CLARKSVILLE, Mo. — A pair of big upsets jolted the girl’s opening round of the 29th Annual Clopton Invitational Tournament on Monday night as (2) Silex fell in overtime to (7) Duchesne, followed by (6) Louisiana edging (3) Winfield in a thriller for night one.
Silex was stung by untimely turnovers and clutch free throw shooting by Duchesne down the stretch. The Lady Owls opened a double-digit lead in the first quarter behind seven points from Morgan Kuntz, going into the second up 17-7. Duchesne battled back behind freshman Emmie Nikodym and junior Kylie Bryan, outscoring Silex 16-12 to cut the deficit by halftime, 29-23.
The Lady Owls managed only one field goal in the third quarter and fouls took a toll with Nicodym picking up six points at the charity stripe for Duchesne. Silex led by one point going into the final frame, 33-32.
Both teams had difficulties with free throws down the stretch in regulation as they traded the lead. Nicodym knocked down a pair of buckets to keep the Lady Pioneers nipping at Silex’s heels. Duchesne managed to pull ahead by two in the final minute. A Nikodym foul put senior Austyn Van Horn on the line with 20.9 seconds remaining where she sank both to knot the score at 43. The Lady Owls’ defense prevented a quality look for Duchesne in the final seconds to end regulation still tied. Silex was 5 of 12 at the line and Duchesne made 3 of 8 in the fourth quarter.
Van Horn hit a big three-pointer in the extra period and Madison Lickteig added a bucket for the Lady Owls, but Silex made only one of nine free throws in OT. Bryan made 5 of 6 to help Duchesne outscore Silex 13-6 to capture the 56-49 win and break a seven-game losing streak for the Lady Pioneers.
Coach Caleb Johnson (who formerly coached the Elsberry boys’ team), told Eagle 102 Sports he was proud of his relatively young team.
“We’ve had a lot of close games…a lot of adversity and we’ve had a few sick girls. I’m just proud of our fight. They fought and they finished with good attitudes,” Johnson remarked. “They played extremely hard and really made free throws when it mattered. I’m just excited to be on the winning side of the bracket.”
SHS: 17-12-4-10-6 – 49
DHS: 7-16-9-11-13 – 56
Silex was 15-34 from the free throw line and had 12 turnovers. Duchesne was 19-34 with 19 turnovers.
Scoring for Duchesne: Bryan, 18; Nikodym, 17; Molly Gosier, 14; Daley Meyer, 6; Addie Blasé, 1.
Scoring for Silex: Kuntz, 19; Van Horn, 12; Lickteig, 8; Rylen Jensen, 7; Hope Cunningham, 3.
Duchesne will move on to face (6) Louisiana in the championship semifinal slated for Wednesday at 7:30 in the high school gym. Eagle 102 Sports will be broadcasting live at 102.1 FM and online at kjfmradio.com. Plus, check out photo highlights throughout the week on the KJFM Radio Facebook page.