Chaffee girls basketball team heats up in second half, cruises past Delta at conference tourney

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee girls basketball team headed into halftime of its Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament opener shooting 39 percent from the field.

Clinging to an eight-point lead, the third-seeded Red Devils knew that wasn't going to cut it, so they responded by shooting 67 percent (18 of 27) in the second half and cruised to a 75-45 win over No. 6 Delta in Tuesday's first-round game at Chaffee High School.

"They just hustled up and down the floor like we've been wanting them to do," Chaffee coach Darrin Pruitt said. "We had a little setback here around Christmas time, and I've been super proud of these kids for the way they've been getting out there playing and adjusting to the different style of basketball that we're playing."

A 77-74 loss in overtime to Scott County Central was included in that setback, and Chaffee (8-5) will get another shot at its conference and district rival at 7:45 p.m. today in the semifinals. The winner will face either Oran or Charleston in the championship game at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.

Chaffee's Julia Sutterfield takes a shot as Delta's Kiley Wicker defends during the third quarter of a first-round game in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"We're a different team now than we were back then," Pruitt said. "We had some other different aspects of the game we played, and Scott County Central's a good team. We're just going to go out and do the best we can and see who comes out."

The Red Devils scored the first eight points of the game before Kiley Wicker converted a putback to pull Delta (3-9) within six points, 8-2, with 5 minutes, 21 seconds to go in the opening period. Chaffee forced the Bobcats to commit 12 turnovers in the first quarter and led 20-11 heading into the second.

"I thought they did a good job of pushing the pace. They were wanting the game up and down," said Delta coach Jim Gloth, whose team finished with 31 turnovers. "... I think our girls did a pretty good job of still trying to fight, but their defense had a lot to do with our turnovers."

Chaffee senior Julia Sutterfield led all scorers with 26 points, including 19 in the second half. The Bobcats trailed by 13 points in the second quarter but went on a 7-2 run over the final 2:45 of the period, trimming their deficit to 33-25 at halftime.

A putback by Wicker kept Delta within eight points at the 3:19 mark of the third quarter before a conventional three-point play by Sutterfield sparked an 11-0 Chaffee run to close the quarter. The Red Devils led 52-33 heading into the final eight minutes.

Sutterfield, who also had seven assists and six steals, poured in 11 points in the third period alone.

"Once she starts getting to the rim and flattening the defense out, then she can kick the ball out," Pruitt said. "We still have that same thing going on right now. We have a bunch of kids who can score, and she's really good at seeing the floor and seeing those gaps when she needs to."

Delta's Lydia Borneman looks to pass while guarded by Chaffee's Bailey Wiseman and Mattison Cline during the second quarter of a first-round game in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Chaffee scored on its first six shots from the floor in the final quarter and led by as many as 31. Mary Beth Knutson contributed 13 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Red Devils, while Katie Glueck added 14 points on 7-of-9 (78 percent) shooting from the field.

"She's getting to the rim a lot better than she was earlier in the year," Pruitt said about Glueck. "... She's using that glass a lot more than she has in the past, and that's always a positive for anyone who plays down low."

Wicker, a junior, led the way for the Bobcats with 18 points. She was 8 of 12 (67 percent) from the floor, and Gloth was pleased with her performance in the post.

"Everything's new for her," Gloth said. "... She continued to hit the boards hard for us."

With only one player to use from the bench, fatigue slowed Delta down in the second half. The Bobcats shot 11 of 27 (41 percent) from the field in the first half but were held to 8-of-31 (26 percent) shooting in the second half. Chaffee's bench outscored the Bobcats 14-4.

"The girls are thinking and playing at the same time, and whenever they get tired, they quit thinking," Gloth said. "... The whole team is continuing to improve from where they were at the beginning of the season. We're going to keep trying to build on that and see what happens."

Pruitt liked the way his team stuck to its game plan in the second half, creating more opportunities on the fast break and using defense to establish offense.

"That's what our game is," Pruitt said. "If you're open, you're going to shoot the ball. It's not about going down the floor and just standing there and holding the ball. We want to get up the floor in as few passes as possible, and we're shooting the ball."

Chaffee 75, Delta 45

Delta 11 14 8 12 -- 45

Chaffee 20 13 19 23 -- 75

DELTA (45) -- Kiley Wicker 18, Lydia Borneman 6, Erin Bond 6, Cooper Simpson 6, Carrie Weddle 5, Jamie Hodge 4. FG 19, FT 4-10, F 12. (3-pointers: Borneman 2, Waddle 1. Fouled out: Simpson.)

CHAFFEE (75) -- Julia Sutterfield 26, Katie Glueck 14, Mary Beth Knutson 13, Bridgette Swinford 6, Madeline Hendrix 5, Mattison Cline 4, Bailey Wiseman 3, Alyssa Lunsford 2, Taylor Kirn 2. FG 33, FT 8-14, F 13. (3-pointers: Wiseman 1. Fouled out: None.)