Cassville Democrat: High School Sports: Lady Pirates plank Cassville, 54-33 (12/19/12)

Hanging on Chuck Nickle Photography Cassville senior Emily Speakman attempts to pull the ball away from a Crane defender, during the Lady Wildcats game on Dec. 17.

The Crane Lady Pirates basketball team came to Cassville and defeated the Lady Wildcats on Dec. 17, 54-33.

Crane never trailed and rode quarter margins of 21-5, 31-13, and 44-20 into the final period.

The Lady Pirates led by 30 twice in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Wildcats rallied for 11 points in the final 3:28 to cut the margin to 19 before a fast break layup by Emma Lander gave Crane the 21-point victory.

Words of wisdom Chuck Nickle Photography Chris Shore, the head coach of the Cassville Lady Wildcats basketball team, talks with his squad during a timeout of the Crane game on Dec. 17.

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"They're pretty good," Cassville coach Chris Shore said before the game while sizing up the opposition. He wasn't joking.

The Lady Pirates had only lost twice, and those games were to powers Marionville and Kickapoo. With a bench eight deep in quality players, Crane presents problems to nearly every opponent.

The Lady Pirates applied full court pressure throughout the first half, and limited Cassville to just six field goals and a free throw. The Lady Wildcats scored only seven points in the third period. The 13 fourth-quarter points were deceiving, as they came after Crane's Jeremy Mullins had emptied his bench twice.

Eight Lady Pirates scored in the contest, with junior Riley Israel pouring in a game-high 13. Emily Speakman led Cassville with 10.

The Lady Wildcats fell to 4-3 on the season.

Scoring for Cassville: Speakman, 10 points; Raeghan Blisard and Sydney Curnes, 6 apiece; Lindsey Nolan, 4; Kelsey Baker, 3; and Britani Long and Brooke Fields, 2 each.

Scoring for Crane: Israel, 13 points; Emma Lander, 11; Lexie Vaught and Sam Bunting, 8 apiece; Allie Hagler, 7; Loni Johnson, 3; and Kylie Vaught and Justeen Mahan, 2 each.