Willard Tigers defeat host Ozark in tough overtime battle

Both Willard High School basketball teams played at Ozark last week, with the girls losing and the boys winning, but in overtime.
The Lady Tigers opened up with a 12-point first quarter but Ozark answered back with 19 points to lead by seven at the end of the quarter. Willard scored another 12 points in the second quarter, but Ozark scored 20 points to take a 39-24 halftime lead.
Defense prevailed in the second half, as Willard only scored a total of 13 points, while Ozark put up just 21 points but was able to win the game 60-37.
“Ozark is a really good basketball team and the defending COC (Central Ozark Conference) champs from last year,” said head coach J. J. Adamson. “They shot it really well from behind the arc tonight and we couldn’t match their scoring. There were some real positives for our ball club and I am happy with the effort our young ladies gave.”
Kaitlyn Burson led Willard with a double-double, scoring 15 points and pulling down 13 rebounds; Nona Adamson chipped in 13 points in the loss.
Willard is currently 13-11 and has one regular season game left, as they were scheduled to host Branson
on Monday night. The Class 5, District 12
tournament is scheduled to get underway next week at Republic and Willard is the third seed in the tournament. Republic is the top seed; followed by Parkview, Willard, Carthage and Joplin. The tournament begins Feb. 23 and will conclude on March 1.
The Tigers knocked off Ozark, 69-65 in overtime on Feb. 12. Daniel Abreu led Willard with 40 points and Maurice Grayer added 17 points in the win.
“This was a great game for us,” said head coach Jeremy Draessler. “We have been really competitive all year but five of our losses have been
by two possessions or less. It was our first close game win and it was a great preparation game for districts.”
The Tigers are currently 15-8 and have two regular season games left. Willard was scheduled to host Branson on Feb. 19 before traveling to Rogersville to end the regular season Feb. 21.
With the Class 5, District 12 tournament scheduled to start on Feb. 23 in Republic, Willard is the second seed with Republic as the top seed. Parkview is the third seed, Joplin is seeded fourth and Carthage is the fifth seed.
The tournament will conclude on March 1.

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
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