Cougars dismantle Panthers for sixth straight victory, reach title game of Lenzini Tournament

PALMYRA, Mo. — The Highland girls basketball team is on a serious roll.

The Cougars’ sixth straight victory, an emphatic 50-19 throttling of Monroe City, came in Thursday night’s semifinals of the 82nd Tony Lenzini Tournament at Palmyra High School.

The two clubs had met a month ago in the third-place game of the Monroe City Tournament, a game Highland won 56-53 in double overtime.

The difference in those two meetings?

“Our defense was phenomenal tonight,” Highland junior guard Addy Abell said.

Case in point: Highland (17-2) did not allow Monroe City (11-3) to reach double figures until 2:38 remained in the third quarter. Monroe City was the defending Lenzini champion and had beaten Highland six straight times in the tournament.

“We were just locked in defensively,” Highland coach Ashton Jaco said. 

That might have been the understatement of the season.

Highland ended what little doubt might have remained at halftime when the Cougars already held a 21-8 advantage. Highland opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run to officially seal the deal. Highland and Monroe City have now split their last 30 meetings.

Jaco said the burst to open the second half was rewarding for another reason, too.

“We have seemed to struggle at the start of the third quarter a lot this season,” she said. “But there was never any let-up this time.”

The 19 points Highland allowed matched their top defensive effort of the season. The Cougars humbled Knox County 56-19 in late December.

Highland faces Hannibal (9-4) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the championship game, eyeing its first Lenzini title since 2012.

The 5-foot-7 Abell paced Highland’s offense with a career-best 25 points, including four 3-point field goals. After a cold stretch earlier in the season, Abell has regained her shooting touch.

“It felt good to hit some shots. I’m more confident now,” Abell said. “I had not been hitting my shot, but (my coach and teammates) just kept telling me to keep shooting.”

Keera Rothweiler, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, also reached double figures for Highland with 15 points. Cahlin Chapman led Monroe City with six points.

“We missed shots early and were fighting an uphill battle,” Monroe City coach Adam Rung said. “Give Highland credit, that’s a really good team.”

Jaco is anxious for the date with Hannibal, which reached the title game via a 60-54 semifinal win over Palmyra. Jaco feels Hannibal could provide a different kind of problem with its reliance on a zone defense, as opposed to the man-to-man approach most girls teams employ.

“They’re tough, and they have some good athletes and a couple of really good scorers,” she said. “They’re a little bit different look than we’ve seen from other teams and are obviously playing well. They’ll be a challenge.”

Highland and Hannibal rarely meet in girls basketball. Highland is a Class 3 school, Hannibal a Class 5.

“I haven’t played Hannibal since junior high, so I have no idea what (to expect),” Abell said. “We’ll definitely be fired up Saturday.”