Thursday's game wasn't the best for the Lady Mules.
They didn't communicate all that well, the didn't handle the ball all that well, passing could have been better, movement could have been better, but they still beat Oxford (Miss.) 48-37 in the Border Challenge at the Senior High Gym.
"It was just one of those games you just work through. We've been off for a few days now and came back and hopefully (Friday) night we'll play a little bit better," Poplar Bluff coach John David Pattillo said. "We started well. When the flow of the game changed, we didn't continue to play through things very well. Overall, we started out pretty well and with their size, I thought we rebounded pretty well. I thought that was going to be an issue."
Poplar Bluff's first bucket, which followed an Oxford free throw and caused the only lead change in the game, was a putback by Doni Everts, who was named Poplar Bluff's Player of the Game.
"Honestly, it wasn't my best game so I was not expecting it, but I'm honored to have it," Everts said of the postgame honor. "Our rebounding was excellent. Shelby Sievers stepped up when we needed it and she played phenomenally on the boards."
"We had our guards drop in and take some of the extra people that normally we would have. So that helped knowing that they had them and we just had to take care of the big people. That helped tremendously."
Added Pattillo, "Doni had to rebound, she got some post stuff early, she got to the foul line a little bit ... and then she had to handle the ball a little bit. The way we play, she had to handle it and take care of it for us and she did a good job of that."
Kiley Bess led the Mules with 23 points. She had 10 in the first quarter and 19 in the first half. Her three-point play with under a minute left in the first quarter gave Poplar Bluff its first double-digit lead. Then she opened the second with a bucket and a 3 to give the Mules a 13-point lead, their biggest of the game.
Poplar Bluff (4-1) was up six at half and had to find offense somewhere else in the second.
"They started running a chaser on Kiley and made it tougher on her. We extended out offensively and quit looking to score," Pattillo said. "When the flow changes, we have to understand that we have to execute better in our offensive sets. There are times when we are taking one pass, one shot, quick shots, and the next thing you know we're moving the ball around."
Bess had five points in the second half, all on free throws. She was 10 for 13 overall from the foul line.
Sievers picked up some of the slack with six second-half points to lead Poplar Bluff in scoring after halftime and had eight total.
"We executed a little bit better and just trying to do some things (in the second half)," Pattillo said.
Sievers' bucket with under 2 minutes left in the third put Poplar Bluff back up by 10 for the first time since Bess' three-point play near the end of the first quarter. Oxford didn't get closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.
Oxford (2-6) scored 12 points in the second half and had just five points in the third quarter. Of its 15 total field goals, five were in the second half and three were by Calicia Zinn, who finished with seven second half points and eight total.
"It wasn't our strongest game, but we pulled it out in the end," Everts said.
Christina Owens led Oxford with 12 points and had three in the second half.