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If someone’s going to take the game-winning shot, it might as well be a Bowen.
It’s in the bloodlines.
Senior guard Jordan Bowen hit the biggest shot of her life on Wednesday, draining a 18-footer off the right baseline to give the St. James High School girls’ basketball team a 41-40 victory over West Plains in Missouri Class 4 Sectional action at Lebanon High School.
St. James, 25-3 and ranked No. 3 in this week’s Missouri Class 4 state poll, now braces for a rematch with the state’s top-ranked team, Webb City, in quarterfinal action at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hammons Student Center on the campus of Missouri State in Springfield.
Webb City (27-1) advanced to the quarterfinals by blasting Republic 60-34 in sectional action on Wednesday.
It was Webb City that knocked St. James out of the state playoffs in last year’s quarterfinals at the Hammons Student Center.
The quarterfinal survivor moves on to the Class 4 Final Four. The St. James-Webb City winner will meet the O’Hara (22-6)-Staley (19-7) quarterfinal winner at 5 p.m. March 12 in Missouri Class 4 State Tournament semifinal action at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
The West Plains Lady Zizzers, ranked No. 9 in the Class 4 state poll, ends with a 23-6 mark.
St. James fans have seen a Bowen come through in the clutch time and again. Jordan’s older sister, Jennifer, led the Lady Tigers to three Final Four state tournament berths and was a three-time all-stater who went on to play NCAA Division I basketball.
Jordan was in the stands watching as Jennifer completed her heroics for the Lady Tigers.
On Wednesday, however, it was Jennifer in the stands watching Jordan win it at the buzzer.
Overcoming a 12-point halftime deficit, St. James chipped away throughout the second half.
With :20 remaining senior guard Tiffany Hauck nailed an 18-foot jumper to cut the Lady Tiger deficit to 40-39 and Lady Tiger head coach Brad Conway called a time out.
With nine seconds left St. James put West Plains’ 5-6 sophomore Haley Menz to the free throw line for a one-and-one attempt. Menz missed the first free throw and the Lady Tigers’ Brittany Harris-Conway grabbed the rebound and triggered a St. James fast break.
Junior guard Rachel Connell had the ball at the top of the key and found Jordan Bowen on her right with a pass. Bowen fired up the 18-foot jumper, which swished through the net with :01 remaining for the victory.
If someone’s going to take the game-winning shot, it might as well be a Bowen.
It’s in the bloodlines.
Senior guard Jordan Bowen hit the biggest shot of her life on Wednesday, draining a 18-footer off the right baseline to give the St. James High School girls’ basketball team a 41-40 victory over West Plains in Missouri Class 4 Sectional action at Lebanon High School.
St. James, 25-3 and ranked No. 3 in this week’s Missouri Class 4 state poll, now braces for a rematch with the state’s top-ranked team, Webb City, in quarterfinal action at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hammons Student Center on the campus of Missouri State in Springfield.
Webb City (27-1) advanced to the quarterfinals by blasting Republic 60-34 in sectional action on Wednesday.
It was Webb City that knocked St. James out of the state playoffs in last year’s quarterfinals at the Hammons Student Center.
The quarterfinal survivor moves on to the Class 4 Final Four. The St. James-Webb City winner will meet the O’Hara (22-6)-Staley (19-7) quarterfinal winner at 5 p.m. March 12 in Missouri Class 4 State Tournament semifinal action at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
The West Plains Lady Zizzers, ranked No. 9 in the Class 4 state poll, ends with a 23-6 mark.
St. James fans have seen a Bowen come through in the clutch time and again. Jordan’s older sister, Jennifer, led the Lady Tigers to three Final Four state tournament berths and was a three-time all-stater who went on to play NCAA Division I basketball.
Jordan was in the stands watching as Jennifer completed her heroics for the Lady Tigers.
On Wednesday, however, it was Jennifer in the stands watching Jordan win it at the buzzer.
Overcoming a 12-point halftime deficit, St. James chipped away throughout the second half.
With :20 remaining senior guard Tiffany Hauck nailed an 18-foot jumper to cut the Lady Tiger deficit to 40-39 and Lady Tiger head coach Brad Conway called a time out.
With nine seconds left St. James put West Plains’ 5-6 sophomore Haley Menz to the free throw line for a one-and-one attempt. Menz missed the first free throw and the Lady Tigers’ Brittany Harris-Conway grabbed the rebound and triggered a St. James fast break.
Junior guard Rachel Connell had the ball at the top of the key and found Jordan Bowen on her right with a pass. Bowen fired up the 18-foot jumper, which swished through the net with :01 remaining for the victory.
Bowen’s game-winner gave the Lady Tigers their first lead of the second half.
“It was amazing. I told Rachel I thought I made that shot because I saw Jen do it so many times,” Jordan Bowen said of her sister.
“It was just a fast break. Actually the first thing that popped in my head after I made the shot was to get back on defense. But then I saw coach coming on the floor and I knew it was over.”
Conway said the first option on the play was Connell. But he’s sure glad that Bowen was there for the second option.
“During the timeout we said if they missed the first free throw to make sure we secure the rebound, make a good outlet pass and make a basket. They cut Rachel off and she made a good decision to Jordan.”
The expected defensive battle began in the first quarter, as the two teams exchanged turnovers much of the period. The lead changed hands five times in the period. A put-back by 5-9 junior post Kayla Walters with :02 left gave the Lady Tigers a 12-11 edge entering the second period.
Tabby Haney, a 5-7 junior guard, shot the West Plains Lady Zizzers into the lead. After drilling a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter, T. Haney opened the second period by hitting back-to-back treys. Lady Zizzer teammate Ashley Harris then completed a 8-0 run with a layup off a St. James turnover to give West Plains a seven-point lead, 19-12.
After a fast-break layup by Lady Tiger senior post Heather Stowers, West Plains went on a 9-0 run, including the final seven points from 5-7 freshman Andrea Haney.
A. Haney’s two free throws with :19 remaining gave the Lady Zizzers their largest lead of the game, 28-14. Connell hit two free throws to end the half and cut St. James’ deficit to 28-16.
When the second-quarter smoke cleared West Plains had outscored St. James 17-4.
“We talked about being patient in their zone,” Conway said. “At the same time we didn’t want to be too patient. In the first half we were passing up too many shots.”
It was a different story in the third period, as the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Zizzers 15-6.
With the Lady Tiger defense creating a slew of Zizzer turnovers St. James slowly closed the gap. And with 1:43 remaining Connell canned a three-pointer after a Zizzer turnover to tie the game at 31.
T. Haney struck again to close out the quarter, hitting a three-pointer to give West Plains a 34-31 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
“We told the girls one shot was not going to bring us back. We hit two baskets off the bat (to start the second half) and then I think we all kind of woke up in the third quarter.”
Stowers, Bowen and Harris-Conway all tallied eight points for St. James. Bowen had six rebounds, Walters had five rebounds and three assists and Connell had three assists -- none bigger than the final one to Bowen.
T. Haney scored a game-high 19 points, including six 3-pointers.
Now the Lady Tigers get set for the challenge of facing Webb City.
“We know they have two girls who transferred in to take the place of two who graduated,” Bowen said of Webb City. “We played with them this summer and we played right with them, even though we had a couple of injuries. I think we can step up and play with them.”
“(Webb City) is probably the best team in the state, no matter the classification,” Conway said. “They have a lot of weapons. We’re just going to have to have a game plan and give our best effort. I told the girls we have got an opportunity to redeem ourselves for last year. Taking care of the ball will be important.”
Individual scoring
St. James (41): Stowers 3-2-8, Bowen 4-0-8, Hauck 2-0-4, Walters 3-0-6, Connell 1-4-7, Harris-Conway 3-2-8, Totals 16-8-41.
West Plains (40): T. Haney 6-1-19, Alsup 1-0-2, A. Haney 2-5-9, Menz 2-0-4, Reed 0-1-1, Harris 2-1-5, Totals 13-8-40.
