Prep girls basketball: Smith-Cotton tops Bishop Ward to snap 3-game skid

Both teams mired in a mini-tailspin, Bishop Ward and Smith-Cotton entered Friday night’s matchup a combined 0-7 over the past two weeks.

The skid had reached three for the Lady Tigers, whose 9-3 start had been taken hostage after losses to Marshall, rival Warrensburg and Parkview. Meanwhile, the Lady Vikings had cooled off considerably since their 4-2 start, losing four straight after Thursday night’s loss to a ranked Hickman squad.

But one team’s streak of futility had to end Friday night, and Lexi Hope made sure it was the Lady Tigers’.

The senior point guard scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the first half and Abby Knight and Elena Sharp each grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers to a 45-33 win on their home court.

“It was a true team win tonight,” said interim head coach Derek Skaggs, who is taking over Chris Parsons, who fainted late in the third quarter against Marshall and has since been sidelined for three games. “We talked about composure, because obviously we’ve taken some big hits recently. The composure was definitely there tonight.”

Following the Lady Tigers’ Smith-Cotton Classic championship in 2010, the Lady Tigers (10-6) had lost four straight in their own showcase.

And early on Friday night, it looked the streak would extend to five.

Rough beginning

The Lady Tigers opened the game with a 1-for-12 effort in the first quarter and trailed 11-5 after Bishop Ward’s Caitlin Reed poured in eight of her team-high 14 points in the opening eight minutes of play.

The deficit hit as many as eight after Taylor Williams began the second frame with a basket in the post, but then Smith-Cotton got a little hope from its senior point guard.

Lexi catches fire

Held scoreless in the opening eight minutes of play, the 5-foot-6 point guard wasn’t going to be denied in the second quarter. It started with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and then the floodgates opened. She buried two free throws, converted a traditional 3-point play, and then scored on back-to-back drives to make it 12 straight and knot the score at 17.

“She’s playing huge as a leader right now and playing under control,” Skaggs said. “That second quarter she just really stepped up.”

Then it was Knight, who added three blocks, who put the team on her shoulders. The 6-foot guard hit two clutch 3-pointers to give the Lady Tigers their first lead since Sharp knocked a pair of free throws to begin the game.

“She didn’t play many minutes last night but she came out huge and gave us big contributions off the bench tonight,” Skaggs said.

Ahead 23-21, Sharp hit one of her seven free throws on the night and Hope capped off the half with a trey from the left wing to stake the Lady Tigers to a 27-21 lead. Mallory Hamilton, who earned her first start since injuring her right ankle two weeks ago, also shined in the frame, dishing out four out her game-high five assists.

18 percent

That was the Lady Vikings’ field goal percentage after shooting 11 of 60 from the floor, which included shooting 2 of 22 from beyond the arc. Adding to the shooting woes, the Lady Vikings also struggled at the foul line (9 of 18).

Shoring up the interior defense, Smith-Cotton — which had allowed an average of 48 points during the losing skid — forced the Lady Vikings to rely on their perimeter game, which never got into a rhythm after being forced into off-balanced shots. That was most exemplified in the play of Bishop Ward’s go-to scorer, 6-1 guard Taylor Williams, who was held to just seven points on 3-for-17 shooting.

“We knew their big girl would be a threat on the perimeter, but we did a good job of forcing her into bad shots and contained her athleticism,” Skaggs said.

Comeback bid denied

The Lady Vikings cut the deficit to 31-28 in the third, but Emily Rodewald scored six of her nine points and the Lady Tigers ended the frame on a 6-0 run to lead 37-28 headed into the fourth.

From there, the lead never dipped below eight. While the Lady Vikings wrapped up a 5-for-36 shooting effort in the half, Smith-Cotton went 6 of 9 from the charity stripe to put away the win.