Donettes dynamite as they roll to big win at Twin Rivers

BROSELEY — The Doniphan Donettes know what’s at stake this year and in their search for girls basketball state hardware, they are aware of one key ingredient in reaching that goal:

Consistency.

Regardless of who they play, Doniphan knows that good, bad, or great or poor the opponent must be vanquished and how it plays out must see the team play at a high level.

Host Twin Rivers learned this hard way Thursday night as the Lady Royals, shorthanded due to injury and illness ultimately succumbed to the dominance of the Donettes in a 59-17 Ozark Foothills Conference contest.

“How our culture is, we know we have to stay consistent,” Doniphan senior Gracen Kirby said. “We know if we want to go far like we are hoping to achieve, we have to stay consistent. Every game is a competition and sometimes we have to compete against ourselves even if the other team isn’t great.”

Doniphan (16-1, 6-0 OFC) claims its third straight unbeaten OFC crown and its fourth consecutive claim to the top spot since 2020.

Doniphan was led by Sarah Owen (12 points), Kenzie Redus (10), Madilyn Redus (nine) and Bailey Honeycutt (eight).

Doniphan is the No. 1 team in the DAR’s Power 8 poll.

“They did a good job and we’ve been playing better here the last three or four games,” Doniphan head coach Adam Epps said. “We are moving the ball and shooting the ball a lot better too.

“I am excited with how we are playing. You got to score. Monday, we didn’t score very much at Dexter and we scored 40. McKenna Monaghan was about 50 percent and when she’s not out there, we have a different engine. She really creates for a lot of people and she can score.”

Monaghan played some minutes against the Lady Royals after dealing with a shoulder ailment.

Pacing Twin Rivers (8-11, 3-2) was Anne Mittelstadt (six points).

“We played with effort and no excuses,” Twin Rivers head coach David Crockett said. “That’s a good thing and we knew it was. We got to take care of the ball better and if we start doing that kind of stuff we’ll be alright.

“We didn’t quit. It’s so easy when you are down 35-40 to just quit, and we didn’t, we kept battling. It’s going to pay off in the end. Second half we tried getting downhill more. We did a better job of boxing out and rebounding. We are undersized at every position so we have to work that much harder. I like this group and they play hard. We will see what happens at the end of the season.”

In the first quarter, Doniphan broke out to a 12-0 lead and ultimately led 21-2 after eight minutes as they came in waves with 10 deep and attacking the rim relentlessly. Twin Rivers short-handed roster of seven could only do its best to stave off many positive end results for each of their opponent’s possessions.

“Having a lot of bodies is nice and it’s always good to have,” Kirby said. “It is great we have that many girls we can compete with (in practice) and it just makes us work that much harder in practice.

“It’s the game of basketball and it’s not going to be your night. I am fortunate to have great teammates that are able to pick me up in a heartbeat to pick me up when I am struggling.”

Doniphan led 38-5 at halftime and Kirby hit a three to start the second half that kicked off a third quarter that ultimately put the game away and got the mercy clock rolling for the final period as it led 55-13.