Scott County Central girls claim Scott-Miss. tournament crown

~ SCC finally defeated Oran 62-57 in the teams' third meeting this season

By SCOTT ROSCOVIUS ~ Special to the Missourian

MORLEY, Mo. -- Having already lost to Oran twice so far this season, the Scott County Central girls basketball team sensed Friday night's matchup would be different.

And the Bravettes couldn't have picked a better time to knock off their nemesis.

Scott County beat Oran at its own game in the championship of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament, running stride for stride with the Eagles and coming away with an impressive 62-57 victory on their home court.

Scott County Central coach Matt Limbaugh talks to his players during a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Friday. More photos can be viewed at semoball.com.

"Oran's a great team, and they're well-coached, and they've given us two really good, close games, good battle games," a jubilant Scott County coach Matt Limbaugh said. "And we knew this was going to be a battle as well. I credit the girls for staying positive and still wanting that drive to finally get a good team like Oran. I'm really proud of the girls."

The tone was set early as Oran, capitalizing on three consecutive Scott County turnovers on its first three possessions, grabbed a quick 4-0 lead.

But Bravettes senior guard Abby Ross scored on a fast-break layup, then canned a short jumper to knot the score at 4-4.

Having risen from an early punch, Scott County was fearless the rest of the way.

"I just feel like our effort was more there," Limbaugh said. "I feel like we got in the lane more. I feel like we settled for a lot of outside shots the previous two games. I felt like we made an effort to get in the lane more, which is our strong point. I felt that was the difference today."

"We've been wanting Oran since the first time we played them," Ross said. "The third time is the best time to win. Especially when it matters like this."

The Bravettes benefitted from sub-par games from Oran senior guard Addie Kielhofner and Chrissy Sauceda. Kielhofner makes her living getting steals that lead to layups, and although she came away with nine thefts, they led to just nine points. Sauceda, Oran's 3-point threat, was saddled with foul trouble throughout and hit just one 3-pointer, and that came with just 10 seconds remaining and the outcome no longer in doubt.

"The girls knew their assignments well," Limbaugh said. "Oran moves the ball very well on offense, and we try to teach the girls to ... know their assignments and know their roles. Even though we had a couple of assignments that were missed, I feel like we made some big plays in big-time situations that got us good steals."

Although Scott County committed 23 turnovers, only nine came in the second half. The Bravettes also hit on 22 of 54 shots from the field. Meanwhile, the Eagles committed an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers and hit just 23 of 67 field goals.

"That's the old saying, it's tough to beat a good team three times," Oran coach Ethan Evans said. "Being here on their home floor, I knew it was gonna be tough to beat them again. But their girls, they got after it."

Evans admitted the early foul trouble hampered his squad. Sauceda and Ashlyn McIntosh each had two fouls midway through the first quarter and never seemed to get into the flow of the game. Senior forward Taylor Nenninger picked up the scoring pace, finishing with 20 points, but Oran's offense never seemed to be in sync.

"With Chrissy going to the bench, teams are able to pack in that zone a little bit tighter on us, and worry about our cutters," he said. "They didn't have to worry about somebody knocking it down from the outside consistently. Foul trouble hurt us pretty big there."

And Scott County took advantage, with senior Mikaela Blissett slicing and dicing the Oran defense for a game-high 21 points, including nine in the fourth quarter to help the Bravettes stave off any Oran rally.

"I think we tried to play the whole, entire game with intensity," Blissett said. "We didn't do that before."

It wasn't simply a one-person show for Scott County. Ross finished with 13 points, and three other Bravettes scored at least seven points. And junior Ziaire Davis came off the bench to score four points and contribute some timely defense and rebounds for the Bravettes.

"Ziaire is a big-time player for us," Limbaugh said. "When she can get in the lane and cause havoc, we're a lot better team. If she can ever get consistent to where she's being a force down there, rebounding, putting up little put-backs, that's what we need."

SCC 13 16 15 18 -- 62

Oran 13 17 10 17 -- 57

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (62) -- Mikaela Blissett 21, LaQuisha Strickland 8, Johniqua Fort 9, Derien Ditto 7, Ziaire Davis 4, Abby Ross 13. FG: 22. FT: 15-26. Total fouls: 17. (3-pointers: Ditto 2, Strickland 1. Fouled out: none.)

ORAN (57) -- Addie Kielhofner 14, Ashlyn McIntosh 4, Taylor Nenninger 20, Allie Cummins 10, Tatum May 6, Chrissy Sauceda 3. FG: 23. FT: 8-15. Total fouls: 22. (3-pointers: Kielhofner 1, Nenninger 1, Sauceda 1. Fouled out: none.)