Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team collects district title, stays unbeaten

The Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team held a comfortable nine-point lead at halftime of the Class 3 District 2 championship game on Friday night, but coach Sam Sides wasn't entirely pleased with the way his team closed out the second quarter.

"We gave up a couple easy buckets and let loose a couple times," Sides said. "We didn't check people off the boards, and we tried to emphasize one possession at a time. We can't do it. Good teams don't do that. You don't give the other team a crack."

Saxony junior Raegan Wieser said there was one part of Sides' halftime message that stood out.

"If you want to go to state, you've got to step it up," Wieser said, relaying the message. "This is our stepping stone to state, and that's all we had to hear."

The Crusaders opened the second half on a 16-0 run and never looked back on their way to a 62-39 victory that sealed their third consecutive district title and kept their perfect season intact.

They will face District 1 champion Twin Rivers in a sectional game at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Dexter High School.

"It's a great feeling," Wieser said of the title. "We just want it so bad. We work hard, and when you work hard and play together, it's fun. It never gets old."

Saxony made 10 of its 26 shots from the floor in the first half but made seven of its first nine attempts after the break.

"We moved the ball a little bit better maybe," Sides said. "Most of the time [when] you get more into the game, I think you get loosened up a little bit to shoot the ball too where earlier in the game you probably get a little tighter and it's a little hard to pull the trigger. I've got some good girls who will step up. They always have anyway."

One thing that was consistent throughout the game was the Crusaders' suffocating defense, which has become a trademark of their team and season.

Saxony Lutheran coach Sam Sides talks to his team during a timeout in the third quarter in the championship game with Arcadia Valley at the Class 3 District 2 tournament Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 in Scott City, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

They held Arcadia Valley to 7 of 23 shooting in the first half while forcing 11 turnovers.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," Sides said. "We're a step faster in most cases. They've got some good scorers. They've only lost three games all year and every one has been to a top four or five team, so they're a good team. They're solid. We tried to put a lot of pressure on them and get them to turn it over, and I think we did that. We didn't want to give any good looks because they can shoot the ball. I thought we did a good job.

"I was concerned about our rebounding, but for the most part we were solid on the boards and that was a big part of it, too. I thought overall our defensive pressure was great, and that's what we tried to achieve."

Saxony led 52-26 by the end of the third quarter after holding Arcadia Valley to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting in the period.

"We're all about winning the third quarter," Saxony junior Grace Mirly said. "If we set the tone in the third quarter we know that we've set the standard for the next half."

The Crusaders dominant win came despite the absence of starter Maddie Brune, whose flight home from a soccer showcase in Texas was delayed.

Brune averages 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 points per game but is perhaps more importantly one of the team's most vocal leaders. Many of her teammates referred to her "pregame pep talks" as a key to their team during last year's final four appearance.

Saxony Lutheran's Raegan Wieser drives against Arcadia Valley's Megan Williams during the second quarter in the championship game of the Class 3 District 2 tournament Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 in Scott City, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"We definitely missed her out there and also pregame, but she sent us a text message," Wieser said. "She sent us a pregame talk. She was still there. She was with us in spirit, and we just knew that we had to step it up that much more without one of our starters here, and we did. It was great."

Saxony improved to 28-0 with the victory, but the team hasn't spent much time discussing perfection.

"We don't think about our record, rankings or anything like that," Wieser said. "That doesn't mean anything. We always say before our games that any team can be beaten on any given day, so we always have to come out prepared to play mentally."

That's something the team, which is anchored by a five junior starters, is better equipped to do this year than a year ago when it finished fourth in the state, according to Mirly.

"I think definitely we've gotten a lot more mature, and we're just a lot smarter," she said. "We just have this deeper drive in us to do bigger things than we did last year."

Arcadia Valley 9 10 7 13 -- 39

Saxony 18 10 24 10 -- 62

ARCADIA VALLEY (39) -- Jerrika Brockes 6, Rebecca Buffington 4, Kristin Williams 4, Megan Williams 4, Savannah Price 4, Ann Thomas 14, Brian Johnson 3. FG 15, FT 6-8, F 21. (3-pointers: Brockes 2, Johnson 1. Fouled out: none.)

SAXONY (62) -- Laurel Mueller 1, Grace Mirly 16, Ali Galemmo 3, Brianna Mueller 18, Tess Daniel 1, Masyn McWilliams 4, Raegan Wieser 19. FG 22, FT 12-24, F 13. (3-pointers: Mirly 2, Mueller 1, Wieser 3. Fouled out: none.)