Portageville advances to state quarterfinals with decisive win over Woodland

SIKESTON, Mo. — Portageville used its athleticism and aggressiveness to overwhelm Woodland in the MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional Round on Monday, Feb. 28.

The Lady Bulldogs' (23-6) defensive pressure and rebounding proved too much for the Cardinals (13-16) and secured a 61-25 victory at the Sikeston Fieldhouse.

“We came out and handled ourselves well,” said Portageville coach Kellye Fowler. “We weren’t nervous and the girls played hard from the opening tip. We were able to make adjustments and we had some girls step up off the bench when we got into some foul trouble. We had a complete game out of all the girls.

Portageville's Laney Stone (5) calls out a play during a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“Coming in we hoped we would have the athletic advantage,” she continued. “Just being a little quicker. That’s why we wanted to apply the pressure defensively and hopefully, it would turn into easy points for us.”

Portageville didn’t waste any time taking a commanding lead. Laney Stone converted a 3-point play for the first points of the game and Jayla Weddington scored on a putback to make it 5-0.

Woodland's Mallary Barks (13) takes an outside shot during a 61-25 loss to Portageville in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Caroline Rhodes answered with a finish through contact and knocked down the ensuing free throw to narrow the lead to 5-3, the Lady Bulldogs came right back with a score in transition by Aubrey Greenwell after Weddington grabbed a steal and made the pass ahead.

Amiyah Saxton buried a jump shot from the top of the key and Stone made a layup after following her own missed shot to increase the lead to 14-4 with two minutes and 31 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Portageville made a backbreaker play to extend the lead to 20-6 shortly before the end of the opening quarter when Stone nailed a 3-pointer. Stone hit the shot after the Lady Bulldogs hauled in their fifth offensive rebound of the possession.

Portageville's Jayla Weddington (3) looks for an open teammate during a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“It’s incredible having teammates that can make that happen,” Stone said. “They get us a lot of second chances.

“We played together and as a team,” Stone continued. “We’ve all been wanting this for a long time. We wanted it really bad. We played tough. We knew what we needed to do and we got it done. When we play together, that is when we play our best.”

Woodland's Sarah Wilkinson (11) drives during a 61-25 loss to Portageville in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Portageville continued to extend the lead, frequently capitalizing on more takeaways and second-chance opportunities.

Stone hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter. The Lady Bulldogs extended the lead to 20 points for the first time when Stone connected with a cutting Taryn Irby, who finished the play with a contested layup with 3:17 left until halftime.

Portageville held onto a 20-point lead at halftime, 36-16, after the team exchanged a couple of baskets to end the second quarter.

Portageville's Taryn Irby (33) drives during a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“We were outrebounded in the district championship against Twin Rivers,” Fowler said. “So that was definitely a focus coming in. We knew we had to get on the offensive glass to give ourselves second chance opportunities to score. The team really bought into that, especially our big Amiyah Saxton. She was working hard but they weren’t letting her get a lot of touches. She was going up after every rebound and was able to score her points that way.

“We knew Woodland likes to go high-low a lot and we were able to limit those touches,” Fowler continued. “Offensively, we moved the ball well and attacked them hard. A combination of those things helped us to be able to pull out the win tonight.”

Portageville put the game even further out of reach in the second half, outscoring their opponents 25-9. The Lady Bulldogs pushed the lead to 30 points late in the fourth quarter when Irby made another layup.

Portageville celebrates after a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“I’m very proud of these young ladies,” said Woodland coach Paul Lynch. “They’ve battled all year long just to get here. I don’t think we had our best performance tonight. Credit goes to Portageville. They’re a very good team. They hit the boards extremely hard. We just didn’t rebound well early and dug ourselves too big of a hole to overcome.”

Stone led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points, while Saxton added 11, Ja'Niya Smith and Glo Farmer each contributed eight, and Weddington and Irby each finished with seven.

“[Stone] has been our leader on the floor all year,” Fowler said. “She played really hard tonight and knocked down those two big 3-pointers. Those were huge for us in spreading the floor. Scoring or not, she is always a big contributor for us, but tonight it was nice for her to stay after it and continue to go hard to the basket.”

Portageville cheerleaders and student section cheers on the Lady Bulldogs during a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Portageville will play No. 6 West County in a Class 3 quarterfinal at the Farmington Civic Center on Saturday, March 4 at 1:45 p.m.

“We just have to continue playing physically and getting points from our defense,” Fowler said. “We have to be smart with the basketball and play team basketball. That’s what we have preached all year. We can play with anybody if we play hard and together.”

Woodland graduates two starters but returns a talented young core of players, led by Barks, who finished with a team-high 10 points.

Portageville's Ja'Niya Smith (23) sprints past a defender during a 61-25 win over Woodland in a MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 28. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“[Seniors Sarah Wilkinson and Caroline Rhodes] have been on three district champions teams in a row and their roles have changed each year,” Lynch said. “This year they had to step up and be leaders. They did a tremendous job of that. Especially the last month of the season, helping us get on a roll. They’re great young ladies and I wish them the best moving forward.

“We started two, somethings three sophomores,” he continued. “We hope we can continue the consistency. We have a good group coming back. We just have to stay hungry and we ready to work hard to make in four [district championships] in a row.”

__PORTAGEVILLE 61, WOODLAND 25__

Woodland 7 9 7 2 — 25

Portageville 20 16 13 12 — 61

__Woodland (25) —__ Mallary Barks 10, Caroline Rhodes 9, Carrie Long 2, Sarah Wilkinson 2, Sara Koenig 2. FG: 8. FT: 8-13. F: 14. (3-pointers: Barks 1. Fouled out: none.)

__Portageville (61) —__ Laney Stone 15, Amiyah Saxton 11, Ja’Niya Smith 8, Glo Farmer 8, Jayla Weddington 7, Taryn Irby 7, Addison Cayton 2, Aubrey Greenwell 2, Lily Priggel 1. FG: 24. FT: 10-24. F: 13. (3-pointers: Stone 2, Irby 1. Fouled out: none.)