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Southwest nips DCS in C2-11 Sub-District
Southwest and Dundy County-Stratton waged an epic battle Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the semifinals of the girls Class C2-11 Sub-District Basketball Tournament.
When the dust settled, Southwest held on for a 65-63 victory at the McCook High School gym.
The winners took the lead for good with a minute left when Candace Malleck hit a shot from the lane for a 62-60 lead. Dundy County-Stratton missed a bonus free throw, then Malleck made one of two free shots for a 63-60 lead with 35.9 seconds remaining.
DCS missed a field goal and Southwest's Laura Ruggles grabbed the rebound. The Tigers fouled, but Southwest missed both free throw attempts with 16 seconds to go. DCS rebounded the second miss and pushed the ball upcourt, with Amanda Calvert driving the lane for a basket to get the Tigers within 63-62 with eight seconds left.
DCS fouled quickly, and Malleck hit was proved to be the winning points on a pair of free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Intentional free throw miss
Southwest committed a foul with just over a second left, putting Calvert at the line for a one-and-one free throw try. Calvert hit the first shot, then she deliberately missed the second attempt. The rebound was tipped off a Southwest player with less than a second left. DCS got the ball inbounds for a final shot. But Calvert's try from the wing was tipped by Kate Kelley of Southwest as the buzzer sounded.
DCS head coach Nathan Behlke said his squad works on plays such as intentional missed free throws.
"We practice that a lot. And it was just about there, "Behlke said. "It's exactly what we wanted we just didn't get the shot we wanted out of it.
"We practice situations. We gave ourselves a chance at the end to win it, but just came up short."
Seesaw battle early
The teams traded baskets in the first quarter. Kelley's long 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the glass and through the hoop to give Southwest a 19-16 lead at the end of the period.
The Roughriders stretched the gap to double figures in the second quarter. Laura Ruggles scored off an offensive rebound for a 32-20 Southwest cushion with just over two minutes left in the half. DCS rallied late in the period and cut the halftime deficit to 34-27.
DCS senior Brittany Shillington scored six straight points midway through the third quarter to get her team within 41-38. Allie McConville rebounds a missed Southwest free throw for an easy bucket and a 45-40 Southwest lead. Calvert later made a free throw but missed the second, but the senior hustled down the lane for the rebound and a basket to tie the score at 45-45 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Calvert gave her team the lead a few seconds later with two more free throws, then baskets by Morgan Jones and Shillington put DCS ahead 51-46 at the quarter break.
Southwest came back and grabbed a 56-55 lead with 3:07 left on Malleck's basket off an offensive board. Calvert scored off a steal for a one-point DCS lead, then Malleck tied the score at 58-58 with one of two three throws with 1:58 remaining. The teams traded baskets, then Malleck a shot with a minute left to put Southwest up for good.
The two teams met less than two weeks ago, with visits Dundy County-Stratton nipping the Roughriders, 56-55 on Feb. 4.
Tuesday stats
Shillington led all scorers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half before she fouled out in the final seconds. Calvert added 15 points for DCS.
Southwest was paced by Malleck with 21 points. Kelley added 17 points and Allie McConville had 12.
Both teams struggled at the free throw line. Southwest hit 14 of 27 free throws, while DCS was 14 of 26 at the line.
Another rematch for Southwest
Southwest, 13-8, has another chance to avenge an early-season loss in the C2-11 Sub-District finals Thursday night. The Roughriders will face 19-4 North Platte St. Pat's, a 50-42 winner over Perkins County in Tuesday's other semifinal.
Southwest struggled through a 56-17 loss at St. Pat's Jan. 15. Head coach Dennis Troester said his team didn't show up, and they didn't play very well in the first meeting with the Irish. He said a key in Thursday's rematch will be if his team can play better defense and rebound better, plus handle St. Pat's press.
Aiming to improve
Troester said revenge won't be the main motivating factor for his squad in the sub-district final.
"We know we didn't play well against (St. Pat's) the first time," he said. "It's kind of a similar situation with Southern Valley. We knew there were a lot of opportunities we gave away the first time we played them (a 62-51 loss at the RPAC Tournament Jan. 24). We came back ready to play, and really played well defensively, and that's the big key (a 62-58 overtime win at Southern Valley Feb. 10.
"We've got to play excellent defense (vs. St. Pat's) and try to take excellent care of the basketball. It's not a revenge factor, it's just we know we can play better basketball than we did the first time. If we do that, I feel we have a shot."
Dundy County-Stratton ends the season with a 15-6 record. Coach Behlke said that record is one of the best in DCS girls basketball history.
"We're trying to build a tradition, that's what I've been preaching all year," he said. "Mainly the girls that graduated last year planted the seed. We've got some good ones coming up. We're looking forward to the future."