Scott City girls basketball team upsets Delta in title game of Scott-Mississippi Conference tourney

~ The Rams won the Scott-Miss. Conference tourney 56-51

The Delta Bobcats had no answer for Scott City's Katie Hogan.

It didn't help that the Rams' Andrea Gray made them pay every time they tried.

Hogan and Gray combined for 46 of the Rams' 56 points to help host Scott City upend the top-seeded Bobcats 56-51 in the Scott-Mississippi Conference tournament championship game Thursday.

"I never told any of my other girls that they had to get the ball into her," Scott City coach Ricky Keller said about Hogan. "But they knew deep down that's where it needed to go, and they found a way to get the ball to her in the right times. And we had some other girls step up, like Gray step up and make some big shots at big times when she needed to and other times they knew where the ball needed to be and they got it there."

Hogan was unstoppable. The senior forward was 12 of 14 from inside the arc and 2 of 4 from beyond it. She also added a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.

Hogan finished with 34 points.

"We worked the ball around a lot, quickly around the outside," Hogan said. "I'd just move block to block and a lot of times they would get caught up in the 3-point line and guarding the ball and I'd get left one-on-one, and I took advantage of it."

When Delta (7-5) did attempt to double- and triple-team Hogan, she found a wide-open Gray, who hit clutch shot after clutch shot.

"They really shot the ball well," Delta coach Randy White said. "That little Gray girl's tough. You've got to get out and get on her. She got her feet set several times."

The game was tied 17-17 at the end of the first quarter. Hogan tallied 14 of her team's 17 points in the opening quarter.

Delta countered with a balanced attack from Machela VanGennip and Tori Burton.

Neither team gained more than a four-point advantage in the second quarter, and they headed to the intermission deadlocked at 26-26.

The teams played to a 35-35 tie with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third.

That's when the Rams (6-7) made their move.

Burton knocked down a jumper to put Delta up by a basket, but Gray responded with her third 3-pointer of the contest. Lyndsie Robert added a basket to a take a 40-37 lead.

Burton brought the Bobcats within one with a minute to play, but Alicia Kern knocked down a free throw and Lindsey Rendleman added a basket to give Scott City a 43-39 lead.

Delta was far from finished.

VanGennip tied the game at 45-45 on a layup with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left, but Hogan answered.

The senior netted two free throws then blocked a Burton 3-point attempt and caught the outlet pass to put the Rams back up 49-45 with just less than three minutes to play.

Delta tied it on a basket by VanGennip and two free throws by Lyndse Hamby.

Hamby drew a foul with 1:31 remaining and knocked down her first free throw, but the Bobcats were called for a lane violation that negated the free throw and gave the Rams possession.

"You've got to let those free throws hit," White said. "The best thing you can do is stand there and admire the shot. You don't want to do anything to take away your opportunity to score in a close game like that."

Gray made the Bobcats pay.

Hogan caught the ball in the block on the ensuing possession and immediately was tripled team. But she kicked it out to a wide-open Gray at the top of the key, and the senior buried the 3-pointer to take a 52-49 advantage.

It was only Gray's third game back after sitting out the first 10 contests while recovering from a fractured back.

"It feels amazing," Gray said. "Sitting on the bench watching the girls have an off season at the beginning, you can't help anyone. You're just sitting there doing nothing. Finally coming back, I just wanted to help out the team and get a ‘W.'"

Added Keller: "For her to step up like that is huge and it shows me we're going to be all right down the stretch. She came off a fractured back early in the year and she stepped right back in her role knocking down jump shots, and that's good signs for the team."

The two teams traded free throws to give Scott City a 54-51 lead. Delta controlled the ball with a little less than 30 seconds left, but Robert forced a turnover and added a basket at the buzzer to seal the title.

Burton paced Delta with 20 points, while VanGennip added 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Scott City 17 9 17 13 -- 56

Delta 17 9 13 12 -- 51

SCOTT CITY (56) -- Lyndsie Robert 4, Lindsey Rendleman 2, Katie Rhymer 2, Katie Hogan 34, Alicia Kern 2, Andrea Gray 12. FG 22. FT 6-10. F 14. (3-pointers: Hogan 2, Gray 4. Fouled out: none)

DELTA (51) -- Lyndse Hamby 10, Alysha Vessells 6, Machela VanGennip 15, Tori Burton 20, FG 22, FT 9-11, F 10. (3-pointers: Vessells 2, VanGennip, Burton. Fouled out: none)