By Jim Fryar

jfryar@joplinglobe.com

These girls just wanted to have fun.

The South girls wound up having the most fun Saturday in the Lions Club District 26-E All-Star Twin Classic.

With Saysan Jones and Mandy Howerton making big plays in the closing seconds, the South edged the North 91-88 at Missouri Southern’s Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Jones, a forward from Joplin, hit two free throws with 26 seconds left to put the South ahead 90-88. Howerton had a steal with 11 seconds remaining, then hit a single free throw for the final margin.

Howerton also disrupted the North’s final offensive set, forcing a jump ball with 0:02 left.

“She’s feisty,” Jones said of Howerton, her future teammate at Labette (Kan.) Community College. “She gets out there and gets after it. She seems like she never gets tired.”

Howerton, from Marionville, said she made the conscious decision not to pull the ball out and run clock after her steal at 0:11.

“I thought about holding it there, but then I decided to push it,” she said. “I had confidence in myself.”

North coach Walter Resa said he made the same decision with a one-point lead and about two minutes remaining.

“They looked at me (on the bench) like, ‘Do you want to pull it out?’ ” Resa said. “I said, ‘No, we’re going to attack.’ ”

That set up a furious finish, with the lead changing hands five times in 90 seconds.

“That was a lot different than school ball,” Howerton said of the game’s dizzying pace. “There were a lot of girls out there having fun. It was a blast.

“It was a little nerve-racking, but we came through. We all just had the heart and guts to finish it out.”

The South led 78-71 at the five-minute mark, but Nevada’s Afton Baldwin and Lamar’s Kayla Holland shot the North ahead in just more than a minute. Holland started the burst with a 3-pointer and Baldwin hit a pair of free throws.

Holland’s basket tied the game at 4:10 and Baldwin scored off a Tasha Hedgecorth assist to put the North ahead 80-78.

Jones converted a three-point play for the South to start a see-saw finish.

After Baldwin and Jones each hit a single free throw, Webb City’s Hedgecorth drilled a pair of free throws to put the North ahead 83-82. Jones and the North’s Ashley Jurgensmeyer (Osceola) traded baskets, then Joplin ACHF’s Lindsey Hight drove for a layup and an 86-85 South lead.

It took nine seconds for Hedgecorth to score for the go-ahead basket at the other end. Jones, who had 10 points in the final 31/2 minutes, gave the South an 88-87 lead at the one-minute mark.

Gabby Heath (Golden City) hit a single free throw to tie the game for the last time before Jones scored her final, decisive points.

“Saysan was just a handful down there,” said North coach Walter Resa, from Webb City. “She has those real quick spin moves. ... And Howerton is a nice player, a real nice player. She’s got those quick hands and is very intelligent.”

South coach Kenny Ferguson, from Southwest High School in Washburn, leaned back on the bench with his hands behind his head and enjoyed the offensive show.

“I was kind of worried about their size a little bit,” Ferguson said. “But our size and our guards played well together. ... I love my girls back at Southwest. We have an awfully good team. But this was nice to do, just kick back and let the girls do their thing.

“Saysan is strong and Howerton is just as quick as can be.

“It’s an all-star game and the girls wanted to show their individual talent. But they were very unselfish. They knew Saysan was sealing them pretty good and they were good about getting her and (McAuley Catholic’s Ali) O’Dell the ball.

“When they punched the ball down low, it wasn’t be over there hollering at them to get it there. They just recognized what was there and used their basketball sense to get it done. The fans got to see a good game.”

Jones poured in a game-high 29 points, including an 11-of-14 performance at the free-throw line. She said she was surprised with the total.

“I’m not really in basketball shape,” she said, a month after finishing the prep soccer season. “I was sucking wind pretty good out there.”

The 6-foot O’Dell had 17 points for the South, which finished with five players in double figures. Neosho’s Tara Massey hit four 3-point goals and scored 15. Howerton and Hight added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Baldwin fired in 27 points to spark the North. She had four 3-point goals and scored several times off nifty passes from former conference rival Hedgecorth.

Osceola’s Ginny Stevens and Jurgensmeyer had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Hedgecorth scored 12 and Lamar’s Kayla Holland added 11.