Aurora stalls 7 minutes off 3rd quarter clock in close contest

BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

A 3-point margin at the start of the fourth quarter looked promising for Cassville, but Aurora ultimately hit their stride late and defeated the Lady Wildcats, 40-21, in the Class 4, District 12 girls basketball championship Friday in Monett.

Aurora (23-5) came into the contest with a 51-20 regular season win over Cassville (20-8), and the Lady Houns — which start five seniors — were seeking their third straight district title. The Lady Wildcats’ last district title appearance was in 2022, falling to Seneca.

Clayton Bagby, Cassville girls basketball coach, said Cassville came out ready to play, but Aurora’s experience was a difference-maker.

“They have a lot of experience playing in big games like that, and this was the first time our girls had dipped their toes in that water,” he said. Early in the season, we were down 30 points in the third quarter. So, being within one possession in the fourth quarter this time, I’m proud of them.”

The game started slow, with the first points coming from free throws 2:37 into the contest. The Lady Wildcats handled Aurora’s full-court press well, finishing the first quarter down 9-8.

Taylor Kennedy tied the score at 9-9 with a free throw almost 3 minutes into the second half, and a couple of 3-pointers by Aurora put the Lady Houns up 17-12 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room, Cassville’s first possession came up empty, and Aurora’s became a clock-chewer.

For about 7 minutes, the Lady Houns held the ball near mid-court, stalling until about the final 25 seconds, when they ran a play resulting in a Cassville steal.

“Something we’d seen them do leading into this game was spreading the ball out to spread other teams out,” he said. “We knew if the game was close, that’s something they might try. They wanted us to get out of our defense, and we did not see the need to guard them 40 feet from the basket.”

Bagby said he felt Cassville’s defense was frustrating Aurora in the first half, which may have led to the Lady Houns using the stalling tactic.

“We knew Aurora is a very good team, and if we got down by a lot, it would be tough to come back,” Bagby said.

Jason Cole, Aurora girls basketball coach, said throughout the first half, his squad struggled to hit open shots — going 4-for-23 from the field and seeing a 30% 3-point shooter go 0-for-5.

“Cassville packed the lane, so we couldn’t drive, and they were face-guarding our All-State player,” Cole said. “Going into it, [stalling] was not in our game plan, but as a coach, you have to make adjustments in the game for your team to go through. They forced our hand, and we made the adjustment to get them to come out of it.”

Cole said Aurora also practices delay of game scenarios, offensively and defensively.

“We had to make an adjustment on the fly; it’s just one of those things,” he deals. “We knew they could not stick five on the floor that could guard five of ours. There was some negativity about it, but the ones making the most negativity don’t understand the game and how it works. It is what it is at that point, and until a shot clock is introduced, it will continue to happen from time to time.”

Resuming regular speed of play in the fourth quarter, Audrey Kennedy sunk a pair to bring the game to a single possession. Aurora, however, found its stride and used runs of 6-0 and 8-2 to pull ahead by double-digits. The Lady Houns ended the contest on a 9-1 run to provide the final scoreline.

“We got it to 3, but they stretched the lead out, and against a team like that with five seniors on the floor, they knew how to handle that situation,” Bagby said.

Despite the loss, Bagby said the Lady Wildcats achieved many goals this season.

“We won the Southwest tournament and got that No. 2 seed [in districts, receiving a quarterfinal bye]. And, we had a lot of girls step up,” he said. “Taylor Kennedy played great against Monett [in the semifinals], and Alex Holycross looked really good against Aurora.

“We’ve laid some good stepping stones to put ourselves in a better position to win if we are in this situation again.”

Audrey Kennedy led Cassville with 10 points on the day, and Holycross added 7. Avery Stokes scored 2, and Taylor Kennedy and Aubrey Stoufer each had 1.

The Lady Wildcats’ 20 wins this season come second behind the 22-win 2018 season. This is also only the second 20-win season since 2009, where MSHSAA record-keeping begins.

Aurora faced Logan-Rogersville Tuesday night in the state tournament’s round of 16. The result was