Lady Bulldogs add three wins to record

The Gainesville Lady Bulldogs recently came back from a tough 70-36 road loss to Fordland to defeat Mountain Grove, Seymour and Norwood, bringing their season record to 17-8.
On Monday, Feb. 5, when the Gainesville team traveled to Fordland to take on the Lady Eagles, “Fordland came out very aggressive and got us on our heels from the beginning,” said GHS head coach Morris Jenkins.  “They shot the ball extremely well, and we just didn’t respond to their good play. I give Fordland a lot of credit; they are a very good team. At the same time, we always expect to be ready to come out and compete, and on this night we needed a lot of areas to be better. Obviously we were disappointed in how the game went, but we expect to take the experience and be more ready moving forward.”
The Lady Eagles held senior scorers Aspyn Britt and Shelby Smith to single digits, with Britt scoring 8 and Smith 4. Shayla Wages led the scoring with 13 points, followed by Elizabeth Kinworthy with 11. Smith led in rebounds with 6. Britt led in assists with 4.
Gainesville’s junior varsity played an exciting two-quarter game and won by a bucket, 15-13. Players scoring for Gainesville were Shayla Wages 6, Teagan Broderick 4, Patience Naegele 3 and Brexton Miller 2.
It was evident from the beginning that the Lady Bulldogs went to Mountain Grove ready to play on Wednesday, Feb. 7, outscoring the Lady Panthers 42-12 in the first half.
“We had a very good first half and seemed to have a decent night shooting the basketball,” Jenkins said.  “Defensively, I thought it was a pretty good overall team effort. We were able to keep Mountain Grove from getting good shots, and we had a lot of energy on both ends of the floor.”
Smith and Britt led the scoring with 15 and 17, respectively. Other players scoring for the Lady Bulldogs included Cassie Carlo 7, Brexton Miller 6, Elizabeth Kinworthy and Shayla Wages 4 each, and Natalie Kiger, Erin Mckenzie and Ashley Poe with 2 each. Carlo and Kin-worthy led in rebounds with 4 each. Britt led in assists with 7.
Gainesville’s junior varsity team also brought home a win, beating Mountain Grove 22-13. Kinworthy led the scoring with 7, followed by Wages and Poe with 4 each. Naegele chipped in 3 and Broderick and Miller each added 2 points.
The Lady Bulldogs hosted Seymour Thursday and held the Lady Tigers to single digits all four quarters, ending the game with a 63-19 victory.  “It was a really good team effort,” Jenkins said.  “We seemed to have a really good ‘bounce in our step,’ which is always a good sign as we move toward the last stages of the season.  Defensively, we were able to create several turnovers, which led to good scoring opportunities. We moved the ball well and were again able have a good night shooting the basketball.”
Players scoring for Gainesville were Britt 17, Smith and Kinworthy 11 each, Wages 8, Carlo 7, Miller 6, and Mckenzie 3.
Gainesville hosted Norwood Monday, Feb. 12, the team’s final home game;  and won 62-54. Statistics for that game were not available at press time. The team travels to Conway Thursday, Feb. 15, for the final game of the regular season.
The Class 2 District 4 tournament begins Saturday, Feb. 17. Gainesville will play Norwood at 5:30 p.m. at Norwood High School. Seeding for the tournament is Hartville, Fordland, Gainesville, Mansfield, Plato, Norwood, Seymour and Sparta.
Tournament brackets can be found at  ozarkcountytimes.com.

Ozark County Times

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