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TIGERS BLOW OUT CUBS
By Jason Peake
Daily Mail Sports Editor
NEVADA -- The first half couldn't have gone much better for the Nevada High School girls basketball team.
Dominant on both ends of the floor, the Tigers scored the first 19 points of the game and raced out to a 41-point advantage by intermission.
The end result of Nevada's blazing start was a 58-12 smackdown of Monett on Thursday night at Wynn Gymnasium.
"I didn't see this coming," Nevada Coach Brent Bartlett said. "They've played some teams close. But I felt like the first four minutes were really important for us. What a great start. It was just a great team effort. I saw some great things in the first half."
Nevada's full-court pressure frustrated the Cubs right from the start. On the other end, the Tigers knocked down high-percentage shots again and again.
Nevada's Tori Dahmer had four early hoops inside and Mikayla Bartlett knocked down two three-pointers in the first quarter. Before Monett knew what hit them, they were down 19-0. At the end of the first quarter, it was 19-2.
Dahmer, Bartlett and Ashley Shumaker took care of most of the scoring in the second quarter, and the lead continued to grow quickly.
By the middle of the second period, Nevada's lead was 30.
Morgan McNeley and Megan Harper both hit three-pointers late in the first half, and Nevada was up 44-3 by halftime. Monett had 19 turnovers and three points in the first half.
"Our defense really set the tone," Coach Bartlett said. "We got some easy shots from our defense and we did a good job of finishing."
With the huge lead, Coach Bartlett got everyone into the game for extended minutes in the second half.
"It's so nice to give some of the girls who don't always get a lot time those minutes," Bartlett said. "They work just as hard as anybody in practice. We got to reward them with more playing time tonight."
The Tigers led 51-10 at the end of the third quarter and there was a running clock for the entire fourth quarter.
A junior, Dahmer scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Tigers. Freshman Mikayla Bartlett scored 13 points, grabbed six boards and had three steals. Another freshman, McNeley had nine points, while six-foot classmate Rilie Good grabbed 13 rebounds and scored eight. A junior, Shumaker had five steals to go with four points.
Notes: Now 7-1 on the season, Nevada begins the Harrisonville Tournament on Saturday against Butler at 4 p.m. at Harrisonville Middle School.
"They're one of the best Butler teams they've had since I've been here," Bartlett noted.
Nevada takes on undefeated Pleasant Hill next Tuesday in the tourney.
"We're in a tough pool," Bartlett said. "We'll use next week as a measuring stick."
With Tiffani Long out with a broken foot, Good was brought up the varsity full-time. Long's injury was a "clean break," meaning she could return in four to six weeks, instead of the eight weeks it would have taken to recover from surgery. Participants from the Lady Tiger youth skills camp were recognized in between the JV and varsity game. Nevada's JV girls won 32-28.
Nevada 58, Monett 12
MO 2 1 7 2 -- 12
NE 19 25 7 7 -- 58
Nevada: Kelsey McCall 4, MacKenzie Pritchett 0, Tori Dahmer 17, Mikayla Bartlett 13, Morgan McNeley 9, Bailey Harbit 0, Rilie Good 8, Megan Harper 3, Ashley Shumaker 4, Nikiya Feezel 0. Totals 20 (4) 6-17 58. Three-pointers: Bartlett 2, Harper, McNeley. Fouls 13. Rebounds 39 (Good 13, Dahmer 7). Turnovers 19. Steals 15 (Shumaker 5, Bartlett 3, McCall 3).
Monett: Ratliff 4, Schmidt 1, Ab. Krueger 2, Varner 1, Barnes 2, Wiseman 2. Totals 4 (0) 4-12 12. Fouls 20. Turnovers 28.