The Mercer girls used fierce defense and a slew of three-point shots to defeat the Jefferson Lady Eagles, 53-36 in the Class 1 state quarterfinals on Friday night at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
From the onset, the focus of the #1 ranked Lady Cardinals in getting to state was clear, with defensive intensity rattling Jefferson’s normally pin-point offensive game, while Emily Sample and Lindsay Wyatt hit first quarter “three balls”, giving Mercer a 11-5 lead after eight minutes of play. The trend continued in the second quarter, as Wyatt and Sample hit another pair of three’s, joined from distance by Bailey Owens, as Mercer enjoyed a commanding 25-9 lead at the break.
The third quarter put the game away, as Mercer’s onslaught from beyond the arc resulted in 20 more points, 18 scored on three-point shots. Jefferson outscored Mercer 19-8 in the fourth quarter, not nearly enough in the comeback effort.
Mercer and Jefferson, in a memorable series of playoff games involving two different superior groups for Mercer (Class of 2013 and the Class of 2017), are now 3-3 in their head-to-head battles, with more success in the later stages of the rivalry than earlier.
The once-beaten Lady Cardinals head to Columbia at Mizzou Arena, where Mercer will play South Iron in the state semifinals on Thursday afternoon on KTTN FM 92.3.
Jefferson ends the season with a mark of 27-3. Sarah Chor led the Lady Eagles with 11 points.
Mercer showed solid balance in the scoring column, with Lindsay Wyatt scoring 16 points, with Emily Sample adding 14, and Bailey Owens 12.
Friday night’s game, broadcast on KTTN, was the back-end of a Class 1 quarterfinal at the Civic Arena. In the first game, North Andrew advanced to state with a 54-41 win over GRC Western Division rival Worth County.
