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The second meeting of the season between the Neosho Lady Wildcats and Seneca Lady Indians was much different than the first.
For instance, Morgan Rathmann started for Neosho after missing the last meeting with a knee injury. Rathmann scored a game-high 17 points to help lead Neosho past the Lady Indians, 56-37 Thursday in the consolation semifinals of the Neosho Holiday Classic.
“First of all, I want to give Neosho a lot of credit,” Seneca coach Bob Coffey said. “They got a couple of girls back (from injury). They played hard and I was really impressed with Ashley Gilion. She did a lot of impressive things there in the late second quarter that really hurt us. That’s what experienced players do.”
Gilion scored 11 points, but her contribution didn’t stop there. She also had five assists — unofficially — and took three charges in the first half to kill Seneca’s momentum.
“It was a physical game to start out and we adjusted for the way the game was going,” Neosho coach Lance Robbins said. “We are in the middle of four games in four days and we feel like we are in good shape right now, and because we had some girls injured early in the year, we were able to let some younger girls play. That’s provided us with some depth as the season has gone on. I think how good a shape we are in showed near the end of that game and I think that made a difference.”
After a tough first quarter, Seneca led 8-6. However, Neosho came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter and poured in 18 points to open up a comfortable lead at halftime.
“Our bench is giving us quality minutes right now,” Robbins said. “Kylee Hulsey gave us good minutes today off the bench.”
Hulsey had six points off the bench for Neosho.
In the second half, the Lady Wildcats were nearly flawless in their half-court execution and their pressure defense frustrated the Seneca guards. Morgan Rogers scored most of her 12 points in the second half thanks to that execution on the offensive end.
On the flip side, Seneca couldn’t get shots to fall, frustrating the team further.
“Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well today,” Coffey said. “We’ve got a short rotation, so there are six girls playing 20 or so minutes a game. We won the first quarter, but we just couldn’t get shots to fall. That’s a learning experience for a young team. You’ve got to realize that when shots aren’t falling, you have to do other things well and we weren’t quick enough to adjust. I thought we learned a lot today.”
The second meeting of the season between the Neosho Lady Wildcats and Seneca Lady Indians was much different than the first.
For instance, Morgan Rathmann started for Neosho after missing the last meeting with a knee injury. Rathmann scored a game-high 17 points to help lead Neosho past the Lady Indians, 56-37 Thursday in the consolation semifinals of the Neosho Holiday Classic.
“First of all, I want to give Neosho a lot of credit,” Seneca coach Bob Coffey said. “They got a couple of girls back (from injury). They played hard and I was really impressed with Ashley Gilion. She did a lot of impressive things there in the late second quarter that really hurt us. That’s what experienced players do.”
Gilion scored 11 points, but her contribution didn’t stop there. She also had five assists — unofficially — and took three charges in the first half to kill Seneca’s momentum.
“It was a physical game to start out and we adjusted for the way the game was going,” Neosho coach Lance Robbins said. “We are in the middle of four games in four days and we feel like we are in good shape right now, and because we had some girls injured early in the year, we were able to let some younger girls play. That’s provided us with some depth as the season has gone on. I think how good a shape we are in showed near the end of that game and I think that made a difference.”
After a tough first quarter, Seneca led 8-6. However, Neosho came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter and poured in 18 points to open up a comfortable lead at halftime.
“Our bench is giving us quality minutes right now,” Robbins said. “Kylee Hulsey gave us good minutes today off the bench.”
Hulsey had six points off the bench for Neosho.
In the second half, the Lady Wildcats were nearly flawless in their half-court execution and their pressure defense frustrated the Seneca guards. Morgan Rogers scored most of her 12 points in the second half thanks to that execution on the offensive end.
On the flip side, Seneca couldn’t get shots to fall, frustrating the team further.
“Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well today,” Coffey said. “We’ve got a short rotation, so there are six girls playing 20 or so minutes a game. We won the first quarter, but we just couldn’t get shots to fall. That’s a learning experience for a young team. You’ve got to realize that when shots aren’t falling, you have to do other things well and we weren’t quick enough to adjust. I thought we learned a lot today.”
Seneca will take on Morrilton, Ark., in the 11th place game Friday at noon at Neosho Middle School.
“We need to focus on us first and foremost,” Coffey said ahead of his team’s final game in the tournament. “Their guard (Rebekah McCoy) can really shoot it. We have to keep her from getting open. It will come down to whether or not we play better basketball than they do. We are lacking a little bit in our offensive execution so tomorrow it’s going to come down to that. It would be big for us to get two wins in this tournament.”
Neosho will take on a Waynesville team that has looked impressive since a tough loss in the opening round against McDonald County.
“They are a good basketball team,” Robbins said. “They mix it up on defense and they have good size and a couple of good guards. It will be a good matchup for us. We just need to go out and compete hard for four quarters and hopefully things will go our way.”
The winner of that contest will earn seventh place. Tip off for Neosho vs. Morrilton is at 3 p.m. at the middle school.
