Portageville cruises past South Pemiscot to reach Bootheel Championship

Portageville's Ja'Niya Smith (23) drives against Malden in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic earlier this season.

Semoball File Photo

MALDEN, Mo. — One year after falling short in the final, Portageville is back in the Bootheel Athletic Conference Tournament Championship following a 66-43 win over South Pemiscot on Monday.

Despite a tight first half, top-seeded Portageville (17-3) pulled away from fourth-seeded South Pemiscot (9-6) in the second half to secure a convincing victory.

“We started slow but credit South Pemiscot for being ready,” said Portageville coach Kellye Fowler. “Their gameplan threw us off and got us out of our normal rhythm. They played hard and handled our pressure better than they had previously.

“But we made some adjustments at halftime and came out with more intensity,” she continued. “We were able to get some steals that turned into points and that got the momentum going.”

The game began with a sluggish pace, with neither team finding their offensive rhythm initially, but Portageville was able to edge ahead slightly, thanks to a 3-pointer from Taryn Irby with two minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter, putting the score at 12-4.

It seemed like Portageville might pull away as Ja'Niya Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in with less than three minutes left in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 10 points.

However, South Pemiscot refused to give up. They found an offensive groove in the closing minutes of the second quarter, narrowing the deficit to 24-17 at halftime, and outscoring Portageville 13-12 in the second quarter.

After a tight first half, Portageville completely changed the game's momentum in the third quarter with Smith scoring four of the first five baskets of the second half and assisting on the other to push the lead to 34-17 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

“Our posts had big games, especially in the second half,” Fowler said. “[Smith] took over offensively. We have been telling her to just take it to the basket strong and she did that for us tonight and it paid off.”

By the end of the third quarter, Portageville had a commanding 51-25 lead, leaving South Pemiscot with a nearly insurmountable deficit.

Back on the same stage where their title dreams were dashed, Portageville (17-3), ranked No. 10 in Class 2, returns with vengeance in its eyes and will take on second-seeded Malden (14-5), a team the Lady Bulldogs have already defeated twice this season, in the title game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

PORTAGEVILLE 66, SOUTH PEMISCOT 43

South Pemiscot (43) — Ta’Kylah Wooden 16, Mataiya Phillips 12, Ja’Kiyah Jones 11, Ayleighonna Farmer 2, Maleah Duckworth 2. FG: 20. FT: 0-0. F: 14. (3-pointers: Jones 3. Fouled out: None.)

Portageville (66) — Ja’Niya Smith 21, Glo Farmer 16, Taryn Irby 13, Aubrey Greenwell 9, Laney Stone 4, Lily Beth Priggel 2, Juliana Priggel 1. FG: 26. FT: 12-19. F: 9.