Dragons shake off early jitters to advance to quarterfinals

FAUCETT, Mo -- A roster of only eight players is now one of only eight teams remaining in the MSHSAA Girls Basketball Class 3 State Tournament. 

Mid-Buchanan carries one senior, one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen. Yet, the moments for these players don’t become too big for them even when the stage gets bigger and bigger each game they continue to win. 

In their first sectional game since 2019, the Dragons won in a rematch over South Harrison 54-45 to punch their ticket to the Class 3 quarterfinals. 

It took time for the Dragons to settle into Tuesday’s home contest. The early portion  of the first quarter saw the Dragons throw up a couple of air balls and two uncharacteristic turnovers in the half court. For a team that has gelled well over the course of the season.

Once Mid-Buchanan settled into its offense and was able to move with the basketball in its half court defense, the Dragons were able to shake off an early 3-0 deficit to give South Harrison a back-and-forth battle in the first half, as neither team offered much breathing room in the first 16 minutes. 

In the second half, the first double digit lead of the contest would go to the Dragons midway through the fourth quarter. The outside shooting of South Harrison would go stale and baskets would be hard to come by. Mid-Buchanan’s lone senior London Wilson would give Mid-Buch its biggest lead of the game at 13 by hitting a three pointer off of an inbounds with just over five minutes left in the giving, almost securing the win for the Dragons.

Wilson would lead the Dragons with 18 points, and freshman Tatum Moss and sophomore Myia Dillman adding 11 points each to help in the winning effort.