Delta cruises in conference tourney final

~ The Bobcats used a zone defense to establish control in the third quarter.

The Delta girls basketball team has played in three varsity tournaments this season and has made the finals in each one.

The Bobcats (12-1) picked up their second championship of the season, defeating Kelly 59-36 on Saturday in the final of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament at Scott City.

"These are good learning experiences for your young players," Delta coach Randy White said. "What we want to do is we want to get better. At this point of the season we're not too worried about wins and losses. Our biggest concern is just getting better."

As they have done in all three tournaments, the Bobcats played just six players. Delta does not have a senior among its six varsity players, with four juniors, a sophomore and a freshman.

"We got to the final four a couple of years ago with six players," White said. "These kids have played a lot of basketball together. They just continue to improve."

Unlike its previous two tournaments, and previous two games at the Scott-Mississippi Tournament, Delta had to battle foul trouble on Saturday. Tiffany Amelunke and Kayla Seabaugh each had three fouls in the opening half.

With several players on the floor having to play cautiously in the second quarter, Kelly tightened what had been a 10-point Delta lead early in the quarter to a 28-23 difference heading into the locker room.

"We got into foul trouble in the first half and couldn't do some of the things we wanted to do," White said.

Delta switched its defense several times in the second half, and the result was a comfortable 48-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Kelly (8-5) only managed two field goals in the third quarter, as Delta forced the Hawks to beat it from the outside.

"When they went to a zone, that hurt us a little bit," Kelly coach Rod McQuerter said. "We weren't able to make outside shots. We just couldn't make many shots today."

For the Bobcats, freshman Jodi Menz hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third that sparked an 8-0 run to start the third. Menz scored 11 points in the third and 15 in the second half.

"The kids can shoot the 3, and we do look to shoot it," White said. "That enables us to penetrate more."

While it was Menz who picked up the scoring slack in the second half, post player Ashley Deprow helped carry Delta's offense in the opening half. Deprow scored 10 points in the opening quarter and had 14 by the half. She finished with a game-high 20 points.

"She had a very good first half," McQuerter said of Deprow.

Kelly freshman center Debra Hall, who is averaging about 17 points a game, was held to just one point after struggling with early foul trouble.

"I thought we did a pretty good job guarding the post," White said. "The Hall girl got into foul trouble early. She's a good ballplayer."

Nikki Weiny led Kelly with nine points, all coming in the first half. Brittany Ponder added eight points.

"Give credit to Delta because they came out and played hard and played as a team," McQuerter said. "They allowed us to do things we didn't want to do. We had a good three games. We're very proud of our girls."

Menz finished with 19 points for the Bobcats, and Shea Smith added 15 points.

"This group, every one of them has had a night where they've scored 14 points or more," White said. "So we have good balance."

Delta 59, Kelly 36

Kelly 7 16 7 6 -- 36

Delta 14 14 20 11 -- 59

KELLY (36) -- Nikki Weiny 9, Brittany Ponder 8, Katee Moore 6, Mindy Robert 6, Sarah Ruff 4, Lauren Gean 2, Debra Hall 1. FG 12, FT 10-16, F 22 (3-pointers: Ponder 1, Moore 1. Fouled out: none)

DELTA (59) -- Ashley Deprow 20, Jodi Menz 19, Shea Smith 15, Kaci Menz 4, Tiffany Amelunke 1. FG 20, FT 17-25, F 13 (3-pointers: J. Menz 2. Fouled out: none)