Cassville girls enjoying season game by game
BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
With five games left on the schedule, the Cassville girls basketball team already has the most wins in a season since 2017-2018, and the Lady Wildcats are hoping to ride their success in a successful postseason.
At 16-5 overall, Cassville 7-3 in their last 10, with a 7-game win streak prior to that mark. The Lady Wildcats are 3-1 in Big 8 play with wins over Lamar on Jan. 27, a 52-43 overtime comeback thriller; Seneca on Thursday, 53-33; and Monett on Monday, 55-42. The only loss thus far came Jan. 6 to Aurora, 51-22.
The Seneca win and Aurora loss also play into district seeding, and all six teams in Class 4, District 12 are Big 8 members. Contests against East Newton on Feb. 10 and Mt. Vernon on Feb. 13 will solidify postseason placement. Another two games against McDonald County on Feb. 17, and Nevada on Feb. 21 wrap up Big 8 play. The final regular- season contest is a bout with Neosho on Feb. 25.
“I told the girls a couple weeks ago when we had 11 games left that all of them are winnable, but if we don’t show up, we can get beat in any of them,” said Clayton Bagby, Cassville girls basketball coach. “We don’t see a reason we can’t compete and give ourselves a chance to win all of them.”
Bagby said no matter the numbers on the scoreboard, the Lady Wildcats have been effective at giving themselves a chance to win every game.
“With this group, it’s been a never-quit attitude,” he said. “There have been a number of games we’ve struggle offensively early, but our defense keeps us in games and gives us chances to win. Like, we were down 11 to Lamar in the third quarter and 8-9 in the fourth, but we were able to tie it and get the win in overtime.”
With three of the six teams in Class 4, District 12 sporting winning records, Bagby hopes the Lady Wildcats can secure the No. 2 seed and a bye, or at least the No. 3 seed and favorable matchup.
“[All of us being in the Big 8], we are all familiar with each other,” Bagby said. Aurora is obviously the favorite because they brought everyone back from winning districts last year.”
Aurora is 16-3 this season with losses to Clever, Kickapoo and Republic. The Lady Houn’ Dawgs made a state quarterfinal appearance last year, falling to Owensville a round away from Final Four qualification.
“We’re battling for seeds with [two] games left in district play,” Bagby said. “We beat Seneca [and Monett], so we need to take care of East Newton and Mt. Vernon to get the No. 2 seed. The girls know district- wise what we’re looking at, and they are enjoying the run we are on, going one game at a time and getting as many wins as we can before districts. Whoever we play then, we’ll deal with them then.”
Should Cassville lock down the No. 2 seed and ultimately meet Aurora in a district title game, Bagby said the key will be to not let pressure get the best of them.
“They excel at getting pressure on the ball,” Bagby said. “We have to handle that and get to our half-court offense, then we need to convert on opportunities we get.”
The Class 4, District 12 Tournament is set for March 3-8 in Monett.
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