ORAN GIRLS SLIP PAST NEELYVILLE, INTO SECTIONALS

SIKESTON -- Ashley Dirnberger scored just two points, but those two points were the two biggest points of the basketball game.

Dirnberger hit two free throws with 16 seconds left as Oran (15-9) advanced in the girls state playoffs Monday with a 41-40 win in a Class 1A regional game at Sikeston Field House.

"When Ashley was fouled I was confident," said Oran coach Tom Anderson. "I thought Ashley was going to be the one tonight. She's a good free-throw shooter and she stepped up and hit both of them.

"The school is excited. We had a prep rally (Monday) and this thing has caught fire in the hallways. These girls have worked so hard to get here. This will do more for the girls program than you can ever imagine. We have a good nucleus coming back and we'll have a solid program."

With the win, Oran advances to Wednesday's sectional play in Poplar Bluff.

With :34.4 left on the clock and Oran leading 39-38, the Lady Eagles' Maria Eftink stood at the line to shoot two free throws. Eftink missed both shots, but Tawana Johnson turned the ball over in the lane with :18 to go and Ashley Dirnberger was immediately fouled.

Dirnberger made both free throws and Oran had a 41-38 lead with :16 left.

Johnson went in for an uncontested layup with four seconds left, but Neelyville needed a three to send the game into overtime.

"That was probably my fault," said Neelyville coach Charles Patterson. "We were trying to get a three for (Jill) Spargo but they had her covered and she panicked a bit. She was just trying to make a play and it was a heat-of-the-moment thing."

Sara Heisserer led Oran with 20 points, followed by Eftink with 14.

Both teams got off to slow starts as the game was still 2-1 halfway through the first quarter.

But Oran went on a 10-2 run to end the first quarter with a 12-4 lead.

Patterson thought Oran's height advantage was a big key, especially early.

"Their high post bothered us more than I thought," said Patterson. "We're undersized every game, but not that much undersized. Our defense was decent, but they could just throw it right over us. But we had a chance to win the game and that's all you can ask."

Neelyville, which was cold in the first quarter, suddenly found some shots in the second and tied the game at 16 at the 1:24 mark. Thanks in part to two 3-pointers by Spargo, The Lady Tigers outscored Oran 14-8 in the second quarter. But Oran, despite turning the ball over eight times in the second quarter alone, sustained a 20-18 lead going into halftime.

Spargo hit four threes in the game, but ended up with just 12 points. Johnson, who averages more than 20 points per game, scored 14 points to lead Neelyville.

Oran kept a four to six point lead for most of the third quarter until Spargo hit a three at the :56 mark to get Neelyville to within 30-29. On the next possession, Eva Smody hit a short baseline jumper with :15 to go to give the Lady Tigers a 31-30 lead going into the final eight minutes.

On the Lady Eagles' first possession of the fourth quarter, Heisserer gave Oran a 33-31 lead on a conventional 3-point play. Neelyville came back on its next possession and after stalling for about two minutes, Spargo banked in a three from the top of the key to give the Lady Eagles a 34-33 lead with 5:02 left.

Eftink answered with a spin move in the paint with about 4 minutes left to give Oran a 35-34 lead.

But Neelyville answered again and took a 36-35 with 3:14 to go.

Twenty seconds later, Heisserer hit a jumper to give Oran a 37-36 lead.

The score remained 37-36 until Heisserer hit a 15-footer with 1:09 left.

Johnson quickly responded with a coast-to-coast layup to trim Neelyville's deficit to 39-38 with :51 to go.