Delta punches state ticket, crushes Walnut Grove in dominant quarterfinal victory

Two teams combining for a total of four losses squared off in Delta on Friday night, with both the Bobcats and Walnut Grove seeking a place in the MSHSAA Class 1 semifinals and packing out the house for a ballistic quarterfinal environment.

For Delta, though, the Bobcats didn’t waste any time reveling in the moment en route to a 61-43 victory and a spot in the final four next week at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Fighting through poor shooting early and a healthy heaping of foul trouble, ‘Cats coach David Heeb understood the moment and let his players take the reins on Friday.

To this, he credited much of his success to an old mentor who may ring a bell to local basketball fans.

“I played for Ronnie Cookson, who I think is the greatest coach that's ever lived,” Heeb said.

“He told me early in my coaching career that most coaches make the mistake of overcoaching. What I always try to do with them is just give them a real simple plan and let them go do what they do.

“I thought they executed the game plan. They played great.”

Building a double-digit lead before halftime, the early successes of Delta reared when both Jade Berry and Grace Ancell fell into early foul trouble, causing the Bobcats to extend their bench.

Walnut Grove used that opportunity well, cutting the lead to three points soon after and putting the ‘Cats back on their heels as the game moved into the second half.

When Berry came back, however, she made her presence known.

Burying three triples in the third quarter, including an and-1 that seemingly made the roof collapse on Delta High School, she made the hole inescapable for the Tigers.

For Heeb, it’s become a regular occurrence to see Berry take over a game. In fact, the success of the Bobcats largely hinges on that hot hand.

“When Jade plays good, we can't lose,” Heeb said. “We’ve got a lot of good players, but Jade's the kind of player that just changes the temperature in the room.

“Man, when she got going, this whole place heated up.”

The loud, proud Delta crowd was like an inferno. Every time the Bobcats put down a bucket, your ears cowered in fear as the hometown pride hit an all-time high.

That crowd saw the Bobcats advance to yet another final four, the sixth in program history – and spent the last full minute of the contest standing on its feet in an incessant roar.

There’s plenty of pride to place in how Delta’s performed to this point, but the road doesn’t stop here.

All sights are set on gold for the Bobcats, but their quest in Columbia begins with what could have virtually been a state championship matchup with Meadville.

Well, that would have been the case had Meadville not lost its first game in the Steve Carvajal era on Friday night to Northeast, ending a 59-game winning streak dating back to 2022.

Instead, the Bobcats begin their run at a state title in Columbia with a bid against the 25-5 Bearcats, who are fresh off of one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.

Though the path gets a little bit clearer without having to worry about Meadville, there’s still plenty of talent left in the bracket that could upend the 1-loss Bobcats.

Heeb embraces this challenge, as he always has, and looks to finally bring the hardware back to Delta.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Heeb said. “We're just ecstatic to be going, so we're gonna go up there and give them all we’ve got.”

In a first quarter that seemingly dragged on and on, Delta and Walnut Grove went back and forth as both sides racked up some early fouls.

Senior Delta wing Presley Holweg reached the free-throw line 12 times in the first quarter, converting on 11 and helping Delta out to an early 22-14 lead.

With some big early swings, the Bobcats mounted an 11-point lead in the second quarter — but the Tigers didn’t lay off.

Walnut Grove rattled off an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to three points, sending the visiting crowd into a frenzy after Delta reached some serious foul trouble.

With Delta in search of an answer just before the horn, Holweg found a cutting Grace Ancell for the lay-in, buzzer-beating basket to give the hosts a 32-27 lead going into the locker room.

In search of a spark early in the second, Jade Berry hit from the left corner and, soon after, hit again from the same spot — drawing a shooting foul on the bucket to again cause the Delta crowd to erupt.

A moment later, Berry went right-to-left and rose for the baseline bucket to move Delta’s lead to 46-33, quickly prompting a timeout from Walnut Grove’s Darin Archer.

Just for good measure, the junior guard hit one more triple before quarter’s end to extend the Bobcat lead to 49-37 entering the fourth quarter, with a final four berth within sight.

Delta entered the fourth playing stall ball, and it worked to keep Walnut Grove off the scoreboard as precious time ticked off.

That lead soon blossomed into a 20-point edge, giving Delta all the momentum it needed to close out a rowdy 61-43 quarterfinal win and punch its ticket to Columbia.

Presley Holweg led Deltan scorers with 19 points in the victory, followed close behind by 15 from Jade Berry and another 10 from Grace Ancell.

Ellie Smith of Walnut Grove led all scorers with a fierce 23-point performance in the loss, helping push the Tigers back into the game but not able to get them to the win.