PERFECTION ACHIEVED: Donettes beat Lady Mules, complete undefeated regular season

The Doniphan Donettes increased their perfect record to 24-0 with a 69-34 road victory over the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules on Friday night at the Poplar Bluff High School gym, completing an undefeated regular season.

The Lady Mules dropped to 7-17 for the year.

Doniphan’s Carsyn Hagood led all scorers with 16 points while Donette teammates Sarah Owens had 14 and Kenzie Reedus scored 13.

Poplar Bluff’s leading scorers were Kennedy Zgaynor with 13 points and Abby Wilson with 12.

“I’m proud of them, proud of their effort tonight,” said Doniphan head coach Adam Epps. “It’s a big deal to go undefeated and I’m glad of that.

“That’s history for Doniphan basketball, but every single one of these girls would trade that for a district championship. It’s a big deal, but we’re chasing bigger things.”

The game started slowly, with Poplar Bluff possessing the ball for much of the first minute but unable to score. Doniphan’s first point came on an Ellie White free throw, and the Donettes only led 5-0 after the first three minutes.

Then Doniphan went to work.

Thanks to a stifling full-court press from Doniphan, the Lady Mules found few scoring chances, while turnovers and fouls allowed the Donettes to open a 14-0 lead. The Lady Mules didn’t score a field goal until 4:20 of the first quarter.

With the first quarter score at 24-6, the Donettes outscored Poplar Bluff 20-8 in the second to go into halftime leading 44-14.

The Lady Mules came out in the third quarter with better luck scoring, putting in eight points in the first few minutes of the half, but the Doniphan defense fought for each position on every possession, turning Poplar Bluff’s turnovers into fast breaks and easy layups.

Poplar Bluff scored 15 points to Doniphan’s 17 in the third, but the fourth quarter still opened with the Donettes holding a commanding 61-29 lead.

With the continuous clock in the fourth quarter, the scoring was reduced to 8-5 in favor of Doniphan, who played most of its bench in the final minutes.

Up next for both teams is district tournament play. Doniphan has a first-round bye as the top seed in Class 4 and will play Wednesday night, while the Lady Mules are seeded eighth in Class 6 and will face top-seeded Cor Jesu Academy the same night.