For eight minutes of play in Winfield on Thursday, the Wright City girls basketball team played the collective game anyone around the program would have hoped to see.
The problem was that after …
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For eight minutes of play in Winfield on Thursday, the Wright City girls basketball team played the collective game anyone around the program would have hoped to see.
The problem was that after the first eight minutes, nothing much went right as the Wildcats fell 60-37.
Senior guard Ada Ferrell said the final three quarters of the game were something the team would have to move on from.
“It feels rough after that loss,” Ferrell said. “That first quarter, we were up, we were good. Once they started making shots, though, it got into our heads. It trickled (down) from there and that’s just one of our issues that we’ve got to fix before the end of the season.”
The 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter became a 34-18 deficit at halftime as the Warriors shell-shocked Wright City with a bevy of baskets on a multitude of offensive rebounds.
There was one possession early in the quarter where four different Winfield players recorded an offensive rebound and, seven shots later, Winfield senior guard Olivia VanCleve knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer.
Wright City Coach Dustin Elledge lamented the turn of events.
“We let three minutes in the second quarter define the basketball game,” Elledge said. “This was a team we competed with and we could have stayed with the entire game, I felt. We broke down and they took it from there.”
In the end, VanCleve led Winfield (7-4) with 24 points, backed up by 11 points each from Cecelia Campbell and Cailey Creech.
Wright City senior Shiriah McRoberts led the Wildcats (3-9) with 13 points while Ferrell added 11.
“It was a great start because we were finding the people who were open and making the pass to the right people who were on fire,” McRoberts said. “That’s basically it. It (stopped).”
The Wildcats won’t get much time to rest after the defeat.
Wright City heads out on the road again on Friday. The team travels to Christian Fellowship (3-8) in Columbia on Friday for a 6:15 p.m. start.
Elledge said the season has hit a significant milestone, and it’s time for the Wildcats to see what they can become over the final weeks.
“We’re right at the halfway point,” Elledge said. “Now is the time we want to work hard and do what we can to put things together. We know we do (have the talent). We just have to work hard and get it done.”
