Kelly opens district play with convincing win over Clearwater

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Kelly opened its MSHSAA Class 3, District 2 Tournament campaign with a dominant 79-49 victory over Clearwater on Monday, Feb. 19.

Jada Griggs led the offensive surge with 22 points, while Kristin Grogan added 18 and Ava LeGrand chipped in 13 to highlight the team’s deep bench, and the Lady Hawks (15-12) seven 3-pointers showcased their sharp shooting throughout the contest.

Kelly’s defensive intensity set the tone early, holding sixth-seeded Clearwater (6-18) to just four points in the first quarter.

“We came out doing a very good job defensively," said Kelly coach Matthew Blissett. "We've played some tough teams towards the end of our schedule and they have made us a better team. The biggest positive is everyone got minutes and contributed in some way and we survived to play another game."

Blissett emphasized the importance of three key factors: rebounding, ball control, and defensive stops.

"The story of the game is what I have written on the board pregame for the last five or so games we had," Blissett explained. "You'll win a lot of these games if you can be better at those three things. We won in those three categories tonight."

Kelly's next test comes in the semifinals, as they face No. 3 seed Scott City (17-8) on Wednesday.

The teams split their two previous matchups this season. The Lady Rams won 56-43 in the conference tournament. The Lady Hawks avenged that loss with a 50-44 victory on Jan. 30.

__KELLY 79, CLEARWATER 49__

Clearwater 4 15 17 13 — 49

Kelly 19 22 23 15 — 79

Clearwater (49) — Mylee Graham 20, Makinlee Keister 17, Janae Keister 8, Mattie Graham 4. FG: 15. FT: 13-19. F: 19. (3-pointers: Makinlee Keister 4, Mylee Graham 2. Fouled out: None.)

Kelly (79) — Jada Griggs 22, Kristin Grogan 18, Ava LeGrand 13, Macy Burger 9, Kayleigh Holman 6, Blaire Riley 4, Brooke Dirnberger 4, Gwen Essner 3. FG: 29. FT: 14-28. F: 15. (3-pointers: LeGrand 2, Grogan 2, Burger 2, Essner 1. Fouled out: None.)