The Lebanon High School girls’ basketball team took care of business as expected on Monday night in the semifinal round of the Missouri Class 5 District 10 tournament, beating the Glendale Falcons for the second time this season, 76-52.
With the win, LHS advances to its second consecutive district championship game after winning against Camdenton last season. The Lady ‘Jackets will square-off against Ozark at 6 p.m. on Thursday night at Lebanon High School. Ozark is currently ranked No. 6 in the Missouri Class 5 state polls.
Admission into the district championship game at Boswell Auditorium will cost $5, and no passes will be accepted. The boys’ district championship game will begin at 7:30 p.m., following the girls’ game.
In the first quarter, Lebanon opened up the game with an 18-4 run, including nine points from sophomore standout Makayah Alexander. Lebanon would continue their hot streak into the second quarter after outscoring the Falcons 16-11 and taking a 34-15 lead into halftime.
In the second half, LHS took their foot off the gas, but still controlled the game and ended up outscoring 42-37 in the third and fourth quarters.
“We came out and outscored them 18-4 in the first quarter, and our defensive intensity was great,” Lebanon head coach Jacky Payne said. “It got a little helter-skelter with too many turnovers and going too quick and out of control.
“I thought we had a good win. It is survive and advance at this point in the season; it isn’t a beauty contest anymore.”
Payne gave a lot of credit to the girls on the team for their defensive efforts after the Falcons buried multiple three-pointers on them in the first meeting between the two teams.
“We wanted to focus on No. 4, No. 5, No. 11, and then No. 42 came into the game and drove us right to the basket,” said Payne. “We held them to zero three-pointers in the first half, but they came in the second half and hit four three-pointers which was going to happen eventually because they are a three-point shooting team and will launch a bunch.
“The way we took away the three-ball in the first half played a big part in our win.”
Alexander finished the contest with a game-high 26 points while senior Jenna Glendenning chipped in 15.
“I thought Makayah did a nice job,” mentioned Payne about her performance. “She is really becoming a nice player because she can shoot the three and can drive. She will absorb some contact and finish at the rim.”
For the complete article, see Wednesday’s print edition of The County Record, or view http://digital.laclederecord.com/ online.
