By: Ryan Retone, Student Intern
Nixa received the No. 2 seed in the White Division of the annual Pink and White Lady Classic. The Eagles entered the tournament with a 6-2 record on a five-game winning streak with wins over Battle, Kearney, St. Pius X KC, Hickman, West Plains, and Grain Valley.
Read below for game summaries from the Eagles games.
Nixa overcomes slow start, routes Lebanon in White Division opener
Coach Jennifer Talbert debuted her first Pink and White at the helm of Nixa against Lebanon in the opening round.
Things didn't always come easy to the Eagles in their first-round game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center. Lebanon, a fellow class six school and future Central Ozark Conference foe, was a tough draw to begin the holiday tournament.
The Yellowjackets led at the midway point in the first 8-3.
A game-changing adjustment was made as Talbert elected to move her squad into a full-court press. The Eagles defense began forcing Yellowjackets turnovers, resulting in easy transition points on the other end. Taylor Wood evened the score at 12 with a big 3-pointer to end the first quarter, and momentum shifted into Nixa's hands.
The Nixa defense eventually forced 35 Lebanon miscues, ultimately being the deciding factor in the game. The Eagles were plus-19 (35-16) in the turnover category.
A Kennedy Nash deep ball gave Nixa their first double-digit lead of the game with under four minutes to play in the first half. A strong team effort with six Eagles tallying on the score sheet sent Nixa into the break with a 36-16 advantage.
Nixa enjoyed a lead of 20-plus for the remainder of the night, normal reserves got their shining moment, and even enacted the turbo-clock, coasting to the 82-49 victory over Lebanon.
Brooke Teter showcased a dominant 22-point performance to lead the way for the Eagles, followed by Laila Grant (14) and Wood (13).
Box Score
Nixa 12 | 24 | 17 | 19 | 72
Lebanon 12 | 4 | 19 | 14 | 49
Nixa Individual Scorers: Teter (22), Grant (14), Wood (13), Mahy (9), Ruffin (4), Young (4), Ferguson (3), Nash (3)
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Gallery: (12-27-2023) Varsity Girls Basketball vs Lebanon
Eagles dominate from the jump to advance to Pink and White semifinals
Nixa's quarterfinal matchup brought on a tough challenge with a storied Strafford program. Strafford defeated the Eagles in the 2021-22 Pink and White semifinals, so these teams were well acquainted with one another playing on the big holiday stage.
This go-around was all Nixa, though.
The Eagles set the tone early with a 4-0 lead and led throughout, other than the few seconds that Strafford knotted the game at four all.
It was again the suffocating full-court pressure that allowed coach Talbert's squad to extend their lead. Brooke Teter went on a 4-0 run herself when she got back-to-back steals and layups off the press late in the first, and then, Taylor Wood beat the first-quarter buzzer as she drove to the lane, blew by the Indian defender, and finished the layup to give Nixa a 17-9 lead.
The Eagles carried its momentum into the second and doubled up the Indians in the second quarter, outscoring Strafford 15-7, and led 32-16 into the break.
Fresh out of the locker room, Nixa began to pour it on offensively, kickstarting the third with a 9-2 run. Sadie Conway gave the Eagles a comfortable 23-point lead when she drained a 3-pointer with roughly two minutes into the quarter. Laila Grant capped off the quarter's scoring with an easy basket inside, as she tallied six of her ten points in the third and sent Nixa into the final period leading 53-31.
The Indians made a push in the final quarter and cut the lead to as low as 13, but the Eagles were still too much to handle and prevailed 71-56.
Nixa dominated the glass, which was a pivotal factor in the game. The Eagles outrebounded Strafford 36-16 and shot a perfect 18 of 18 from the charity stripe, and over 50% from the field (24 of 45).
For the second-straight night, Nixa had a 20-point scorer, this time coming from Sadie Conway.
Box Score
Nixa 17 | 15 | 21 | 18 | 71
Strafford 9 | 7 | 15 | 25 | 56
Nixa Individual Scorers: Conway (20), Teter (16), Wood (11), Grant (10), Mahy (8), Kubik (2), Nash (2), Ruffin (2)
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Gallery: (12-28-2023) Varsity Girls Basketball vs Strafford
Mahy's second-half heroics propel the Eagles to a second-straight Pink and White title game
On a night where most shots weren't falling for either squads, it took stellar defense and clutch 3-pointers to propel Nixa into the White Division championship game.
In a similar fashion to the night before, the second-seeded Eagles led for all but 14 seconds against third-seeded Marshfield. However, this one was evenly matched and tightly contested throughout.
Nixa led 25-18 at the half, but out of the break, Marshfield answered back with a run to bring the game within three points and all the momentum on the side of the Blue Jays.
But, then the Lilly Mahy show began to halt Marshfield's comeback bid. Mahy drilled a 3-pointer to bring the lead back to six and give the Eagles some breathing room. Later in the quarter, she connected from downtown on three consecutive possessions, erupting life into the Nixa crowd. Any hope that the Blue Jays had gained from their hot start to the second half was brought to a screeching stop by the takeover Mahy had embarked on.
After three, Nixa had a double-digit advantage of 43-31.
Big fourth-quarter buckets down the stretch by Taylor Wood and Sadie Conway secured the 56-45 win and a rematch in the championship game with Greenwood, Ark.
The Eagles again won the turnover margin, forcing 12 Marshfield miscues to Nixa's 7.
Wood led the scoring attack for the Eagles with 17 points. Mahy (15) and Teter (13) also played a huge role in the win.
Box Score
Nixa 11 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 56
Marshfield 10 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 45
Nixa Individual Scorers: Wood (17), Mahy (15), Teter (13), Conway (5), Kubik (3), Grant (2), Nash (2)
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Gallery: (12-29-2023) Varsity Girls Basketball vs Marshfield
Nixa's comeback effort falls just short against cross-state foe
It has become an expectation in the Nixa community that the girls basketball team is always in contention for a Pink and White Lady Classic tournament championship. This year marked the third championship game appearance in four years and the fifth top-three finish in six years. Despite this success, the Eagles last championship was in the 2002 edition of the tournament.
Nixa took the floor at the O'Reilly Family Event Center looking to avenge the 2022 championship game loss to Greenwood, Ark., who defeated the Eagles 66-51 for the Pink Division title.
Greenwood had won back-to-back state championships in Arkansas' 5A classification and came into the game with a 12-3 record. The Bulldogs graduated their top producer in Mady Cartwright but returned Anna Trusty, a future division-one basketball player who teamed up with Lilly Mahy throughout the summer circuit.
It was clear early on that nothing would come easy to either team as these powerhouses collided. Trusty opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with an elbow jumper, followed by Mahy continuing her dominant performance from the prior night with a corner 3-pointer.
Greenwood led by as much as seven in the opening quarter, but Nixa stormed back and took the 15-13 lead off a Taylor Wood long ball to close out the first.
After trading buckets on the opening possessions of the second quarter, the Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run to create the game's first separation. Mahy hit a big 3-pointer from near the volleyball line to give the Eagles the slightest bit of momentum heading into the locker room.
Even with the big shot, Greenwood led 29-20 at the half.
Nixa needed a big third quarter following the break, and surely they did. Despite Greenwood leading for the majority of the period, the Eagles slowly inched their way back into the game.
With under three minutes left and the Eagles trailing by seven, Mahy, again, converted in another big moment, as she drained a corner 3-pointer coming off an assist from Laila Grant, which kickstarted a Nixa rally.
Mahy then returned the favor with 50 seconds left. The point guard found a wide-open Kenndey Nash in the corner, who sank the deep ball and gave Nixa its first lead since early in the second of 32-31.
The Bulldogs answered and would close the third quarter on a 5-0 run and carry a 36-32 lead into the finale.
Nixa would have chances to tie or take the lead in the final quarter, including the last play of the game, but the comeback bid came up just short.
The Eagles started the fourth, nailing a 3-pointer, bringing the game within one. Greenwood and Nixa exchanged baskets on its ensuing possessions, and it was still a one-point game, 38-37. That score would remain for a little over a minute.
Greenwood converted four freebies and extended its lead to 42-37 midway through the fourth.
A basket inside by Grant with two minutes left trimmed Nixa's deficit to 42-39, and following a minute of Greenwood melting the clock, Taylor Wood drew a charge and gave Nixa life and a chance to tie the game. On the opposite end of the court, Wood's incredible effort made it a one-possession game still. Her deep ball was off target, but Wood saved the ball from going out of bounds and redirected it to Grant, who made the shot off the glass. It was 42-41, Greenwood, with 29.8 remaining in the game.
The Bulldogs converted both free throws and, with two fouls to give, Greenwood intentionally fouled Nixa on its possession to potentially halt a quick transition and good opportunity for the Eagles from deep.
Nixa managed to get a 3-pointer off before time expired but was off the frame, and the gutsy and gritty effort by the Eagle fell short 44-41, as they finished runners-up in the Pink and White tournament for a second-straight year.
Despite shooting 44% from the field while holding Greenwood to 35%, the difference came at the charity stripe. Greenwood got to the line and converted five more times than Nixa. Both teams shot perfectly from the line.
Nixa (9-3) has a well-earned break before opening Central Ozark Conference play in Eagle Fieldhouse against Carl Junction on Thursday, January 11.
Box Score
Greenwood (AR) 13 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 44
Nixa 15 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 41
Nixa Individual Scorers:
Mahy (14), Wood (14), Grant (8), Nash (3), Ruffin (3), Teter (2), Kubik (1)
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Gallery: (12-30-2023) Varsity Girls Basketball vs Greenwood
