Menu
Neelyville girls advance to Class 2 state final
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In a year's time, March has gone from agony to exhilaration for the Neelyville girls basketball team.
And for the past three years, this weekend has meant the Lady Tigers have fallen short of reaching their ultimate goal by one game.
Now, they can't stop winning the big ones.
In its first MSHSAA Class 2 semifinal appearance, Neelyville overcame the bright lights of Mizzou Arena and ran away in the second half for a 63-45 victory over New Franklin on Thursday night.
The Lady Tigers (26-4) will play Crane (31-1) for their first state title in school history at 2:40 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
"We've prepared for this game for four years, all of our lives," Neelyville coach and alumni Becky Hale said. "I'd come up here and watch Four on the Floor and it was kind of unfair because I knew my girls were supposed to be here the last three years.
"I don't think it's sunk in quite yet but it's getting there. It feels good."
Four players reached double figures led by senior Shelby Moon, who poured in a game-high 18 points despite being riddled with foul trouble for most of the game.
"I honestly felt extremely nervous but I think this big court is going to do that to you," Moon said. "I tried my best to relax myself and know that my team had my back no matter what.
"Whether I scored zero or I scored 18, they were going to have my back no matter what."
And they did.
Sophomore J'Kayla Fowler scored Neelyville's first three points and finished with 14, senior Chelsea Petty added 12 and freshman Jentri Worley had 11.
"You never expect to have that big of an impact on this team because we all do, you never know what can happen with us," Fowler said.
Added Petty, "This was the biggest game of my life and it sets me and all us seniors up for another one. We've been waiting on this for so long, it's hard to believe it's right in front of us."
Nerves shined through for the Lady Tigers early as they grabbed several leads but could never quite hold on to one.
The lead changed hands seven times in the first quarter with Neelyville clinging to 20-18 advantage after eight minutes.
"I was really proud of that. I was a little worried though. We are used to play lower scoring games," New Franklin coach Ryan Lyons said. "I thought that coming out in the second half that we could just kind of see it physically taking its toll."
But the Lady Bulldogs stayed within three points of the Lady Tigers for the rest of the half and even took a 27-26 lead on Madison Matney's bucket 2 minutes, 23 seconds before halftime.
It didn't last long as Worley answered with a 3, which sent Neelyville on a 5-1 run.
Worley, who filled in for a depleted starting five, capped the half with a layup to make it 31-28.
"It felt good to be out there, "Worley said. "Just doing my part."
Hale wasn't as candid about Worley's role, especially after the job she did when three of the Lady Tigers' starting five had at least three fouls at halftime.
"She comes in and just goes hard as anybody and does as well as anybody out there, especially on defense," Hale said of Worley. "She can play any position on the floor and I think she did tonight.
"That's good to have."
Hale instructed her team on a few minor adjustments at halftime to cope with the foul trouble and the overall defensive scope of New Franklin.
"We knew they were going to be methodical and that they're a very good, fundamental team," Hale said. "They were passing the ball over our press in the first half so we kind of backed it up, made sure we stayed in front of the ball and kept it outside the line."
Everything went Neelyville's way at the start of the third.
Moon knocked down her second 3 of the game to open the start the second half, Jamie Fowler followed with a bucket and after the Lady Bulldogs answered with five straight points, Neelyville rolled over them.
Five straight turnovers in a span of roughly two minutes led to eight straight points for the Lady Tigers, who burst out to a 44-33 lead after three quarters.
"The start of the second half, I really didn't think we came out like I wanted us to," Lyons said. "It was more gradual than anything. To me, it just took its toll.
"I felt bad for my girls. I felt like running out there in a uniform just to give them a break."
It was the complete opposite for Neelyville, which extended its lead to 52-37 with 5:37 to play. The Lady Tigers shot 38 percent in the game (14 of 36) and 40 percent in the second half.
"We've been wound up pretty tight for a couple weeks, so just getting out there, getting loose and getting in the flow of the game was the most important thing," Hale said.
In fitting fashion, Moon, Worley, Petty and Fowler each scored a bucket in the game's final minute to set the score.
The Lady Tigers will hold one final practice today before they play their final game together.
"We work on being a family and being together with a kind attitude towards each other, and I think that really helps out," Hale said. "We're like that off the court and it helps out too."
| Neelyville | 20 | 11 | 13 | 19 | -- | 63 |
| New Franklin | 18 | 10 | 5 | 12 | -- | 45 |
NEELYVILLE (26-4) -- Moon 5-11 (3-6) 5-5 18. Ma.Eaker 1-7 2-2 4. JK.Fowler 4-6 6-8 14. Ch.Petty 6-10 0-2 12. Ja.Fowler 1-1 0-0 2. Worley 4-7 (1-3) 2-2 11. Mi.Eakins 0-2 0-0 0. Law 0-2 (0-2) 0-0 0. Crossen 0. Oxley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 22-47 (4-11) 15-19 63.
NEW FRANKLIN (22-8) -- Lyons 2-7 (2-5) 0-0 6. Matney 5-8 3-5 13. Hundley 2-5 (1-3) 1-5 6. Armentrout 0-7 (0-7) 0-1 0. Himmelberg 0-4 2-4 2. Dowell 0. Oser 1-1 (1-1) 0-0 3. Young 1-1 0-0 2. White 3-3 7-7 13. Totals: 14-36 (4-16) 13-22 45.
REBOUNDS: Neelyville 26 (Jk.Fowler 5. Petty 5. Oxley 4.) New Franklin 28 (Himmelberg 10. Matney 8. White 3.) ASSISTS: Neelyville 9 (JK.Fowler 3. Petty 3.) New Franklin 9 (Lyons 3. Himmelberg 3.) STEALS: Neelyville 14 (Petty 4. Ma.Eaker 3. Law 3.) New Franklin 6 (Hundley 3. Lyons 2.) BLOCKS: Neelyville 3 (JK.Fowler. Ja.Fowler. Oxley.) New Franklin 2 (Matney. Himmelberg.) TURNOVERS: Neelyville 14. New Franklin 23. FOULS: Neelyville 20. New Franklin 14. (Fouled out: White.)