SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — For the first time since 2012, the Mount Vernon girls basketball team will be playing for a chance to win a state title after the fourth-seeded Mountaineers knocked off top-seeded Vashon 78-55 in the Class 4 semifinals at JQH Arena on Friday.
“I can’t explain it to you,” Mount Vernon senior point guard Lacy Stokes said with a smile when asked what it meant to play for a state title. “We talked about it before the game and said we cannot lose. This is the time. I want to put a state title banner up in our gym so badly. We have so many people from our community supporting us. We just want to do it for them, for Coach B (Grant Berendt) and for each other. It’s unbelievable.”
“This means everything,” third-year Mount Vernon coach Grant Berendt said. “I wouldn’t be here without the kids or the support from the community, the school and the student body. If you were here and you looked up, there was a sea of green. They were loud and proud, and our kids fed off of that. It’s a tradition-rich school and basketball program. … For us to have a chance to win a state title, they’re excited. The first thing they said in the locker room is they weren’t done yet.”
The Mountaineers (28-3), winners of 15 straight, needed less than three minutes of game action to take their first lead over the Wolverines (17-2) when Ellie Johnston stepped into a 3-pointer from the wing off the assist from Stokes, a Missouri Southern commit, at the 5:11 mark. Johnston led Mount Vernon with eight points in the first period, knocking down a pair of triples to help her team take a 16-13 lead into the second quarter.
“She is a great shooter and the last couple of games, it just hadn’t been falling for her,” Stokes said when she asked her thoughts on seeing Johnston make her first two 3-point shots. “We talked before the game and I told her this is the one. If you want to hit, this is the game. When she came out and hit those first two, her confidence went up and our confidence went up as a team because we just support her so much. After that, when a shot left her hand, we were all confident it was going in.”
Mount Vernon never relinquished the lead it gained early in the first quarter, stretching it to 23-13 with 5:34 to play in the first half after starting the second period on a 7-0 run. Stokes and Johnston each scored inside before Stokes knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a ball screen to push the lead to 10.
The Mountaineers held the double-digit advantage off and on throughout the second quarter until the Wolverines found momentum for the first time in the form of a 6-0 run, with Kanitra Barnett accounting for four, in the later stages of the first half to trim the lead to 27-23.
Johnston came up big from the perimeter again for Mount Vernon, splashing back-to-back 3-balls to stretch the lead back to 10, 33-23, inside the final minute of the first half before taking a 33-26 lead into the intermission.
“(Vashon) didn’t come into this game 17-1 for no reason,” Berendt said. “We knew they were going to get something going, but we wanted to limit it and not bail them out on some things. I thought we withstood that and did a great job of answering.”
Vashon cut Mount Vernon’s seven-point halftime lead to one possession several times early in the third quarter, but every time it looked like the Wolverines were about to swing the momentum, the Mountaineers, who never allowed a game-tying or go-ahead bucket, answered right back at one end or the other to keep the Wolverines at bay.
“Defense travels,” Johnston said. “We knew we had to d-up to stop them and win this game. We did just that. Our bigs are not that big, but they did amazing against their tall girls. I am proud of them because that helped us a lot.”
Mar’shaun Bostic, an Auburn University recruit, scored inside for Vashon to trim the Mountaineer’s lead to 38-36 with 4:50 left in the third before Mount Vernon responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to nine. Lisa Kruger started the run with a bucket in the paint before Stokes followed with a deep 3-ball from the wing and a mid-range jumper to make the score 45-36.
Vashon’s Raychel Jones converted from the perimeter with 1:20 left in the third to cut the deficit to 48-45, but Raegan Boswell buried a 3-pointer on the other end with Stokes adding two makes from the stripe to give the Mountaineers a 53-45 lead heading into the final eight minutes of action.
“She shot that with the utmost confidence,” Berendt said of Boswell’s 3-pointer. “She didn’t hesitate. The pass hit her and she swung into it just like we work on in practice. .. That was a big one for her.”
The Mountaineers were sent to the free-throw line 24 times as a team in the fourth quarter, converting 17 charities to push the lead to more than 20 points in the waning minutes of the contest, pulling away to the win while making school history in the process.
“I kept looking up at the clock and kept thinking, ‘Golly’,” Stokes said with a laugh. “I felt like we were at the five-minute mark for 10 minutes. It was just free throw after free throw and the clock kept stopping. I was worried they may go on a run, but we locked in on defense to make sure they didn’t.”
“Usually, we play fast,” Johnston added about the slow-paced second half. “The tempo was much slower (in the second half). I didn’t even run out of breath that much. I thought it felt good because the tempo was slowed but we were still getting good shots or looks out of it.”
STAT LEADERS
Stokes finished with a game-high 39 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers. The bulk of her scoring came from the charity stripe, as Stokes made 21 free throws in the win and 16 alone (10 straight at one point) in the fourth quarter. She added six rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Johnston closed the game with 18 points, making all four of her 3-point attempts in the win.
“They wanted this opportunity,” Berendt said of Stokes’ and Johnston’s performances. “That is all they have talked about—doing what it takes to get this opportunity of playing together with their team on this floor in this environment in front of their fans.”
Boswell finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds to go along with two steals.
Bostic and Nariyah Simmons led Vashon with 14 points each, with Simmons adding three assists, three steals and three rebounds. Kiyah Cooper added 12 points in the loss.
FOR ALL THE MARBLES
Mount Vernon takes on Boonville (26-2) in the Class 4 state title game at 4 p.m. on Saturday at JQH Arena. Boonville defeated Benton 48-44 in the other semifinal game.
“It means the world to me,” Johnston said. “I am speechless because I am so excited I’ve gotten to experience this with my best friends.”
