Kelly rallies for revenge win over Portageville

BENTON, Mo. — A week after the Portageville boys stunned Kelly, the Lady Hawks (14-11) exacted sweet revenge with a nail-biting 49-48 home victory on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

“It was a great comeback win,” said Kelly coach Matthew Blissett. “Our defense led the way as we took new approaches.”

The Lady Bulldogs (19-5) jumped to a 20-7 lead after Ja’Niya Smith’s strong nine-point opening quarter.

Kelly found their footing, battling back through determined rebounding, stifling defense, and minimizing costly turnovers.

“As assistant coach Jaci Crank would say today we showed resilience,” Blissett said. “We definitely took a gut punch in the first quarter but the girls found their groove.”

Despite still trailing 34-24 at halftime, the Lady Hawks surged in the third quarter, fueled by an aggressive offense that narrowed Portageville's lead to 43-39 at the end of the third quarter.

“At halftime, the only things I talked about were the three keys we had written on the board from pregame: Rebound, get stops, take care of the basketball,” Blissett added.

Kelly's defensive switcheroo in the fourth quarter proved decisive. A mix of press, box-and-one, and matchup zone threw Portageville off their rhythm, limiting them to a mere five points and clinching the comeback win.

Kristin Grogan and Jada Griggs paced the Lady Hawks with 13 points each, while Taryn Irby tallied 16 and Smith notched 12 for the Lady Bulldogs.

Each team plays its regular-season finale on Thursday, Feb. 15.

Kelly travels to Neelyville (15-10) while Portageville is on the road at East Prairie (3-18).

Kelly is the No. 3 seed in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 2 Tournament and will take on sixth-seeded Clearwater (6-15) on Monday, Feb. 19 at Bloomfield High School.

Portageville received the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 2, District 1 Tournament and will face the winner of fourth-seeded Hayti (9-15) and fifth-seeded Holcomb (11-13) on Feb. 21 at Portageville.

__KELLY 49, PORTAGEVILLE 48__

P’Ville 20 14 9 5 — 48

Kelly 7 17 15 10 — 49

Portageville (48) — Taryn Irby 16, Ja’Niya Smith 12, Aubrey Greenwell 8, Laney Stone 6, Glo Farmer 4, Jayla Weddington 2. FG: 20. FT: 3-8. F: 18. (3-pointers: Irby 4, Stone 1. Fouled out: Smith.)

Kelly (49) — Kristin Grogan 13, Jada Griggs 13, Ava LeGrand 9, Kayleigh Holman 6, Macy Burger 5, Brooke Dirnberger 2, Gwen Essner 1. FG: 17. FT: 12-19. F: 13. (3-pointers: Grogan 1, Burger 1, LeGrand 1. Fouled out: None.)