CARTHAGE, Mo. — College Heights girls basketball saw its season come to an end after the Cougars fell 57-41 to Fordland in the Class 2 sectional round of the state tournament on Tuesday at Carthage High School.
The Cougars trailed by five heading into the second period before the Eagles (21-8) started the quarter on a 10-0 run and ultimately took a 16-point lead into the intermission. College Heights fought to cut the lead to 10 to start the fourth before the Eagles pulled away down the stretch.
“We watched a lot of film on Fordland but their guards were a lot quicker than what I could see on film,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “We struggled in our man-to-man defense tonight, which we don’t normally do. We shifted to a triangle-and-two, and that was very effective. It allowed us to get back into the game a little bit. … but we still struggled shooting.”
ALL GOOD THINGS
College Heights closes the season with a 17-12 record after going to the sectional round of the state playoffs for the third time in school history. The Cougars graduate seniors Jayli Johnson, Addie Lawrence and Lauren Ukena.
“We were here in 1998 and then there was a long dry spell,” Blankenship said. “We have been to five straight district championships and won two out of those five. There has been a lot of consistency over the last five or six years with our athletes and our program, which is exactly the direction we want to head in. It is a special group of kids who are very united. I love these seniors to death. They are all great kids and great athletes. It’s not the way we wanted to finish, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to get back here.”
“They’ve set the bar high,” Blankenship added about his trio of seniors. “They come in and work hard every single day in practice. They lead by example and are very encouraging. They’re great role models for our underclassmen, and I hope they pick that up next year. We wouldn’t be where we are without these seniors. They’ve played in four straight district title games and been to sectionals twice. They’ve accomplished so much and have a lot to be proud of.”
GAME ACTION
College Heights trailed 16-11 heading into the second quarter when Fordland scored 10 unanswered points out of the break to boost it’s lead to 26-11 with less than two and a half minutes expired.
Mikah Suter had a pair of baseline scores inside for the Eagles, while Emma Trotter added a pair of scores off the drive during the surge.
Fordland used a 3-pointer from MacKenzie Haskins with 1:22 to play in the first half to push the lead to 20 for the first time, 37-17.
College Heights closed the first half with baskets from Johnson and Libby Fanning to trim the deficit to 37-21 by the intermission.
The Cougars spent the third quarter whittling the lead down to 10 points, 41-31, on a score in the paint at the buzzer by Maddy Colin.
College Heights was unable to find the momentum on offense in the final eight minutes of action.
After Fordland and CHC traded baskets in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Eagles used a 3-pointer from Katlyn Fries before Shelby Thomason had back to back buckets inside to push the lead to 17, 50-33, midway through the fourth quarter. Fordland carried that pace to the finish line.
SCORING LEADERS
Trotter led Fordland with 15 points, while Haskins and Thomason each finished with 10. Suter scored eight.
Fanning led College Heights with a game-high 17 points. Colin and Lawrence each finished with six, while Johnson had four.
