Principia girls’ staggering defense halts Portageville in Class 3 state semifinal rout

Matched up with a Principia squad that’s played some of the toughest competition in Missouri this year, a better record for Portageville didin’t do it justice as the Bulldogs dropped a semifinal bout 61-29 to drop into the MSHSAA Class 3 third-place game on Thursday.

Led by the outstanding Dasia Scott, plus a press that’ll give any team around headaches as it has all season long, Principia pushed its way past Portageville with physicality and a little finesse when it needed it most.

Scott, who’s pulling in offers from all over the country, logged 4 steals in the first half alone as the 6-foot-2 sophomore post helped the Panthers out to a 16-point lead at the break and only continued to apply the pressure in the second half.

“I thought we started out pretty strong offensively,” Portageville coach Kellye Fowler said. “We were doing what we wanted to, but eventually their defense kind of wore us down. That's a great ball club.”

Principia, on a mission to return to the state title game after a loss to Skyline in the Class 2 final last year, made good on the quest back to where it was, but its sights are set a little higher than that.

Fresh off a dominant victory over a then-four-loss Portageville team, Principia is on a roll with seven consecutive victories entering that Class 3 championship game and is expected to be step-for-step with whichever squad it matches up against.

“I think our defense has been huge this past month,” Principia coach Josh Spuhl said. “I think that really showed today. Can't be more proud of how we attacked them.

“I know they've been winning by a lot their last, like, 10 games, so for us to step up and do that, I was really proud.”

Defense was the pressure point and the clear emphasis for Principia in the win, dominating the Bulldogs to the point that they quite literally could not get the ball up the floor, let alone in the basket at times.

The stat of the day: The Bulldogs turned the ball over 32 times in the loss, showing that after losing to the Panthers last year in the state quarterfinals, they couldn’t keep the pace with a frenzied press on Wednesday afternoon.

“Last year, we were able to really just focus in on Dasia Scott, and the the other girls didn't step up as as much as they did today,” Fowler said. “Today, I felt like they had girls hitting shots from all over the floor.

“I felt like we were doing our job on her, but the other girls on Principia really stepped up. As far as on our end, we didn't handle the pressure great today.”

Nya Walker led Principia in scoring on Wednesday afternoon, putting together a 14-point performance with four 3-pointers knocked down at a 67-percent rate from distance. Her plus-31 rating was just a point behind Dasia Scott for the team lead at 32.

Scott added 12 points in the victory, but most importantly put up a masterful games in the “stocks,” logging 5 steals at the finish line to go with the team’s lone block and grabbing 2 offensive rebounds.

Taryn Irby led Portageville in scoring in the loss, putting up 12 points plus 3 of the team’s 4 assists while second-place Glo Farmer’s 8 points and 7 rebounds commanded a slow day for the Bulldogs.

Dede Arterbridge tallied the only block of the game and one of two steals, with the squad’s lone senior, Ja’Niya Smith, taking the other. Against one of the top post talents in Missouri, Smith attempted just three shots in the loss, putting up 3 points.

Portageville ends its run at a championship trophy on the heels of a streak in which the Bulldogs won 17 of 18 games dating back to the start of the New Year, intercepted by a loss against Delta at the conclusion of the regular season and now by a state title-bound Principia team.

Matching up with either Fair Grove or Lone Jack, the former having won back-to-back state titles and certainly the favorite going into Wednesday’s semifinal, the Bulldogs have one last chance to grab a win on the Show-Me Showdown hardwood in Columbia, Missouri.

“We want to go out and compete,” Fowler said. “To show everyone why we deserve to be here and how we can show them that full potential, because I don't think we really showed that today.

“My message would be to just continue working and to show everyone that tomorrow.”