The School of the Ozarks Patriots suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Friday. They were outmatched by Southern Missouri RUSH on the road and fell 68-24. School of the Ozarks was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 38-11.
Despite the loss, School of the Ozarks still got an impressive performance from Lily Todd, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, School of the Ozarks struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Southern Missouri RUSH racked up 15 assists.
Southern Missouri RUSH got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Hannah Gibbons out in front who scored 34 points along with five rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Gibbons has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Lillian Mindeman, who scored 20 points along with seven assists and three steals.
School of the Ozarks has not been sharp recently, as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-4 record this season. As for Southern Missouri RUSH, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-3.
School of the Ozarks won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Hurley on January 6th. Southern Missouri RUSH won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Galena at 3:15 p.m. on January 6th. Galena will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Missouri Rankings (they are ranked 487th, while Southern Missouri RUSH is ranked 125th).