Donettes’ big rally comes up just short against South Iron

DONIPHAN — This is the time for basketball teams to try to make some last adjustments to what they are doing in preparation of the playoffs that beckon.

This is no different for the Doniphan Donettes who played host to one of the better small school programs, South Iron, Friday night with just a week left to get ready for the Class 4 District 1 playoffs opening at month’s end.

A rough second quarter ultimately bit Doniphan in the basketball hind end and a late rally fell short in a 60-50 defeat that dropped the Donettes to 22-2 this season.

Leading the Donettes were McKenna Monaghan with 16 points — all in the second half — while Kenzie Redus added 12 and Brook Klepzig finished with 10.

“We put these games on the schedule to really test us because we want to be good at things that are not easy,” Doniphan head coach Adam Epps said. “Wednesday night we did a really good job against a really good team. But tonight, we didn’t start the game believing from the beginning that we were good enough to win. All the turnovers and nonchalant stuff in the beginning of the game and they had so many easy shots at the start, and that’s kind of crucial. We dug ourselves a big hole.”

The first quarter was more resemblant of an Olympic track meet as South Iron likes to push the tempo with fullcourt pressure and the visitors got the better of the action scoring from inside and out in building a 19-14 lead after eight minutes.

Things took a turn in the first few minutes of the second quarter as the Lady Panthers erupted for a quick six points to suddenly put Doniphan on the back foot, trailing 25-14.

The deficit grew to 17 with the Donettes held scoreless until two free throws by Gracen Kirby with just over three minutes to play before halftime.

South Iron headed into the half up 34-18 as Doniphan struggled to get many good looks and when it did, it couldn’t convert.

The Donettes hoped to pull off another double-digit rally as they did two days earlier against Chadwick and those hopes took a hit when Monaghan got called for her fourth foul on three minutes into the third quarter just as the senior started to push her squad into contention.

Shortly afterward, the Lady Panthers moved up by 21 and Doniphan was forced to play catch up.

That they began to do as the transition game became their friend and two scores at the rim on the break and a Klepzig 3 pulled the hosts to within 48-33 in the quarter’s last two minutes.

Doniphan headed into the fourth quarter down 50-37.

Redus, who had been cooking late in the third, went full volcano in the fourth’s early moments with a hoop, some offensive board and an assist on a Monaghan icy 3-pointer to pull Doniphan to within 50-42.

Two more Monaghan hoops made it 51-46 and Doniphan began to sense another big comeback.

But South Iron didn’t become a respected power just because of luck and it responded to every challenge Doniphan threw at them to hang on even if barely.

“That second-half effort, if we have done that from the beginning, we would have been good enough to beat that team,” Epps said. “Hats off to those guys they put really great pressure on the ball. They have five players that are all skilled and can pass dribble and shoot. We want to play teams that if we don’t play well we lose. We don’t want to be rewarded when we don’t play our game.”