Basketball: Ozark, Mo., holds off Rogers High to win Great Eight Classic

Emma Wisdom (5) of Rogers High goes up for a shot while Kelsey Richmond (3) of Ozark, Mo., defends Saturday.
Emma Wisdom (5) of Rogers High goes up for a shot while Kelsey Richmond (3) of Ozark, Mo., defends Saturday.

ROGERS -- Ozark, Mo., made its third finals appearance in the First National Bank of NWA Great Eight Classic on Saturday, but finally came away with its first tournament title.

However, the Lady Tigers had to withstand a late Rogers High rally to claim the 59-57 win over the tournament hosts in King Arena.

First National Bank of NWA

Great 8 Classic

At Rogers High

Saturday’s Games

Seventh-place game: Alma 73, Siloam Springs 62

Fifth-place game:Fort Smith Southside vs. Camdenton, Mo., 1:30 p.m.

Third-place game: Webb City, Mo 65,. Rogers Heritage, 53

Championship game: Ozark, Mo. 59, Rogers High 57

Prep Basketball

Girls

Ozark, Mo. 59, Rogers High 57

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Rogers^14^7^13^23^—^57

Ozark (3-0): Braden 21, Mik. Putt 14, Johnson 10, Lasley 6, Mac. Putt 4, Easley 3, Doyle 1.

Rogers (4-1): Randels 17, McKinney 11, Richmond 7, Loyd 7, Wisdom 7, Sandor 6, Sherrill 2.

Ozark (3-0) led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn't celebrate until Kelsey Richmond's potential game-winning 3-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired.

Rogers (4-1) trailed 50-39 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, but put together a furious rally to pull within 58-57 with 26.7 seconds left on two free throws by Maddi Mckinney.

Ozark freshman Madi Braden, who led all scorers with 21 points, then made one of two free throws to push the Lady Tigers' lead to two, setting up the final sequence.

Rogers coach Preston Early was pleased with his team's fight late, but praised Ozark for its execution.

"I told them there was a time about five minutes to go when we were down 13 and I said 'I guarantee you 95 percent of the people in here thought we were dead in the water,'" Early said. "We battled like champs there at the end. I want to give all the credit in the world to Ozark. I thought they made so many tough plays, so many clutch shots.

"They took advantage of the easy things and opportunities and we didn't today. They are used to championship games and our guys aren't. I thought they played with a little more poise and confidence.

The Lady Mounties got off to a quick start with a 14-7 lead, but Ozark with a 12-0 run midway through the first half and never trailed again.

Ozark coach David Brewer said his team was able to disrupt Rogers with full-court pressure then switched to a zone that seemed to set them back, too.

"When we went to the zone, I thought they really slowed down offensively and kinda stagnated," Brewer said. "They missed some threes that usually hit probably, but we scrapped and got on the boards pretty good.. We're pretty balanced. We don't have a superstar, but have five or six kids that do a lot of different things.

"I think both teams played pretty well and we both grew from this."

Senior Mikayla Putt, who signed to play at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., also was in double figures with 14, while Bre Johnson chipped in 10.

Elise Randels led Rogers with 17, while McKinney added 11 -- including eight in the fourth quarter.

Webb City Mo. 65, Rogers Heritage 53

The Lady Cardinals hit 31 of 38 free throws, including 22 of 23 in the second half, to pull away late to take third place.

Hannah Woodcock poured in a game-high 23 points, while Addi Darby chipped in 15 for Webb City (4-1), before fouling out late. The Lady Cardinals scored the last four points of the third quarter to snap a 40-40 tie and never looked back.

Shelby Thompson scored 18 for Heritage, which led 25-24 at halftime.

Camdenton, Mo. 69, Fort Smith Southside 60

The Mavericks trimmed an 11-point deficit to four, but Camdenton hit six of six free throws in the final minutes to hold on for the win.

Coley Rezabek led Camdenton (4-1) with 24 points, while Blair Kurtz added 17. Kelly Carson finished with 24 for Southside (1-4). Lynley Sharum added 10.

Alma 73, Siloam Springs 62

The Airedalettes pulled away in the second half behind a game-high 30 points from senior Kailey Fagen to notch their first win of the season to take seventh-place.

Alma (1-4) led 29-26 at halftime and pushed the lead to 55-48 after three quarters. Sierra Bailey also added 22 for Alma. Morgan Vaughn led Siloam Springs (1-5) with 22.

Sports on 12/04/2016

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