By Rod Shetler
sports@joplinglobe.com
REPUBLIC, Mo. — It didn’t come down to a record-setting scoring performance from Miller’s Hannah Wilkerson — it was more of a team effort — but the Miller Cardinals finally put last year’s sectional disappointment to rest on Wednesday.
Miller (26-4), who saw its season end last year at the hands of the Sparta Trojans (27-3), exacted a measure of revenge and came away with a 58-54 victory to advance to the Class 2 quarterfinals.
The Cardinals face Osceola at 6 p.m. Saturday at Willard High School in a quarterfinal contest.
Through three quarters Miller’s biggest lead had been seven points (36-29) midway through the third quarter, but Sparta rallied in the final minutes and tied the Cardinals on Kayla Coffer’s free throw to complete a three-point play as the period ended with the teams tied 43-43.
That’s when things got strange.
As the fourth quarter began Sparta guard Leslie Stevens had blood on her leg. The referee ordered a band-aid placed on her before she could take the court.
“The band-aid fell off and we were trying to get it fixed,” said Sparta coach Jerry Songer. “The referee came over and said we had to sub for her or call a timeout.”
Songer said he looked back to the bench to find a player to sub for Stevens and the referee proceeded to start the quarter as Miller inbounded the ball with a player advantage on the court.
“I turned around and the game was going on so I grabbed (Nicole Dowdy) and pushed her out there,” said Songer.
Dowdy ran directly from the bench to the court as Miller senior Nicole Adams drained a 3-pointer. The referees counted the 3-pointer and called a technical foul on Sparta’s bench for an illegal substitution. Miller’s Wilkerson made both free throws for a five-point swing and a 48-43 Miller lead.
“The referee has still not explained what I did wrong,” said Songer. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a big momentum swing.”
Miller coach Brandon Weiss saw the chaos that opened the fourth quarter as an opportunity for his Cardinals — one they took advantage of.
“(Songer) didn’t sub in a player fast enough so I just told the girls to get in and work the ball and attack at that point since they only had four out there,” he said. “That was a five-point swing, and in the playoffs one possession can be the difference.”
Sparta never regained the lead, but both teams had opportunities from the free-throw line in the final minutes.
Down 56-54, Sparta’s Kayla Coffer went to the line with 32.9 seconds left and missed a front end of a 1-and-1. Miller’s Wilkerson then missed both attempts from the line with 26.5 seconds left.
With 17.5 seconds left, and Miller still clinging to a two-point lead, Leslie Stevens missed another 1-and-1 for Sparta. After a Sparta turnover, Adams hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to put the game out of reach and secure the victory for Miller.
Wilkerson, who cemented her spot as the top scorer, male or female in Missouri history, during last week’s district championship game, scored 29 points Wednesday, 7.4 below her season average, on 9-of-23 shooting, but after the game the senior was all smiles.
“I’m sure people will say, ‘Oh, she just had 29 points, big whoop,’ ” said Wilkerson with a smile. “But I don’t care. We won. I didn’t feel like I needed to score as much because other people were open.”
Teammate Jessica Cook finished with 14 points, including her first two 3-pointers of the season.
“It was one of those things where she let them go and you say, ‘No don’t ... nice shot’ when it goes through,” said Weiss.
Kayla Coffer led all scorers with 32 points and nine rebounds for Sparta, an effort her coach called, “her best of the year.’
“She outplayed Wilkerson,” said Songer. “I told the team before the game that if they held Wilkerson to under 30 they would win, and she had 29.”
Miller did get to the line more than Sparta hitting 17-of-28 to the Trojans’ 9-of-18. Sparta dominated the rebounding battle 37-24.
It was Sparta’s first loss to a Class 2 or lower school since the 2007-2008 season.
