Scott County Central girls basketball team makes long climb to district title

MORLEY, Mo. -- Just a few years ago the Scott County Central girls basketball team, the owner of seven state championships, didn't have enough players to field a team.

Junior Mikaela Blissett remembers that season, and she remembers how she knew she would help change that.

"I knew we were going to change that because we've been playing together since third and fourth grade, so we knew we were going to be pretty good when we were in high school," Blissett said.

She and the rest of the Bravettes proved that true by capturing the Class 1 District 2 championship on their home floor with a 79-25 rout of Delta on Friday night.

"It's so exciting that we got to bring it back and get the Bravettes back on the map," Blissett said. "People know about us again."

Blissett is among a group of juniors who started playing varsity as freshmen, and which took some lumps along the way, including from Delta in district title games.

"I think it made us better along the road," said junior Derion Ditto about the team's steep learning curve. "It made us stronger, too, because they beat us up a lot."

The Bravettes scored the first seven points of Friday's game and never trailed, although their start wasn't necessarily smooth. They turned the ball over four times in just over the first three minutes of play.

"They were very impatient," first-year SCC coach Matt Limbaugh said. "With that 1-2-2 zone that Delta was running, you have to be patient and kind of look for the cuts through the middle, and we were trying to force things.

"We were trying to shoot the ball up from 15. That's just not a high-percentage shot. We try to emphasize high-percentage shots. I called a timeout there and tried to get it in their heads -- look for the cuts coming through. I thought our offense really picked up after that."

SCC was able to extend its lead even through some early offensive trouble by forcing Delta into turnover after turnover. The Bobcats committed 12 turnovers in the first quarter and nine more in the second.

"We just wanted to show everybody that we were capable of doing it," Ditto said. "They always doubted us. We just wanted to show everybody we weren't young anymore and we could actually come out there and do it."

Ditto finished with 19 points, but her passing was what stood out.

"Derien all year has been about assist, assist, assist and has passed up points," Limbaugh said. "She averages double-digit assists per game. She was able to find her shot today, and I'm sure glad of it."

Blissett had a game-high 26 points, while SCC's lone senior, Ann Dennis, added 21.

SCC will face District 1 winner Naylor at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Bloomfield High School. The teams met during the regular season. The Bravettes staged a big rally in the game before eventually losing by seven points.

"Naylor is an excellent team," Limbaugh said. "They have an excellent coach. It's an excellent program. They're very fundamentally sound. We're going to have to play our 'A' game to even contest with them."

Delta 6 5 7 7 -- 25

SCC 15 27 21 16 -- 79

DELTA (25) -- Tia May 2, Machela VanGennip 15, Erin Bond 4, Chasity Taylor 2, Rachel Birkman 2. FG 11, FT 0-2, F 7. (3-pointers: VanGennip 3. Fouled out: none)

SCC (79) -- Mikaela Blissett 26, Derien Ditto 19, Johniqua Fort 7, Abby Ross 4, Ann Dennis 21, Zairie Davis 2. FG 35, FT 3-6, F 4. (3-pointers: Ditto 4, Fort 1, Dennis 3. Fouled out: none)