Donettes secure district title with second-quarter run over Fredericktown

KENNETT, Mo. - The Class 4 District 1 finals is a position the Donettes were all too familiar with.

This was their sixth consecutive trip to the district championship game. This year, however, they looked to regain their district title after being denied the championship glory last season.

After the final buzzer, Doniphan would achieve this goal with a 54-21 win over Fredericktown.

Cutting down the net one last time, Senior Madilyn Redus reflected on her high school journey, helping her team become district champions.

From her four years of experience, she knew this game would require the team to be at their best.

“We just knew we had to come and play,” Redus said. “Coach said we were going to have to rebound and we were going to have to run the floor. This was a business trip for us, so we knew we had to come and take care of business and play our game.”

The matchup against the Blackcats started pretty evenly. In a game focused on defense, the low-scoring first quarter had the Donettes ahead by only three points. The score was 11-8.

However, the second quarter became the game-changer for Doniphan.

As they held Fredericktown scoreless in the second quarter, the Donettes went on a 23-0 run, giving them a lead which never faltered.

Head coach Adam Epps emphasized how he wanted his players to step up on defense but did not expect the second-quarter run his team displayed.

“We were ready to get the job done today,” Epps said. “I wasn’t really expecting it to be like that, though. I knew with our energy on defense that we were capable of that kind of run, but I was kind of shocked. Fredericktown is a good team and has played a tough schedule this year. Props to their coach; they have really good players, but our girls weren’t going to be denied today.”

Along with their defensive intensity, the Donettes started firing away on offense as well in this second quarter route.

The team was once again led by Carsyn Hagood, who was coming off a 35-point career high in their previous game.

After scoring four points in the first quarter, she went off for 13 points in the second quarter, knocking down three back-to-back three-pointers.

According to Hagood, picking up the intensity on defense for the second quarter helped open up opportunities for her and her teammates on defense.

“Coach told us we had to rebound, guard and run,” Hagood said. “That’s what we did. That second quarter was all defense. Madi [Redus] was the spark there when she locked down No. 10 [Polly Reutzel]. We started to guard her really well, and it helped. I like when I’m shooting good, of course, but I have to give credit to my teammates because they were the ones who kept telling me to shoot.”

Hagood’s shooting gave her another 30-point performance and helped lead the Donettes to their fourth district title in six years.

This victory also marked the Doniphan seniors’ 100th win since joining this ball club as freshmen. Those seniors included Redus, Sarah Owen and Macye Maness.

“This feels great, considering we lost last year,” Redus said. “We work all year round to have games like that. We knew if we played our game and didn’t change anything we’ve been doing all year that we would be okay.”

The team also gives a lot of credit to their fans this season, who have shown up and shown out for every game.

This is a plus for Epps, especially now with Doniphan hosting the sectional game.

“This is exciting for us, that’s going to be awesome,” Epps said. “It will be one of the biggest things that’s happened in Doniphan’s gym in a long time. Usually, we have to drive like three hours or something crazy, but now we get to host, so we are excited.”

The Donettes are set to host Park Hills Central at their historical Bill L. Wright Gymnasium at Doniphan High School on Tuesday, March 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.