Lady Cubs defeat Springfield Central, Cubs lose to Reeds Spring

Lady Cubs defeat Springfield Central
 
Cubs lose to Reeds Spring
 
By Michael L. Misfeldt 
 
The Monet High School girls’ basketball team hosted Springfield Central on Tuesday, Feb. 24 and were able to defeat the Lady Bulldogs, 65-61.
 
Monett took an early 21-15 first quarter lead and maintained that lead by scoring 15 points in the second quarter to go into the half with a 36-30 halftime lead. Monett held Central to just nine points in the third quarter, while scoring 12 points to increase their lead to 48-39. In the final quarter of play, the Lady Bulldogs outscored Monett 22-17, but it was not enough, as the Lady Cubs held on for the four-point victory.
 
Kilee Wilson led Monett with 23 points and Meredith Merriman added 20 points in the game.
 
“It was a good win for our program and senior night,” said head coach Josh Kleine. “We will miss this group of five seniors on and off the court after this season.”
 
The Lady Cubs are 18-8 on the season and were scheduled to play against East Newton on Monday night in an opening round game of the Class 4, District 12 Tournament in Nevada. The tournament is scheduled to end on Friday.
 
Boys basketball
 
The Monett High School boys’ basketball team hosted Reeds Spring on Monday, Feb. 23 but lost to the Wolves, 64-60.
 
Reeds Spring got off to a fast start, outscoring Monett 20-7 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Cubs settled down and only allowed nine points, while scoring 10 to cut the lead to 29-17 at the half. Both teams scored 18 points each in the third quarter, but the Wolves still led ion the game, 47-35. Monett came out on fire in the fourth quarter, hitting 25 points, but Reeds Spring added 17 points to close out the four-point win.
 
Alex Meeks ended the game with 22 points, four rebounds and three steals and Jack Stephens added 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
“We found ourselves down double digits early in the game and even at the end of the third quarter” said head coach Andrew Ballock. “We were able to get good looks offensively from the perimeter but didn't shoot it great in the first three quarters. We really fought back in the fourth quarter, cutting a 12-point deficit to just one point with less than 10 seconds left but ran out of time to complete the comeback. I was proud of our guys' continuous fight until the final buzzer.”
 
Monett is 9-17 on the season and were scheduled to play against Cassville on Tuesday night in an opening round game of the Class 4, District 12 Tournament in Nevada. The tournament is scheduled to end on Saturday.