Lady Panthers fall in finals of Lady Lion Invitational

When the Mountain Grove Lady Panthers’ basketball team advanced to the finals of the 33rd Mansfield Lady Lion Invitational Basketball Tournament, it set up a rematch of last year’s championship game with Springfield Catholic.
In an extremely physical contest where officials chose to not blow their whistle on countless occasions, the Lady Panthers’ bid for revenge fell short in a 47-42 loss as they finished as the runner-up again this year.
It was a back-and-forth contest through most of the fourth quarter before Raylee Stenzel picked up a steal and quickly scored.
She then forced a turnover seconds later to give Mountain Grove an 8-5 lead.
After scoring the final basket in the quarter, Springfield Catholic would go on a 7-0 run into the second.
Down 12-10, the Lady Panthers’ defense picked up the intensity.
They forced one five second call, Stenzel hit a go-ahead 3-pointer before the defense forced another five second call for a turnover.
Another Stenzel steal and basket gave her team a 15-12 lead for the 5-0 run.
Stella Benson then had a steal and was heading on an easy fast break transition for a score when she was fouled. Unfortunately, no flagrant call was made.
The quarter did end on yet another Stenzel steal and score to give Mountain Grove a 21-16 edge at halftime.
Landry Golden’s basket to open the third quarter pushed the Lady Panthers’ lead to seven. Springfield Catholic responded though with a devastating 11-0 run to take a four-point lead.
Benson ended the drought with a needed 3-pointer and Stenzel added one late in the frame to close the gap then to 32-31.
Stenzel did put her team in front with a pair of free throws before a late basket gave them a one point deficit heading into the fourth.
Mountain Grove took advantage of three early Springfield Catholic turnovers  to maintain a lead early before back-to-back 3-pointers broke a 37-37 tie and gave all of the momentum to the Lady Fightin’ Irish.
In the finals, Stenzel, an All-Tournament selection, scored 18 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists.
Golden, the team’s other All-Tournament choice, finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Benson added six points, three steals, one assist and one block; Rowen Kelly had three points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist; and Sadie Schober had no points, but finished with five rebounds and three assists.
In their first contest, the Lady Panthers crushed rival Ava, 56-36.
Mountain Grove’s defense held the Lady Bears’ offense to 10 points or less in all four quarters.
Schober scored six points in a 17-point first quarter while Golden had eight points in a 17-point second quarter for a 34-16 halftime edge.
Golden scored 12 points; Stenzel added 11 points; Kelly had nine points; Schober scored eight points; Benson had six points; Kaylee Virtue scored five points; while both Lyla Golden and Leah Broome had two points.