NEOSHO, Mo. — Six made field goals.
Seven made free throws.
A single point in the first quarter and four at halftime, all on free throws.
The first 18 minutes of the game before a made field goal and the final stat line of 19 points and 18 turnovers.
Those are the main numbers that highlight tournament host Neosho’s often grisly struggle Friday during a 51-19 loss against defending girls champion Fort Smith Northside (Ark.) in the championship game of the Neosho Holiday Classic played at Neosho High School.
“We did not come out the way that we wanted to come out tonight,” Neosho coach Daniel Durst said. “I’m not sure what it was, but we just didn’t show up to start with and I got them to start back up after halftime, but we dug ourselves a really big hole and it’s hard to dig yourself out of that.
“That Northside team is really tough. We knew that coming in. They’re a great basketball team. I told the girls in our walk-through this morning that we need to play as hard as we can to put ourselves in a position to win at the end of the game. We stressed that if we were going to win this game it would be a close one until the end. Unfortunately, we didn’t show up ready to do that today.”
Looking on the bright side of the Wildcats’ performance in their home tournament, though, Neosho won games against Van Buren (Ark.) and Memphis Whitehaven (Tenn.), erased an 11-point deficit with the final 15 points in the last three minutes against Van Buren and scored the first nine points in their win against Whitehaven, senior Karlee Ellick and sophomore Beclynn Garrett each received all-tournament recognition, and senior Reagan McInturff repeated as the champion of the 3-point shooting competition.
McInturff also made the go-ahead 3-point basket in the thrilling win Wednesday against Van Buren.
“I think overall tournament play, we played well,” Durst said. “With the exception of tonight, we’re getting better. Every game, we take something away and learn from it, and we’re better the next time. Even from this loss tonight, it’s tough but we’ve learned something, and it will then make us better in the future.”
In the loss Friday, Ellick, Garrett, and her older sister Maelynn Garrett each led Neosho with four points, Meredith Baldwin and Courtney Thomason each added two, and McInturff, Autumn Kinnaird, and Madison Olson each made a free throw to round out the scoring.
Karys Washington scored a game-high 26 points for Northside (10-2) and she also tallied nine rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot, and one steal.
Erianna Gooden added nine points for the Grizzlies, a perennial power in Arkansas Class 6A girls basketball.
Northside outscored Neosho 32-12 in the paint, 23-5 off turnovers, and 20-3 in second-chance points, as well as owning a 37-23 rebounding edge.
Neosho dropped to 7-5 overall and the Wildcats return to action Jan. 9 with their Central Ozark Conference opener on the road against Webb City (6-4).
At this point in the season last year, Neosho was 5-7 overall.
68th annual Neosho Holiday Classic
Friday’s scores
Title game: Fort Smith Northside (Ark.) 51, Neosho 19
Third place: Memphis Whitehaven (Tenn.) 47, Van Buren (Ark.) 44 (OT)
Fifth place: St. Joseph Lafayette 56, Stoutland 44
2022 Girls Division All Tournament Team
Karys Washington – Northside (MVP)
Beclynn Garrett – Neosho
Karlee Ellick – Neosho
Jeureni Wright – Whitehaven
Arianna Gooden – Northside
Talicia Byrd – Lafayette
Bill Ball Legacy of Sportsmanship Award: Stoutland
