Lady Birds gain measure of revenge in beating Cougars for district championship

LEWISTOWN, Mo. — The latest district title won by the South Shelby girls basketball team might just be the sweetest in its current run of championships.

Not only was it the fourth straight Class 3 District 6 crown earned by the Lady Birds, but Saturday afternoon’s 39-19 victory over Highland avenged a loss to the Cougars less than a month ago.

“I’m not sure if revenge is the right word,” South Shelby coach Luke O’Laughlin said. “We just wanted a better effort. We had a chance to pull away the first time we played Highland — and didn’t.”

Highland had beaten the Lady Birds 38-35 in late January — South Shelby’s lone loss in its last 12 games — and make no mistake, that verdict had not been forgotten. 

South Shelby’s Hannah Gaines, a 5-foot-7 junior who led all scorers with 14 points, was not quite as politically correct as her coach.

“We wanted revenge,” she said, with no hesitation whatsoever. “It felt good.”

Fittingly, it was Gaines who spearheaded the victory before about 790 fans at Highland High School. She nailed back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third quarter, moving the Lady Birds (25-3) in front 22-14.

“I think we could feel the momentum swing at that point,” Gaines said.

South Shelby led 25-16 going into the final period, then scored the first 12 points of the quarter and was never threatened down the stretch.

O’Laughlin said he was glad to see Gaines emerge with a big game.

“Those two 3-pointers she made sparked both me and the team … I know I was (excited),” the 10th-year Lady Birds coach said. “I know Hannah had been frustrated in recent games with her shot not falling.”

Highland coach Ashton Jaco knew all about frustration on this particular afternoon.

“We couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean today,” said Jaco, whose 24-4 club managed just six points the entire second half. “I thought our defense played well, but we just couldn’t score. Our girls never quit, though, even late in the game when we were down by 20 points. They were still out there fighting.”

Junior guard Addy Abell, coming off a 22-point effort in a 40-25 win over Monroe City, led Highland with six points. Abell, who managed a 3-pointer early in the first quarter and another 3-pointer in the closing minutes, had triggered Highland’s late-season surge with four 20-point efforts over the Cougars’ closing nine games.

O’Laughlin, whose team is 19-2 against opponents with winning records, also pointed to the performance of forward Belle Roush, a 5-foot-9 senior who led all rebounders with 10.

“Belle is always so hard on herself (about how she plays), but she really stepped up tonight with a lot of big rebounds,” O’Laughlin said.

The Roush-led Lady Birds completely smothered Highland on the boards 41-24.

Roush was also a central figure for South Shelby’s defense, which allowed just three field goals near the basket. Roush normally patrols the paint as if she owns it.

“Defense wins games,” said Roush, who had 27 rebounds in two district starts.

Also enjoying strong rebounding games were Charlie Roush (6), Bella Cook (6), Jayda Lanpher (5), Gaines (4) and Callie Williams (4). 

Ellie Goehl (5) led Highland rebounding. Keera Rothweiler (5) was the only other Cougars player with five or more points.