In the Scott Community High School girl’s locker room there are reminders of the 15 losses from last season.
Printed on each 8-1/2x11 sheet of paper is the opponent, the date and the score.
With each win the Lady Beavers collect this season over one of those opponents a sign comes down.
SCHS eliminated one more re-
minder on Tuesday night when the Lady Beavers erased a seven point deficit in the second half to claim a 35-33 win over Hugoton on the home floor.
“It wasn’t pretty, but the girls showed a lot of heart. They found a way to win,” says head coach Mark Campos as he held a crumpled reminder of last year’s 42-41 overtime loss to the Lady Eagles.
It came as no surprise that senior guard Audrey Baker provided a pair of key defensive plays that sparked an offense that struggled throughout most of the game.
Baker’s steal and layup at the 5:31 mark tied the game at 25-25 after the Lady Beavers had missed three consecutive free throws. SCHS missed two more free throws before Baker again had another steal near mid-court and was fouled as she drove for the layup. The three-point play put the Lady Beavers on top, 28-27 with 4:44 remaining - their first lead since going on top 7-6 in the first quarter.
“Audrey is the heart and soul of this team. You know she’s going to create an opportunity for this team to win, whether it’s a three-point basket or a big steal on defense,” says Campos.
Sophomore center Bailey Nickel, who finished with eight points, extended the lead to 30-27. But the momentum was short-lived as Hugoton answered with a 6-0 run that put them back on top, 33-30.
Despite a poor night at the free throw line (10-of-24), Scott City (2-3) was able to score their final five points at the stripe to secure their win while holding the Lady Eagles scoreless over the final 2:45.
Junior guard Shanaya Hoeme drilled a pair of clutch free throws at the 2:32 mark that cut the deficit to a single point and Janessa Lowenthal tied the score 39 seconds later. Hoeme added another free throw and Kelly Wycoff hit the second of two free throws with 19 seconds to play that provided the final margin.
Defense Rules Early
For three quarters it appeared that both teams would end up with more turnovers than points. Sloppy play saw a number of unforced errors and contributed to little offense as Hugoton held a 25-21 edge entering the final period.
It was Hugoton’s three-point shooting which saw the Lady Eagles open up a 22-15 halftime lead. They knocked down four treys in the first half, taking a 20-11 lead with 3:44 left in the second period.
“We came into the season wanting to play a 1-2-2 zone because I felt we had the girls who could cover half the court with that to be effective. But that also makes you susceptible to the long-range shot and, for the second time this year that happened. We gave up the early treys to Sunrise Christian and Hugoton did the same thing early in the game,” says Campos.
“We probably stayed in zone longer than we should have, but when we switched to man defense we told the girls to get after them and they did.”
Hugoton was limited to just four field goals over the final 19:44 of the game.
The Lady Beavers are still trying to find more balance in their offense, particularly on the perimeter. Baker finished with a game high 15 points while Wycoff and Hoeme added four and three points, respectively. Wycoff’s only basket was a three-pointer that sliced into a 23-16 Hugoton lead late in the third period.
“They were playing a triangle-and-two against Audrey and Shanaya, which left Kelly wide open,” says Campos. “I told her when she’s wide open like that she needs to shoot and she did get a huge three. Hopefully, this will give her more confidence to take those shots and become more of a scoring threat.
Nickel’s career high eight points could also be a sign that the sophomore is starting to become another piece to Scott City’s offensive puzzle.
“Once she gets going she’s going to be good . . . really good. Bailey just needs to get more confidence in her shooting ability,” says the SCHS coach. “She has the size, the length and the quickness. Once she develops her offense she’s going to become an all-around player who’s very tough to stop. And she’ll be a great complement to Janessa in the post.”
Campos says this was a big win for the Lady Beavers who ended a three game losing skid.
“I’ve littered their locker room with pieces of paper that remind them of all their losses from last year. At the bottom of each one it says ‘do not tear down until you beat them,’” Campos adds. “They were able to tear down the Hugoton one tonight.”