What: Class 4, District 12 tournaments in Monett
Girls: No. 2 seed, play March 6 Boys: No. 6 seed, play Monday
Lady Wildcats No. 2, Wildcats No. 6
BY KYLE TROUTMAN
ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com The Cassville boys and girls basketball teams head to the Class 4, District 12 tournaments March 3-8 in Monett, receiving their seeds last week.
The Lady Wildcats (18-7 as of Tuesday morning) landed the No. 2 seed and a firstround bye into the semifinals of the six-team district.
Cassville will face the winner of No. 3 Monett and No. 6 Seneca at 7:30 p.m. on March 6.
At the top of the bracket, Aurora earned the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of No. 4 Mt. Vernon and No. 5 East Newton in the other semifinal at 6 p.m. March 6.
The first-round contests are set for Monday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and the championship game is set for March 8 at 6 p.m.
The Lady Wildcats from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13 defeated Seneca, Monett, East Newton and Mt. Vernon consecutively, with the closest margin of victory over East Newton, 36-32. Aurora holds a win over Cassville back on Jan. 6, a 51-22 contest.
Clayton Bagby, Cassville girls basketball coach, said he was happy with the seeding, especially with the Lady Wildcats’ most recent performances.
“I thought we did what we had to do in the last few weeks to earn the two seed,” Bagby said. “With having earlier losses to Monett and Mount Vernon, you’re always a little nervous going into it, but with having wins in the most recent two matchups. things went well there.”
Cassville fell to Monett on Dec. 7, 2024 in the Crane Lady pirate Tournament, 43-29, and to Mt. Vernon on Jan. 24 in the Marionville Lady Comet Classic, 42-35. The regular- season conference schedule wins over the same opponents were by scores of 55-42 and 55-29, respectively.
Bagby said after last week’s snowstorm eliminating practices and games, the Lady Wildcats struggled in the Friday contest against Nevada on the road, falling 42-25.
“I don’t think we put our best foot forward at Nevada,” he said. “We need to finish strong in the last games we have this week and then get a good week of practice going into whoever we play against in the semifinal round.
Aurora, with a record of 21-3, is the favorite in the district, but Bagby said with a solid gameplan, anything can happen.
“Most would expect a district championship to go through Aurora, and for a team to beat them, they will have to be on top of their game,” he said. “Limiting turnovers, handling pressure and eliminating second chances, and being able to knock down contested shots with the defense they play [will be key].”
In the boys bracket, Cassville (4-18 as of Tuesday morning) received the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 East Newton on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that contest will face No. 2 Mt. Vernon on March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
No. 4 Seneca and No. 5 Monett also play on Monday, at 6 p.m., with the winner challenging No. 1 Aurora at 6 p.m. on March 5.
The championship game is set for March 7 at 6 p.m.
The Wildcats have struggled against district opponents this season, unable to earn a win in seven tries. Aurora holds two wins over Cassville, and Mt. Vernon, East Newton, Seneca and Monett have each defeated the Wildcats once. Of those four, East Newton produced the largest margin of victory over Cassville in a 52-37 contest.
All games, girls and boys, will be played in Monett.
