Kennett defeats Poplar Bluff to end regular season

KENNETT — Kennett (17-9) and Poplar Bluff (12-14) girls met up for both teams’ final regular season game of the season Thursday night. However, the contest was less about adding a win to their season records and more about conditioning and maintaining form in anticipation of district tournaments next week.

“It was a good win,” New said. “Poplar Bluff’s team played pretty well and they got a couple nice wins after we played them the first time, so it was good to play at home one last time and play well. This time of year you’re not practicing as long and it’s hard to condition during practice, and it’s also good to get some more game experience.”

After Kennett came out on top of a game against Poplar Bluff 49-44 exactly one week ago, both Kennett coach Aaron New and Poplar Bluff coach John David Patillo knew they could use one more night of intense preparation before their chase for postseason success.

Kennett would have entered their district tournament with a ten-day layoff while Poplar Bluff would have gone 11-straight nights without a game.

Kennett came out on top once again, this time 53-44, but what lies on the horizon is more important than that for the Indians and the Mules.

And as players from both teams warmed up before the start of the game, the atmosphere in the nearly empty Kennett High School gym felt more akin to the lead up to a scrimmage or friendly intra-squad practice. Once the game began, however, that all changed.

“The big thing is Kennett’s got a good team, they’re physical, and we needed to see this,” Patillo said. “The way they play us is really tough, our girls have to match their physicality and sometimes we struggle with that. The Kennett team is going to be a lot like the Oakville team we play in our first round game, so this was good for us.”

The Indians shot out to a 11-1 lead with five layups and a free throw, only broken up by a free throw by Poplar Bluff’s Clara Rahlmann. The Mules’ Kennedy Zgaynor and Madelyn Eads each put in three-pointers before the end of the first quarter, which saw Kennett lead 15-9.

Poplar Bluff�s Madelyn Eads (0) takes a three-point shot in a game against Kennett Thursday at Kennett High School. Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Kennett’s Lani Heeb pushed the hosts’ lead to 24-9 early in the second quarter with a pair of three-point shots. With another by E'Marriha Johnson, Kennett led 29-18 going into the halftime break. Kennett’s press limited the Mules to nine points in both quarters after successfully contending with Poplar Bluff’s more than capable long range game.

“They shot the ball better tonight than the first time we played, but defensively I thought our press did the best that they’ve done in the first half of a game,” New said. “We kind of got out of it there at the end, but we really made them work for shots.”

Even while Kennett held a substantial lead, Poplar Bluff consistently executed their fair share of blocked shots and steals to make it difficult for the Indians. After back to back three-pointers by Kennett’s Johnson and Poplar Bluff’s Zgaynor, a steal by Eads ended the third quarter with Kennett leading 43-31.

The Mules outshot Kennett for the first time in the fourth quarter, 13-10, but the effort wasn’t enough for a comeback.

“We finally got some stuff going, but we were playing more passive early on,” Patillo said. “When we started picking up our pace, we started playing better. Missing one of our post players hurt us, but all in all I wasn’t displeased. We came down and knew what we were going to face, and we were just going to try to execute. We weren’t as aggressive in the first half, but we picked it up in the second half.”

Kennett’s Tayja Carter managed a layup after several highly-contested attempted shots to open the fourth quarter, and Aneika Farmer picked off a long Mules pass and put in a layup to follow.

Zgaynor stepped up and sank a nothing but net three-pointer to answer and another by Eads cut the gap to ten points once again with just under five minutes remaining. They maintained the margin until the final buzzer, and with a final lay-in by Kennett’s Johnson, it’s on to districts.

Kennett's Tayja Carter (30) attempts a layup against Poplar Bluff Thursday night.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

E'Marriha Johnson led the Indians with 15 points. Tayja Carter added 12, Lani Heeb added 10, Jayla Moore and Taleigh Harrell added five and Aneika Farmer scored four.

Kennedy Zgaynor paced Poplar Bluff with 14 points while Madelyn Eads scored 12, Adrianne Casey scored 10, and Clara Rahlmann scored six.

Kennett drew the sixth seed in the Class 4 District 1 tournament which begins next Tuesday at Dexter High School. The Indians play third-seeded Fredericktown at 7 p.m.

Poplar Bluff travels to Arnold for the Class 6 District 1 tournament in which the Mules are the sixth seed. They play third-seeded Oakville next Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

“I feel good,” Patillo said. “I think in our district, the first two teams are really good, and then after that everyone is very similar. So I think we have a good shot of winning that first game and then hopefully we get that shot and go compete.”