“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Grove head coach Richard Bassett said. “The first half we played really, really well and the second half their defense kind of took over. They started hitting shots they were missing in the first.”

East Central (17-8) took an early 4-2 lead two minutes into the game but it was Grove (17-8), behind six first quarter points from Mason Jeffries, that took a 12-8 lead by the end of the period.

The two teams battled back and forth in an extremely physical contest in which neither team shot the ball well. The Lady Ridgerunners had a stretch of over six minutes without a point but East Central was barely able to take advantage, getting just five points themselves to take a 13-12 lead midway through the second quarter. Grove packed the paint defensively and the Lady Cardinals could not hit shots from the outside and, with senior guard and Arkansas commit Bria Pitts out for the season with a knee injury, struggled to find a way to manufacture points.

“We came out just tight,” East Central head coach Sami Mack said. “We knew what to expect, everybody’s been in a zone and packing it in tight on us. We didn’t have Bria on the floor, as athletic as she is, to relieve the pressure.”

Despite 10 turnovers in the second quarter, the Lady Ridgerunners managed to piece together a 7-2 run to take a 19-15 lead with two minutes left before halftime. Libby Morris scored all seven points, five of them from the free throw line.

“Libby played a great game,” Bassett said. “She’s so tough on the boards. She’s really come into her own. Coming off that knee injury, it’s been kind of a slow process, but she’s really been playing well the second half of the season.”

Morris would finish the game with a team-high 14 points and 6 rebounds but, after an East Central fan was ejected and a technical foul called on the Lady Cardinal bench, Mack’s club regrouped to forge a 22-22 tie at the half.

In the second half the Lady Cardinals would take over in a big way. Emilee Iverson and Morris each hit a three in the first two minutes of the third that put Grove in the lead, but the Lady Cardinals would get 7 points in the quarter from Darreion Clark and close the quarter with a 13-4 run to take a 39-32 lead.

From there, East Central would only turn up the pressure, forcing 11 turnovers in the final quarter and outscoring Grove 22-4 over the final eight minutes for the lopsided final margin.

“I told the girls you can’t take one dribble against this team and then try to pass it because they’re just too fast,” Bassett said. “And then they’d trap us and we couldn’t dribble out of the trap. That’s why they’re as good as they are. It’s hard to adjust to speed that fast because we don’t play anybody that’s remotely that fast.”

That speed forced 32 Grove turnovers, many leading to fast break points for the Lady Cardinals in the second half.

“We tried to wear them down and put pressure on them,” Mack said. “We got some steals and some easy buckets that made it easier for us.”

On the other end the Lady Cardinals, led by point guard Ariel Williams, only turned the ball over 8 times.

“Ariel has been my point guard for four years. She’s done a heck of a job,” Mack said. “She doesn’t make many turnovers. She’s like a floor general out there. With Bria out, Ariel’s the one that’s really carried us.”

East Central was led by Janee Arnold, who 9 points in the first half and 17 for the game. The Lady Cardinals also got 10 points from sophomore post Sharayla Brown, eight of those in the fourth quarter.

Jeffries finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds for Grove, who will play Bishop Kelley on Thursday in an area consolation game at Sapulpa High School. East Central will face Collinsville, which beat Kelley 35-34 in their regional championship contest.