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Lady Tigers bulldoze Smith-Cotton in Wynn Gym
Nevada Daily Mail
Chalk up another blowout victory for the 2014-15 Nevada Lady Tigers basketball team.
Playing in front of a home crowd Tuesday night at Wynn Gym, the Lady Tigers thrashed Sedalia Smith-Cotton 61-31.
The final margin of victory wasn't indicative of the pummeling Smith-Cotton took, as Nevada led by as much as 37 early in the fourth quarter. Lady Tigers center Rilie Good put on a low-post offensive clinic, scoring at-will, primarily from the right block.
Nevada head coach Brent Bartlett said he was pleased with his team's effort, but not so much with Smith-Cotton's.
"I just felt like they were wanting the game to be over with," Bartlett said of Sedalia. "I just didn't see the effort that I saw down at their place. And that happens sometimes on long road trips like that. But I know they're well coached."
The victory improves Nevada to 19-4 (9-2 West Central Conference).
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, courtesy of Chloe Bartlett's breakaway layup and Morgan McNeley's mid-range jumper.
With just under six minutes to play in the first quarter, Sedalia's Kiara Williams knocked down a 3-pointer, trimming the Tigers lead to 4-3. With 5:18 showing on the clock, Williams drilled a trey from the right corner, handing Sedalia a 6-4 lead, marking the only time Smith-Cotton would a hold a lead.
"You could tell Sedalia definitely wanted a slow-paced game, and didn't want to run-and-gun with us," Bartlett said.
The Lady Tigers responded with a quick 5-0 run, capped by a straight-away McNeley three, putting Nevada in front 9-6.
With 90 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and Nevada leading 12-8, McNeley buried her second triple of the night, putting the Lady Tigers up seven.
The second quarter is where things began to spiral out of control for Smith-Cotton, as they were outscored 22-1 during the stanza.
"We did some trapping and that sped up the tempo and created some turnovers," Bartlett said. "And then I thought our girls did a nice job of knocking shots down."
Nevada opened the quarter with a Good layup off the right block to go up 17-10. That was followed by a McNeley back-court steal and outlet pass to Mikayla Bartlett for a layup, and nine point lead.
With 5:52 remaining in the first half, McNeley's third 3-pointer of the night stretched Nevada's lead to a dozen. On the Lady Tigers next possession, Good picked up another low-post bucket, putting the Tigers up 24-10.
Good, however, was just warming up, scoring on Nevada's next two possessions from nearly the identical spot on the right block, as the Lady Tigers lead swelled to 18 with 4:24 to go in the second quarter.
Midway through the quarter, Mikayla Bartlett skipped a cross-court pass over to McNeley on the right wing, where she quickly released, burying her fourth triple of the half as Nevada led 31-10.
A Chloe Bartlett free throw with 3:13 on the clock, capped a 17-0 Nevada run. Smith-Cotton finally broke the scoring drought with a Darby Christian free throw, making the score 32-11 with three minutes to play in the half.
With just over two minutes left in the quarter, Mikayla Bartlett's baseline 3-pointer increased the Tigers lead to 35-11. A Renee Cox layup from the left block put the Tigers up 37-11 at halftime. The senior trio of McNeley, Good, and Bartlett combined for 30 first half points.
The third quarter was more of the same, as Nevada continued to shoot lights out. Chloe Bartlett hit two third quarter triples, with the second one putting Nevada up 51-17 with 4:14 to play in the third. The Lady Tigers led 54-21 entering the fourth quarter, as they coasted to the decisive victory.
"It was a great team effort," Bartlett said. "We were well-balanced."
Bartlett said he thinks his squad is peaking at the right time.
"You want to be playing be your best basketball going into districts," Bartlett said. "And we're playing pretty good team basketball right now, and I'm very pleased with that."
For Nevada, Good scored a team-high 19 points, while McNeley scored 14, Chloe Bartlett nine, and Mikayla Bartlett eight. Rounding out the Lady Tigers scoring column, forward Megan Payne finished with four points, Madi Culbertson three, while Renee Cox and Megan Hold chipped in with two apiece.
Courtwarming ---- Senior Night
The prep basketball careers of Mikayla Bartlett, Morgan McNeley, and Rilie Good begin to wind down, as the Lady Tigers close out the regular-season, as they host Kansas Center, Friday night.
The Courtwarming festivities will take place at 5:30 p.m., in Wynn Gym, with senior recognition following at 5:45.
The Nevada boys varsity game is slated to tip-off at 6, with the Lady Tigers to follow.
Bartlett recognition
Lady Tigers head coach Brent Bartlett will be honored prior to the start of the girls game Friday night. Bartlett, who is in his 24th season of coaching, is set to retire at the conclusion of the 2014-15 campaign.
JV girls
The Nevada Tigers junior varsity girls team defeated Smith-Cotton 29-23 Monday night at home, picking up their 14th straight victory. Megan Hold scored a team-high eight points.