Wright City coach Fred Ross lamented about first-half woes when considering how close his team came to pulling off an upset on Monday. The Wildcats rallied to close to within two but ultimately fell 40-34 to North Callaway during first round action in the Class 3 District 8 Tournament at O’Fallon Christian High School. “Record-wise and seed-wise, that game probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was,” said Ross. “Coming in I thought we had a chance to win, and the girls played hard.” After trailing by 10 in the second quarter, Wright City sparked offensively in the final two periods. But missed free throws and turnovers in the first half had dug the Wildcats in too deep of a hole. Ross had been concerned about the quickness of North Callaway’s guards, and he saw first hand how dangerous they were in transition. Point guard Jaida Gray turned steals into fast break layups on four separate occasions. “We got somebody back on two of those but just couldn’t get in position to take the charge,” said Ross. “One of our keys to the game was to keep them under four fast break points.” The Wildcats only committed 10 turnovers, which Ross was content with, but he didn’t approve of the resulting points for North Callaway. “Their trap didn’t affect us hardly at all,” said Ross. The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 9-6 advantage after one quarter. Wright City began attacking the basket more aggressively in the second period and was able to consistently draw fouls. But the chance to cut into the deficit faded when the front-end of a pair of one-and-one shots fell short, and the Wildcats missed another pair of charity shots before the half. “We executed pretty well, but coming out 0-for-5 on our first five possessions really dug us a hole,” said Ross. Senior Brianna Zumwalt knocked down a jumper moments before the break, with North Callaway clinging to a 21-13 lead. Wright City’s inside presence seemed to become more of a threat in the second half, as the Wildcats scored six unanswered points. Senior Danielle Greenemay hit consecutive baskets to close the gap to three. Ross says he tried to force the Thunderbirds to keep adjusting. “We mixed things up defensively in the second half,” said Ross. North Callaway pushed ahead by seven again before taking a 28-23 lead into the final period. Jaida’s sister, Jordyn Gray, had been silent until netting all seven of her points in the final eight minutes. “We got tired, because those girls logged a lot of minutes,” said Ross. A crucial block and a subsequent basket by Greenemay allowed the Wildcats to reach within two with 2:30 remaining. Leading 36-34, North Callaway hit free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. “I’m pretty proud of the way they battled back,” said Ross. McNeill finished with 10 points, while senior Abby Dreyer added seven. Zumwalt and Greenemay each scored six. “The five seniors have worked so hard to bring this program to the next level,” said Ross.