 39-38.

Peet's short shot rimmed out with 50 seconds to go, and Walnut Grove's Abby Creed -- who had missed the two free throws earlier in overtime -- made both ends of a one-and-one at the 23-second mark to make it 41-38.

Peet missed two free throws with 10 seconds left. Scott County got an offensive rebound and missed a shot, but the Bravettes retained possession on a held ball. Peet them misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"We had a lot of turnovers today, turnovers that we hadn't been making lately," Penrod said. "But we had chances at the end."

Junior guard Brianna Johnson led the Bravettes with 16 points and Peet added 11.

Creed, a senior guard, paced the Tigers with 13 points. Fellow senior guard Simpson had 12 points, while junior center Megan Hunsperger added 11 points.

Walnut Grove scored the game's first eight points, but Scott County got the next 11 points and things remained tight the rest of the way.

It was 25-24 Walnut Grove at halftime, and neither team led by more than four points in the second half and overtime.

Scott County was ahead 36-32 early in the fourth quarter but failed to score the remainder of the period.

"It's a tough loss, but we had a good season and I'm real proud of the girls," Penrod said.

Walnut Grove 41,Scott County Central 38, OT

Scott County 11 13 10 2 2 -- 38

Walnut Grove 13 12 7 4 5 -- 41

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (38) -- Brittney Peet 11, Samantha Jones 3, Brianna Johnson 16, Amanda Lawless 2, Jamisha Williams 6. FG 17, FT 4-10, F 13 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

WALNUT GROVE (41) -- Emily Simpson 12, Abby Creed 13, Sammy Horton 3, Megan Hunsperger 11, Kelsie Koenemann 2. FG 14, FT 7-9, F 7 (3-pointers: Simpson 4, Creed 1, Horton 1. Fouled out: none)