Johnson's 3 barrage too much for Central girls

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- If there's anyone who knows how much damage a petite basketball player can inflict, it's Central point guard Sadie Pittman.

That's because the 5-foot-1 senior had caused her own share of havoc for Central entering Friday's Class 5 District 1 championship game against Poplar Bluff.

Pittman scored 19 points against the Mules, but she wasn't the only small force at work as Poplar Bluff came away with a 70-55 victory and the district title.

Poplar Bluff countered with a 5-3 dynamo in senior Ruthie Johnson, who torched the Tigers for 31 points, including a school-record eight 3-pointers.

"I think we just weren't coming out and playing hard defense like we're known to do," Pittman said. "And once Ruthie gets going, and you don't have a hand in her face, she's gonna hit 'em."

Central's Sadie Pittman drives past Poplar Bluff's Dennisha Rice during Friday's game.

Poplar Bluff (18-8) avenged a two-point road loss to Central (17-8) earlier in the season, which helped give the Tigers the district's top seed and dropped the two-time defending champions to the second seed.

Johnson not only broke the single-game record of six 3-pointers, which she shared, but she also became the school's all-time 3-point leader in the process. She bumped her career total to 127. She also fell one point shy of her career-high 32.

"It felt great," Johnson said. "At first I wasn't shooting too well, at the beginning of the game, then I just had to calm down and start shooting, and after that I hit everything.

"I was hyped up because the last time we played Cape we lost by two, so I wanted to get revenge and win districts."

Johnson missed four of her first five 3-point attempts.

Central jumped out to a 10-3 lead with a put back on an offensive rebound by Paige Smith to cap the spurt and leave Poplar Bluff coach Kirk Chronister calling timeout midway through the period.

When play resumed, Central's lead quickly evaporated.

"We came out ready to play tonight, and then their defense picked up and kind of got us a little bit out of sorts," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "We didn't handle their defensive pressure real well. I have to give Bluff a lot of credit, they played hard tonight."

Central led 12-8 when Poplar Bluff went on a 9-0 burst. Chelsea Darnell tied the game at 12-12 when she deposited a missed 3-point attempt by Johnson with 2:16 left in the half. Fittingly, it was Johnson's first 3-pointer the next time down the floor that gave the Mules the lead for good.

The Mules took a 19-16 lead into the second quarter and led just 21-20 when they went on a 17-6 run. Johnson hit all three of her 3-point attempts in the span, which opened a 38-26 lead. Pittman hit an 18-foot shot just before half to cut the deficit to 38-28 at the break.

The lead never fell into single digits in the second half as Poplar Bluff opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run that included Johnson's fifth 3-pointer.

"We just have to get out on her, which we didn't do," Pittman said.

Johnson, also sleight of build, displayed she was much more than a shooter, cutting through the defense on quick drives to the basket and displaying athletic moves on the fast break.

"We knew she was a great shooter," Shirrell said. "We knew she was either going to take the shot or penetrate. I think our kids were worried more about the penetration. We tried to make some adjustments, but when you're hot like that, it's hard to stop."

The Mules went ahead by 20 points in the third quarter and led 56-41 at the close of the third period.

Johnson said it was the first time the Mules have won three straight district championships.

"It's an honor to be the first team to win three districts in a row," Johnson said.

Marissa Webb added 16 points for Poplar Bluff.

Freshman Chelsea Vinson also reached double figures for Central, finishing with 12 points.

Pittman closed out her career with 37 points in the district tournament.

"Sadie is a gutsy player," Shirrell said. "She's worked for everything she's got this year. She played hard. She's had a virus since Tuesday. She's a little under the weather, but she gutted it out the last two games and really played well."

Poplar Bluff 19 19 18 14 -- 70

Central 16 12 13 14 -- 55

POPLAR BLUFF (70) -- Ruthie Johnson 31, Dennisha Rice 4, Chelsea Darnell 6, Abby Ivie 5, Kelsey Bates 4, Marissa Webb 16, Courtney Knuckles 4. FG 27, FT 8-10, F 9. (3-pointers: Johnson 8. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (55) -- Sadie Pittman 19, Farrah Malik 4, Chelsea Pannier 6, Paige Smith 8, Starr Harris 6, Chelsea Vinson 12. FG 27, FT 1-5, F 12. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)