SCC decks No. 1 Delta

POPLAR BLUFF -- Scott County Central exorcised some sectional demons on Tuesday and ended Delta's perfect season with a 44-40 win in a Class 1 girls sectional.

The Bravettes had lost to Delta (26-1) three times this season, and had lost the past two sectional meetings with the Bobcats.

Scott County will make its first quarterfinal appearance since 2004 when it faces Walnut Grove (25-3) on Saturday at West Plains.

"We came out strong, ready to play," Scott County coach Semona Penrod said. "You could see a difference when they came into the building. You could see this was for all the marbles. Emotions had built up. The children knew what they had to do and how they had to do it."

Scott County (20-7) jumped to a 7-0 lead and forced several early Delta turnovers. The lead was 11-3 before Delta began to claw back.

Delta sophomore Jodi Menz rebounded her own shot during the second half of Tuesday's sectional game. (Kit Doyle)

Three first-quarter 3-pointers by the Bobcats helped knot the score at 11-11 with 1:15 remaining in the first, but two turnovers helped the Bravettes push the lead back to 17-11 after one quarter.

Delta cut the lead to 17-15, but the Bravettes came back with a run to lead 27-17 at halftime.

"When you have good teams, each team is going to make some runs," Delta coach Randy White said. "You just hope you make one of the first ones and the last one."

Bravettes senior Brittney Peet, a four-year starter, had 15 points at halftime.

The Bobcats used another run to cut the lead to 28-27 late in the third quarter, as Jodi Menz collected several offensive rebounds.

Delta's last run cut the lead to 41-39 with less than 2 minutes remaining, but Scott County hit three free throws down the stretch to hang on.

"They just hit some big shots," White said. "They're scrappy and have good quickness. They just hit some big baskets and hit some free throws late, which you've got to do."

Scott County had dropped its last two meetings with Delta by a combined three points, and the Bravettes showed from the start they were ready to make that final step.

"We looked like a different team, which made their children not look like the same team," Penrod said. "We did a real good job covering all their outside shooters, and they've got No. 22 [Ashley Deprow], who's been playing strong lately.

"I was a little scared cause we weren't hitting the boards [heading into the fourth quarter]. We got a timeout and talked about it, and when they decided to play tough, there was a change."

Peet had all 18 of her points by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, Jamisha Williams scored five points, and freshman Markita Mosley hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to push the lead to four points.

Kaci Menz led the Bobcats with 18 points and Jodi Menz had nine. Kaci Menz, along with all-state guard Shea Smith, Kayla Seabaugh and Tiffany Amelunke are Delta's four seniors. All four played a big part in Delta's third-place finish last year.

"I'm very proud of the kids," White said. "They played hard. It's really been an enjoyable team to coach. We'll miss our four seniors. They've been a huge part of the program the last four years."

Scott County Central 44, Delta 40

Scott County 17 10 5 12 -- 44

Delta 11 6 12 11 -- 40

SCOTT COUNTY (44) -- Brittney Peet 18, Jamisha Williams 5, Markita Mosley 6, Brianna Johnson 3, Amanda Lawless 6, Samantha Jones 6. FG 16, FT 10-22, F 14 (3-pointers: Peet 1, Williams 1, fouled out: none)

DELTA (40) -- Kaci Menz 18, Jodi Menz 9, Ashley Deprow 7, Shea Smith 1, Tiffany Amelunke 2, Sarah Keys 1, Sara Blattel 2. FG 13, FT 9-16, F 15 (3-pointers: K. Menz 3, Deprow 2, fouled out: Deprow)