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District basketball: Pleasant Hill ends Nevada's season
By Jason Peake
Herald-Tribune
HARRISONVILLE -- Ignited by an aggressive and constant pressure defense, Pleasant Hill knocked off Nevada 42-26 in the championship game of the Missouri Class 4, District 13 Tournament on Friday night in front of a jam-packed Harrisonville High School Gymnasium.
With the loss, the 2011-12 season ended for Nevada's girls.
With an in-your-face press, Pleasant Hill forced Nevada into 20 turnovers, and the Tigers were never able to get comfortable offensively against the Chicks.
NHS Coach Brent Bartlett acknowledged Pleasant Hill's press disrupted his team's offense throughout the game.
"It was a very physical game and their defense dictated us," Bartlett said. "The physicality of the game was big. I've said all year long, if the opposition is allowed to play that rough, it's to our disadvantage. But give them a lot of credit. They're a good team and they took us out a lot of the things we wanted to do tonight."
Pleasant Hill is currently ranked first in the latest Class 4 rankings. They showed why on Friday. Solid on both ends of the floor and with a lot of depth, the Chicks built a double-digit lead by the second quarter and never looked back. Pleasant Hill advanced in the playoffs with the win.
Nevada, already short-handed without senior Tiffani Long, lost freshman guard Mikayla Bartlett to an injury in the second quarter.
"Things just didn't go our way," Coach Bartlett said.
The Tigers stayed close with the Chicks early, but the turnovers began to add up. The Tigers turned the ball over on three of four possessions late in the quarter and Pleasant Hill led 10-7 entering the second period.
The Chicks scored seven of the first nine in the second quarter, prompting a quick timeout from Bartlett.
When the Tigers were able to break Pleasant Hill's full-court press, Nevada struggled to get into its offensive sets in the half-court, as the Chicks harassed Nevada's guards all over the court. But a three-pointer from MacKenzie Pritchett kept the Tigers within striking distance. Pleasant Hill scored four-straight to end the first half and the Chicks led 23-12 at halftime.
In the first half, Nevada had 12 points and 12 turnovers, with eight of those turnovers coming in the second quarter. Also key was the fact that Mikayla Bartlett went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. She tried to play in the third, but went back to the bench in tears due to the pain.
Mikayla Bartlett is the team's leading scorer and one of the primary ball-handlers.
In the third period, Nevada got a three from freshman Morgan McNeley and two free throws from junior Tori Dahmer but the Tigers still trailed 28-17.
Pleasant Hill then scored five-straight, as Kindred Wessemann hit her second trey of the quarter, putting the Chicks up 33-17 entering the fourth quarter.
Nevada, facing the constant pressure, couldn't get over the hump early in the fourth quarter.
The Chicks started the fourth period by scoring six-straight and the lead was suddenly 39-17 with 6:25 to play. The game's outcome was clear by that point, and the Chicks (24-3) would advance as district champions.
"They wore us out," Bartlett said of the second half. "They really took advantage of our lack of depth."
"We'd seen them before and we were hoping our defensive pressure would turn them over a bit," Pleasant Hill Coach Jim Underwood said. "The first time we played them, they didn't turn it over much. We were able to get some more (turnovers) tonight. And when Coach Bartlett's daughter got hurt, that really helped us out."
A junior guard who has verbally committed to Kansas State, Kindred Wessemann scored 14 and hit four three-pointers for the Chicks, who had eight players score in the game.
A 5-10 forward, Dahmer scored 15 points to lead Nevada. Only four Tigers scored in the contest. Nevada had just eight field goals in the game, with two threes. The Tigers made eight of 13 at the foul line.
Nevada ends the season at 15-13. Despite the loss, Coach Bartlett said he was extremely proud of his team's effort. The third-seeded Tigers upset the second-seed in order to advance to the title game.
"We weren't supposed to be here," Bartlett said. "I'm proud of the team for being in the title game. I loved watching them grow as a team and as friends. And they kept improving and improving. This has been a very enjoyable year. It's hard that this is our last game."
These two teams may see each other next year in this same game, as both squads aren't losing much to graduation. In addition to Long, Bailey Harbit is the only other senior on the NHS roster. With that, Bartlett was already thinking of next year.
"The experience of this game tonight, with almost everybody coming back, is awesome for our girls," Bartlett said.
Note: Grandview won the boys title game 44-29.
Pleasant Hill 42, Nevada 26
PH 10 13 10 9 -- 42
NE 7 5 5 9 -- 26
Nevada: Tori Dahmer 4 7-9 15, Mikayla Bartlett 1 1-1 3, Morgan McNeley 2 0-0 5, MacKenzie Pritchett 1 0-0 3, Ashley Shumaker 0 0-2 0, Kelsey McCall 0 0-2 0, Rilie Good 0 0-0 0, Bailey Harbit 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 (2) 8-13 26. Three-pointers: Pritchett, McNeley 1 apiece. Fouls 14. Turnovers 20.
Pleasant Hill: Kristin Orpin 1, Emily McKee 1, Nikki Sherwood 2, Breeona Foster 4, Rachel Schick 11, Kai Wessemann 7, Kindred Wessemann 14, Paige Shifflett 2. Totals 9 (5) 9-15 42. Three-pointers: Kin. Wessemann 4, Kai Wessemann 1. Fouls 18. Turnovers 13.