GROVE – A dominant second half by junior forward Mason Jeffries and a rejuvenated defense led the Grove Lady Ridgerunners – finally – to a win over Vinita.
Trailing 15-14 at the half, the Lady Ridgerunners (9-4) outscored Vinita 16-7 in the third period and led by as much as 12 midway through the fourth before a late surge by the Lady Hornets cut the lead to five with 1:21 to play before Grove was able to put the game away.
“This is my seventh year at Grove and fifth as head coach and last time we beat Vinita was my first year here,” Grove head coach Richard Bassett said. “It was a huge win, especially coming off the Locust Grove game. It feels amazing.”
Jeffries finished the night with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but only had two points and two rebounds by halftime as the Lady Hornets (8-5) scored the final six points of the first half to take their second lead of the night. But the junior put the team on her back in the third period, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds as Grove took control of the game.
‘She missed some [shots] in the first half and in the past she got real frustrated but tonight she didn’t do that,” Bassett said. “She kept going. Wherever the ball is her body’s going to be there. I don’t know how, she’s just one of those kids that has it.”
Jeffries also benefited from a switch in defensive assignments. In the first meeting between the two teams, Vinita freshman Carsyn Spurgeon kept both Jeffries and Taylor Dodson in foul trouble throughout the night. Tuesday night Bassett assigned sophomore Libby Morris to Spurgeon, leaving Jeffries free on the offensive end.
“It’s hard to guard [Spurgeon] and play offense,” Bassett said. “She does a great job of going to the basket and getting you in foul trouble. Libby did a great job. She has really come on and it makes us better.”
The Lady Ridgerunners also got some outside shooting from Emilee Iverson, who knocked down a pair of threes during a decisive 10-0 run in the third quarter that broke a 20-all tie. Iverson finished the night with 11 points.
Spurgeon led Vinita with 13 points, but the Lady Ridgerunners held guard Kamry Chamberlain to just 7 points, five of those coming in the closing minutes of the game. The Lady Hornets, usually a top three-point shooting team, made just one field goal from beyond the arc on the night.
“That’s the least amount they’ve ever made on us,” Bassett said. “I’ve gone to Vinita where they’ve made 12, 15 on us. But we knew to defend Chamberlain and Spurgeon, those were the two that were going to score.”
Grove also benefitted from Vinita’s 10-of-20 performance at the free throw line in snapping their two-game losing streak, including a 55-39 loss to Locust Grove on Saturday.
“We simplified offense and defense tonight and it made a huge difference,” Bassett said. “We were on the same page a lot more and communicated a lot better.”
Vinita 44, Grove 31 (boys)
After staying close with the Hornets for a half, a lack of offensive production eventually caught up to the Ridgerunners as they lost their third straight game.
The Ridgerunners trailed 10-7 after the first quarter but took the lead on a three-point play by senior Tyler Busch with 5:38 left in the first half. But that would be Grove’s last field goal until a Spencer Londagin three with 3:30 left in the third period, leading to a 15-2 Vinita run that gave the Hornets (7-5) a 25-14 lead.
The Hornets, who had three scorers in double figures, stretched their lead to as much as 18 midway through the fourth quarter, taking advantage of 18 Grove turnovers. Garrett Maxey led Vinita with 14 points, while Phillip Willis and Gage Bertram scored 11 each.
Busch led the Ridgerunners with 13 points.
Grove will travel to Miami on Friday
