Entering the State Farm Insurance Holiday Tournament with a big win over a quality program in Hartville, the Mountain Grove Lady Panthers seemed destined to make a special run in this year's event held on their home court.
Though the Lady Panthers had hoped to win some hardware, they did pick up two victories and lost by just two points in the first round against a quality Liberty (Mountain View) program.
In the opening round, the Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Eagles by three points in the second half only to fall, 50-48.
They did shoot 43% from the field in the loss. Their defense forced 24 turnovers.
Trinity Elliott paced Mountain Grove with 15 points and six rebounds; Addy Welch had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals; Reagan Hoerning had 11 points, six rebounds and two assists; Campbell Welch scored six points; Kelsey Watson had five points, two assists and two steals; while Macey Penner added three steals, two assists and two rebounds.
"We competed well throughout the game and girls played hard,” said Mountain Grove head coach Vallie Hoerning. "We just didn't take care of the ball toward the end of the game and failed to execute when we needed it most."
The Lady Panthers followed up the loss with a Consolation victory over Summersville, 55-30.
After struggling in the first quarter, the Lady Panthers outscored Summersville, 18-11, in the second quarter to have a 27-19 lead at halftime.
Their defense only allowed 11 total points in the second half as Mountain Grove cruised to the 25-point victory. The defense had 22 steals in the win and forced 33 turnovers.
Nine different Mountain Grove players scored in the win. Hoerning had 14 points, nine rebounds, three deflections and two steals; Elliott added 11 points and six rebounds; Campbell Welch tallied seven points and four steals; Jozey MacPherson had six points; Penner added four points, four deflections and two assists; Addy Welch had four points and three steals; Yarger Summer scored three points withy five rebounds; and Destinie Caldwell had one point and one rebound. Grayci Kelling aded two steals.
"I was proud of our overall effort and team execution to get the win,” Coach Hoerning said.
In the Consolation semifinals, the Lady Panthers used an 18-point first quarter before holding on late for a 44-36 win. Alton won the fourth quarter, 16-8, just after the Lady Panthers won the third quarter, 14-4.
Campbell Welch scored a team-high 15 points, three deflections and two steals; Elliott had nine points, six rebounds, three deflections and two assists; Addy Welch added seven points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists; Hoerning had seven points, seven rebounds, three deflections, two steals and two assists; Gracie Anderson had two points; and Watson had two points, three rebounds and two steals.
"We played hard and did what it took to get the win,” Coach Hoerning said.
Mountain Grove started off well in the Consolation finals against Gainesville, winning the first quarter, 11-6. Unfortunately, they were outscored, 44-19, the rest of the way in a disappointing 50-30 loss.
Mountain Grove lost the turnover battle, 22-6, in the loss.
Hoearning scored nine points, seven rebounds and two assists; Penner had eight points; Elliott had six points and five rebounds; Campbell Welch scored three points; and Addy Welch had three points and two rebounds. Watson tallied seven rebounds and five assists while Anderson added three rebounds.
After the tournament, the Lady Panthers went on the road for an SCA Conference battle with Houston and lost, 40-26.
The Lady Panthers' offense scored 10 points or less in all four quarters and had 25 turnovers.
Addy Welch led the Lady Panthers with 11 points and six rebounds; Elliott had seven points, six rebounds and three deflections; Penner had four points; Campbell Welch scored three points, four rebounds and three assists; and Watson had one point, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.
