LIBERTY Mo. — The Nevada Tigers are partying like it’s 1998.
Tuesday night’s 49-37 sectional-round victory over the St. Michael the Archangel Guardians lifted the Nevada girls’ program to its first sectional championship since its last benchmark season 25 years ago.
The MSHSAA Class 4 sectional triumph propels Nevada (22-6) to Saturday’s quarterfinal clash with Benton (25-3). Tip-off is slated for noon at State Fair Community College in Sedalia.
“It does not seem real,” said elated Nevada coach Blake Howarth. “This is so awesome and I am so proud of our girls. I’m sure in a few hours when we come down off this Cloud Nine, it’s going to feel very surreal, and it will set in that we’re sectional champs.”
Nevada’s firepower on the perimeter overwhelmed the Guardians in the early going, with lightning-quick guards Clara Swearingen and Maddy Majors getting into the lane at-will.
Forward Lakyn Applegate’s 3-ball from the right wing swelled Nevada’s advantage to 13-0 midway through the opening frame. After opening the contest with eight consecutive misses, the Guardians began to thaw out offensively. An extended 12-0 run trimmed the Guardians’ deficit to 13-12.
Nevada followed with a 7-0 spurt, capped by Kara Phillips’ 3 from the right corner. The Tigers also received 3-point contributions from Majors and Katie Johnson during the quarter.
Nevada’s 24-17 halftime advantage quickly evaporated in the third. St. Michael senior guard Sophia Rocarro poured in 10 of the Guardians’ 12 points in the frame. Leading 30-27, Nevada closed out the third quarter with a flurry, as senior forward Abbey Heathman began to impose her will.
After knocking down a 3-pointer late in the third, Heathman scored on a bruising post move early in the fourth. After a dominant stretch of play from Heathman on both ends of the floor, Majors took over as the hot hand — scoring the next six points to put Nevada on top 42-31 with 2:15 remaining in regulation. From there, the Tigers coasted to the convincing victory.
While the Tigers led wire-to-wire, the Guardians were able to climb back into the game on several occasions.
“We got sloppy at times, and I challenged the girls,” Howarth said. “They did a great job of stepping up and responding to that challenge.”
Despite a superb game plan, Howarth deflected all credit to his players.
“This is the girls buying into what we are doing,” Howarth said. “The things that we game plan for and the time that they’re putting in at the gym.”
Howarth said that his squad puts in so much extra practice time that he’s forced to kick them out on occasion.
“This is really where it’s paying off,” he said. “I’m so blessed to have this group and to have girls playing at this high of level. We took care of the basketball and played together as a group tonight.”
The Guardians made a concerted effort in the second half to slow Swearingen on the perimeter.
“Any time Clara had the ball they were sending two girls to get it out of her hands,” Howarth noted.
Howarth was pleased with the way in which Swearingen and Majors facilitated for their teammates in the second half.
“They were creating for their teammates and that’s the unselfishness that we’ve been preaching,” Howarth said.
With the clear size advantage, the Tigers looked to get the ball into Heathman in the low post as often as possible.
“We needed to go inside to Abbey and we were able to do that,” Howarth said.
With the Guardians closing the gap in third, Howarth briefly subbed out Heathman for a pep talk. Heathman finished with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“I told her that we needed her to dominate inside, look to score, and finish through contact,” Howarth said. “She’s turned into a really good basketball player that can score inside and out.”
Now in his third year guiding the program, Howarth said that Majors’ game has evolved over the years.
“How she’s playing right now in her senior year is how I’ve envisioned it all along,” he said, as Majors chipped in 14 points and five assists. “Maddy has been consistently good for the entire season — not just here or there.”
Howarth said that sophomore guard Caylee Holcomb’s smothering defensive effort was integral to the victory.
“Caylee is the smallest girl on the floor but is a very scrappy defender,” he said.
“It feels great to go out and get the win. It hasn’t been done in a while at NHS,” Heathman said. “Play as a team, run the floor, and rebound.”
As for Majors, she said that it finally dawned on her that her quickness might be her most valuable commodity on the court.
“With it being my senior year, it took me long enough to figure out I was pretty quick,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve been utilizing that weapon pretty well the past few games.”
Majors added that St. Michael was a familiar foe, as the Tigers defeated them in December. Majors said that her outside shooting proved to be a zone-buster against the Guardians’ 1-3-1 zone.
“When I started driving, that also opened a bunch of passing lanes,” she recounted.
Like Howarth, Swearingen was also on ‘Cloud Nine’ after the signature victory.
“We’ve worked so hard this season and are all just super-excited right now,” she said.
Heathman echoed those sentiments.
“It’s really great to get the win. It hasn’t been done in a while here,” she said.
When they last reached this point, former longtime Tigers coach Brent Bartlett was in his first year with the program.
“You really have to enjoy these moments because you never know if you’ll get back,” Bartlett said. “That’s what I’ve told Blake — to just enjoy the ride.”
