In a contest where both teams made runs against the other, the Glasgow Yellowjackets had one last outburst left in them, using that late explosion to upset top-seeded Harrisburg, 58-48 in a Class Two, District 7 girls’ semifinal Wednesday, Feb. 25, as heard on KMMO-FM.
Riding the crest of some solid defense and a very strong rebounding performance, the Glasgow girls outscored the Bulldogs, 22-11 during the fourth quarter. That turned a one-point deficit into a stunning, 10-point win over the defending district champions ranked seventh in Class Two heading into district play. Yellowjackets head coach Molly Monnig credited her defense for keeping Harrisburg’s top scorers in check.
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Glasgow got out of the blocks early, jumping on top, 10-1 before the Bulldogs tallied 14 of the next 15 points to take a 15-11 lead during the second period. Then it was the Yellowjackets’ who bounced right back as they scored the next 10 points to go in front, 21-15 a few minutes later. Glasgow did lead 23-22 at intermission, but only after Halle Fuemmeler scored a basket just before the break to end Harrisburg’s 7-0 run which had briefly handed them the lead. Monnig reflected on the adjustments Glasgow made to prepare for the second half.
Fuemmeler indeed went on a tear, scoring 20 points during the final two quarters as she ended up with six three-pointers and a 31-point showing for her efforts. During the third period, the two sides battled back and forth on near-even terms with the Bulldogs going in front by one, 37-36 entering the last stanza. The fourth quarter saw the Yellowjackets gain momentum the closer they got to the final horn, forcing Harrisburg into unsuccessfully fouling in an effort to get back into the game.
Besides Fuemmeler’s 31 points, Karsyn Massie scored 13 and Aly Prentzler added 11 for the 21-7 Glasgow girls. Meanwhile, Harrisburg ended their campaign much earlier than they expected, falling to 21-6 as Lorelai Hunziker had 14 points to pace them.
Glasgow will go up against Westran in Friday night’s championship, after the Hornets used a couple of late threes to grab the lead and then hold off Marceline, 39-36. With less than three minutes remaining, Westran’s Kharigan Fuemmeler hit back to back threes, breaking a 33-33 tie and putting the Hornets on top by six, 39-33. Marceline’s Emery Dodd bounced back with a trifecta of her own, slicing the deficit to 39-36 with less than 90 seconds left, but that was as close as they could come. Still down by three, the Tigers did get the ball back twice in the final 45 seconds, but both times a tying, three-point attempt by Ella Moseley bounced off the rim, securing the win for the Lewis and Clark Conference school, who had squeaked past Marceline previously, 54-53 earlier this month.
Westran jumped in front, 12-6 after one period before Marceline tallied 13 of the next 16 points to lead 19-15 at the break. Then the Hornets regrouped in the third quarter where they outscored the Tigers 14-6 to earn a 29-25 advantage entering the final eight minutes of play. The last quarter was close throughout with Kharigan Fuemmeler’s threes proving to be the difference at the end. Now 20-8 on the year, Westran was paced by 14 points from Fuemmeler as she had four threes in the last half. Marceline thus sees their final record drop to 21-7 as Ella Moseley was held to only 10 points on their behalf.
The girls’ district title game will tip off Friday night at 6 p.m. The boys semifinals are Thursday, with pregame at 5:50 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9 and online at kmmo.com. Top-seeded Salisbury will face Marceline at 6 p.m., followed by Glasgow going up against Westran. We’ll also have the Class Three, District 13 semifinal from Windsor between Cole Camp and Versailles. That game is slated to tip off around 7:30 p.m. on kmmo.com.