C3D2: Woodland wins big over Lady Bluejays

BENTON, Mo. — Woodland used a fast start to defeat Charleston in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 2 opening round on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

It took just a quarter for the third-seeded Cardinals (11-15) to build a 20-point lead, as the team cruised to a 71-32 victory over the sixth-seeded Lady Bluejays (3-23).

“We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple of weeks and that’s what you hope for at this time of the year,” said Woodland coach Paul Lynch. “We still have some things we have to clean up, but we came out with good intensity, good focus and got off to a good start. This team has grown a lot over the course of the year. We’ve learned over the past couple of weeks to ride the wave and get out and try to sustain our tempo and game plan. They’ve been doing a really good job of that.”

The Cardinals had five players reach double-digit scoring. Mallary Barks led the team with 13 points. She was followed by Caroline Rhodes with 12, Sarah Wilkinson with 11, and Tallie Johnson and London Cureton with 10 each.

“Our team is built on a team concept,” Lynch said. “It takes all of us, whether it is taking a charge or making a good assist. Up and down the lineup, that’s what we’ve been built on and that’s why we're seeing some success here at the end of the year. It was an overall great team effort.”

Woodland led 28-8 at the end of the first quarter and 48-16 at halftime. The Cardinals were able to take their foot off of the gas in the second half and let some reserves gain some valuable postseason experience, while also letting the starters get some rest ahead of their semifinal matchup against two-seeded Chaffee (17-9) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“They’re a very solid team and we’re going to have to play well to get them,” Lynch said.

Woodland defeated Chaffee 47-44 on Feb. 13.

Claire Nichols scored 13 to lead Charleston, while Ahkeelah Venson added 10.

“All of our kids were pretty much new to the game,” said Charleston coach Josh Thompson. “[Nichols] started the last two years but everyone else was new. We came along pretty well and I thought we’d have a chance tonight, but they took us out of our game.”

The Lady Bluejays will have plenty of returning talent next season, but Thompson said he knows all the potential in the world is meaningless unless the team puts in the work during the offseason.

“We can be okay, but we have to put the time in,” he said. “We can’t just be a November to February basketball team. We have to play all the time. That’s what is going to decide how good we’re going to be. We’re going to have to put the time in during the offseason to develop our skills.”

__WOODLAND 71, CHARLESTON 32__

Charleston 8 8 7 9 — 32

Woodland 28 20 13 10 — 71

__Charleston (32) —__ Claire Nichols 13, Ahkeelah Venson 10, Daniyah Thomas 6, Treasure Kimble 3. FG: 12. FT: 6-16. F: 14. (3-pointers: Kimble 1, Nichols 1. Fouled out: Kylianne Johnson.)

__Woodland (71) —__ Mallary Barks 13, Caroline Rhodes 12, Sarah Wilkinson 11, Tallie Johnson 10, London Cureton 10, Katelynn Hahs 6, Carrie Long 4, Rhodie Long 3, Maci McIntyre 2. FG: 27. FT: 14-23. (3-pointers: Cureton 2, Rhodes 1. Fouled out: none.)