Seniors shine: Heisserer steps up for Eagles

Scott City's Stephanie Essner (3) and Oran's Haley Glastetter (22) track down a loose ball Thursday night in Scott City.
(Photo by Chris Pobst, Staff)

SCOTT CITY -- Big game moments seem to follow Scott City senior Macy Heisserer.

Whether it is drawing a charge in the Scott-Mississippi Conference tournament or even coming up with a huge steal in a loss on Wednesday night, she finds herself in the right place at the right time.

On Thursday night, following two of her own missed free throws, Heisserer pulled down her own rebound and promptly sank a bucket on the putback giving the Lady Rams a four-point lead with just 30 seconds remaining in the game.

"I knew it wasn't going in as soon as it left my hands so I just went after it," Heisserer said. "I finished it, thankfully."

Heisserer's second effort helped propel Scott City past the Oran Lady Eagles in a 59-53 senior night win at Scott City High School.

Up until that point, Heisserer, who finished with six points on the night, had not had one of her better games. Oran's man-to-man defense was giving all of the Lady Rams fits as they committed 32 turnovers as a team. The Scott City guards felt the worst of that blow.

"I knew I made a few turnovers in the first half," Heisserer said. "It wasn't my best game."

"We're going to make mistakes but it's how we react afterwards," Scott City head coach Kerry Thompson said. "(Heisserer) didn't sit there and feel sorry for herself. She battled. That's what you've got to have."

Added to the turnover bug was the absence of Scott City's seasoned senior Stephanie Essner late in the game. Essner battled foul trouble in the second half and eventually fouled out with three minutes left in regulation and left the Lady Rams holding a slim two-point lead.

Eagerly jumping from her spot on the bench, Heisserer had almost immediately checked in for Essner following her fifth foul before Thompson gave her the go-ahead.

"She wanted to go in," said Thompson. "When Essner fouled out she looked at me and said 'I'm in' and she was ready. That says a lot about her. She was huge for us in the last few minutes."

Oran's Cheyanne King tied the game three consecutive times in the next two minutes. Every time Scott City scored to give them a two-point lead, King had an answer for it. Heisserer broke that trend.

"After Essner fouled out I knew we had to step it up because she's one of our main ball handlers," said Heisserer. "I knew I had to get in there and do something to get the ball in the goal and take care of it."

Oran held two-point leads after the second and third quarters. Scott City committed 19 of their 32 turnovers in those two quarters alone. The Lady Eagles pressured the Scott City guards well enough to frustrate them into forced passes inside and ball handling mistakes off the dribble.

"Oran had a great game plan," Thompson said. "I don't know if we ever figured out what to do against them. They got us rattled and out of our game. If we wouldn't have turned the ball over I think it would have been a different kind of ball game. We never could settle in and do that."

The Lady Rams had just come of an emotional loss to the East Prairie Lady Eagles on Wednesday night. They were also a bit rattled after their senior night ceremony as well. Brant said that might have something to do with their 16 first half turnovers.

"We were bitter coming into this game," Brant said. "We kind of got upset last night. But, we had to settle down. That was the way we stayed in it. We stuck with our plays and kept running them."

The back-and-forth game had a total of 10 lead changes throughout.

Scott City's seven seniors were honored before the start of the game with gifts from the coaching staff which included tickets to the NCAA Women's basketball tournament in Memphis, Tenn. Heisserer, Essner, Brant, Kristen Keesee, Holli Shemonia, Tiffany Merritt and Kelly Holder make up the seven Lady Ram seniors.

"Absolutely cannot say enough about this senior bunch," Thompson said. "I had been out of coaching for five years and when I took this job I didn't know what to expect. I've enjoyed my last two years coaching as much as I have any I ever coached. They're a joy to coach."

The seniors adorned small, plastic crowns following their big win. Something that Brant said will be a huge lift heading into districts.

"This is amazing," Brant said. "This is the perfect end to our regular season. Now it's time to focus on districts. We're ready."

ORAN (53) -- Shelbie Seyer 3, Abbey Anderson 7, Clair Seyer 4, Haley Glastetter 6, Taylor Irwin 2, Cheyanne King 23, Shelby Unger 8. FG 23 FT 5-11 F 19. (3-pointers: S. Seyer 1, Unger 1. Fouled out: Glastetter.)

SCOTT CITY (59) -- Stacey Heisserer 3, Stephanie Essner 9, Katie Hogan 15, Macy Heisserer 6, Tiffany Merritt 3, Melanie Lacey 11, Ashley Brant 12. FG 24 FT 9-21 F 12. (3-pointers: Essner 1, Hogan 1. Fouled out: Essner.)