Lady Cats Edge Clopton By Single Point To Win Third Place Trophy
The (4) Bowling Green Lady Cats were able to knock off the (3) Clopton Lady Hawks for the third place trophy at the Montgomery County Tournament last week.
Bowling Green defeated Clopton 41-40 in the third place matchup that was a back-and-forth affair.
The Lady Hawks came out of the gates hot with a 12-6 lead after the first quarter. Kaitlyn Kuntz knocked down nine points in the opening frame.
Bowling Green made up ground in the second quarter, outscoring Clopton 13-12. The Lady Hawks maintained the lead at halftime 22-19.
The Lady Cats surged in the third, besting Clopton 14-4 to capture a 33-26 lead going into the final frame.
The Lady Hawks answered in the fourth, outscoring Bowling Green, 14-8, but the Lady Cats held on for the narrow win. With about five seconds remaining, Deters was sent to the free throw line and sank both to clinch the win. Kuntz hit a three-pointer at the end to bring the score within one point.
Coach Megan Aubuchon noted the game started slowly as the girls battled the Clopton defense.
“We made some changes defensively at halftime and I think that was the difference maker in the second half. Madeline did a great job on Kuntz and didn’t allow her to drive and penetrate the lane like she did the first half. Offensively in transition, Gabi did a great job of attacking the rim and we had Caitlin and Kinley finish those shots for us,” she remarked. “It was a great team win for us. Everyone contributed something to the win and I thought we did a great job.”
Clopton Coach Deaven Streed noted it’s generally difficult to start the season with a tournament but can be used as a learning opportunity.
“We have three games under our belt now and we have a better idea of areas we need to focus on improving. We struggled at times shooting from the floor. We also had some players in foul trouble in many of our games. Moving forward we will definitely focus on playing more disciplined defense while still trying to create some offense from our defense,” she said. “I was really pleased with how some of my girls performed who haven’t yet had very much varsity experience. I think we will improve with each game we play.”
Clopton was 12-15 from the charity stripe while Bowling Green was 5-14 in the third place tilt.
Caitlin Bilhartz led the way for Bowling Green with 12 points (scoring four in the second, third and fourth quarters). KateLynn Charlton had 11, Kinley Charlton had 10, Gabi Deters and Madeline Norton each contributed 4.
Kuntz led things for Clopton with 18 (she was also 7-7 from the charity stripe). Jillian Lockard and Maya Street each scored 9, Caragan Lockard and Calynn Lockard each had 2.
Bowling Green
Championship Semifinal
Bowling Green fell to top-seeded New Haven in the championship semifinal, 43-35.
The teams ended the first quarter tied at eight points each. The Lady Cats got the better of the Lady Shamrocks in the second quarter, 17-9 for a 25-17 lead at halftime.
New Haven took it to Bowling Green in the third where they were able to hold the Lady Cats scoreless while they knocked down 13 points for a 30-25 lead going into the fourth. New Haven outscored Bowling Green 13-10 to secure t win. Forced to foul, the Lady Shamrocks went 9-11 from the line in the fourth and was 16-22 for the game. Bowling Green was 2-6 from the line.
Scoring: Deters, 14; KateLynn Charlton, 6; Norton, 5; Bilhartz, 4; Kinley Charlton, 2; Kaylyn McKee, 2; Jaylyn Early, 2.
Clopton
Championship Semifinal
The Lady Hawks were dropped by second-seeded Hermann in the championship semifinal 62-21.
Hermann went to work early, outscoring the Lady Hawks 16-4 after the first and kept the pressure on in the second quarter, going 16-6 for a 32-10 lead at halftime.
The Lady Bearcats didn’t look back in the second half, outscoring Clopton 30-11 for the victory.
Hermann was 12-15 from the charity stripe while Clopton was 3-5.
Scoring: Jillian Lockard, 6; Calynn Lockard, 6; Kuntz, 5; Street, 2; Caragan Lockard, 2.
The Lady Cats opened the tournament with a 60-51 victory over Montgomery County. The Lady Hawks kicked things off with a 51-31 win over Fulton.
Bowling Green will be back in action tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 5) as they host Wright City. The game is slated to be featured on TribCast with the pregame starting at 5:15 p.m.
Clopton also returns to action tonight as they host Canton. They will also host Elsberry on Thursday in a game that will be featured on TribCast with the pregame starting at 5:15 p.m.
