For the third straight season, the College Heights Christian girls basketball team will play for a district championship.
The top-seeded Cougars took control early and recorded a 49-34 victory over fourth-seeded Wheaton on Wednesday night at Ozark Christian College.
College Heights will meet second-seeded Greenfield in the district title game at 7:30 on Friday night at Webb City High School’s Cardinal Dome.
“That’s what we’ve been working towards all season, so we’re excited to be back,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “We know we have a tough matchup with Greenfield on Friday. But again, this is what we’ve been working for and we’re excited.”
The Cougars captured a district title last year after falling short in the 2019 title game.
Now ranked fourth in Class 2 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, College Heights improved to 22-2.
With an active defense, the Cougars limited the Bulldogs to 12 field goals.
“We made a couple adjustments at halftime,” Blankenship said of his team’s defense. “Lainey Lett came out and did a great job guarding their post player. We had some good defensive rotation on the backside and that always allows us to get into our transition game, which was really effective tonight.”
Thanks to the recent weather, it was College Heights’ first game in 11 days.
“We only had a few practices in there, so I was a little concerned about that tonight,” Blankenship said. “I thought overall the girls did well.”
The champions of the Ozark 7 Conference, College Heights was led by senior guard Grace Bishop’s 18 points. Bishop hit two 3-pointers and also had four assists.
“She’s so consistent for us,” Blankenship of Bishop. “She played great defense on one of their guards who shoots the ball so well. She got out in transition and got some easy baskets for us. She’s such a stabilizer on both ends of the court for us.”
Senior forward Lainey Lett contributed nine points, while classmate Catie Secker had eight points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Kaynahn Burk scored six points and handed out six assists.
Also for the Cougars, sophomore Jayli Johnson scored six points and classmate Addie Lawrence added two.
Wheaton ends the season at 10-13.
Junior post player Monica Hinojosa led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while junior guard Lori McNeill added nine.
The game was deadlocked when Bishop scored the final five points of the first period on a driving layup and a corner trey, giving the Cougars a 15-10 advantage.
The hosts then scored the first six points of the second quarter to finish off an 11-0 burst, as free throws from Burk and hoops from Lett and Secker gave the Cougars a 21-10 lead.
College Heights outscored Wheaton 13-6 in the second quarter overall, limiting the Bulldogs to one field goal and four free throws, to take a 28-16 cushion into the break.
Bishop scored seven points early in the third period to push CHC’s lead to 35-20. The Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 13-10 in the third quarter for a 41-26 advantage.
With a comfortable lead, the Cougars were content to run clock in the final frame, and their lead was never in jeopardy.
DISTRICT TITLE GAME IS FRIDAY
Greenfield (20-6) advanced to the championship game by beating sixth-seeded Liberal 53-14. Marlie Wright scored 16 points for the Wildcats, while Tatum Torres had 15 points and Trista Torres added 11.
The Cougars did not face Greenfield in the regular season.
“I’ve seen a little film on them and they’re athletic and quick,” Blankenship said. “They like to get up and down the floor like we do. They run a nice full-court press. It should be a battle. It should be a good game.”
