Scott County Central's girls knock off Delta

DELTA, Mo. -- The scoreboard read "Scott County Central 56, Delta 34," but both coaches came away from Thursday night's Class 1 District 2 girls basketball championship game with smiles on their faces.

For Scott County Central coach Matt Limbaugh, it was knowing his Bravettes were headed on to next week's sectional play. For Delta coach Gary Poyner, it was seeing the future of his Bobcats' program.

"We still have a lot of stuff to work on," Limbaugh said after his squad defeated Delta for the second consecutive season in the district championship. "We still need to have a reason to come to practice, to stay motivated,"

SCC used its ball-hawking full-court press and dominating play inside to jump on the Bobcats early. The Bravettes led 15-2 after one period, limiting Delta to just one field goal in nine attempts and creating 10 turnovers. It was 30-14 at intermission, and the Bravettes were never really challenged in the second half.

"I felt the difference today was our press and forcing the turnovers, forcing them to make mistakes," Limbaugh said.

"The last time we played them, they didn't do really well with our pressure," senior point guard Derian Ditto said after the Bravettes forced 35 Delta turnovers for the game. "So we tried to do that and get as many turnovers as we could."

Johniqua Fort and Mikaela Blissett combined for 39 of Scott County Central's 56 points, with Fort scoring a game-high 20 on an assortment of drives and outside shots.

"I thought [Fort] played extremely well," Limbaugh said. "[Delta] really keyed on Mikaela, and had someone watching her the whole time. ... And [Fort] really stepped up and was that girl leading us in scoring today."

Fort had a pair of 3-pointers among her seven field goals and was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

"I was confident," Fort said. "Coach had us prepared all week. They were probably going to double-team Mikaela, so he told us it would be important that we make shots, so I just wanted to knock down the shots to help us win."

"Her offense is really good," Blissett said of Fort. "She's been working on her shot a lot, and whenever we need a little jump shot, she's always there to get those."

Poyner and the Bobcats were left looking to the future, which is just fine with him. Delta started two freshmen and a sophomore.

"I was very proud of the things we were able to accomplish at times in the ballgame," Poyner said, noting his young squad hung close to the more-seasoned Bravettes from the second period on. "At times tonight we handled the press well and were able to get the ball down the floor, and we were able to get good shots. Unfortunately, the shots didn't fall for us like we needed them to. But the execution was there, and that's what we were looking for."

Freshman Krista Valentine led Delta with six points, her two 3-pointers both coming in the fourth quarter.

"When you go up against a group like that, it can be a tough task," Poyner said. "But I thought my girls answered the call and went toe-to-toe with them and battled the best we can."

Delta 2 12 8 10 -- 32

SCC 15 15 14 12 -- 56

DELTA (32) -- Krista Valentine 6, Carrie Waddle 5, Erin Bond 4, Chasity Taylor 2, Jaime Hodge 2, Shiann Clayborn 2, Meagan Parker 4, Cooper Simpson 2, Rachel Kirkman 3. FG: 13. FT: 2-4. Total fouls: 16. (3-pointers: Valentine 2, Waddle 1, Birkman 1. Fouled out: Taylor)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (56) -- Mikaela Blissett 19, Johniqua Fort 20, Derien Ditto 7, Abby Ross 6, Maddison Avance 6. FG: 20. FT: 14-24. Total fouls: 9. (3-pointers: Fort 2. Fouled out: none)