SPRINGFIELD — For Lily Mahy, once again nothing but air was followed by nothing but net.
Mahy followed up an air ball by making four 3-pointers in Nixa’s 56-45 White Division semifinal win against Marshfield at the Pink & White Tournament on Friday.
“It's kind of a thing with me that if I air-ball my first one, I normally get hot at some point in the game,” Mahy said. “It’s happened multiple times. So, that was the feeling I had.
"The first shot I took today was bad," she added. "All you can do as a shooter is have a positive mindset and think the next one is going in."
Mahy hasn’t gotten to the point, yet, in which she’s ready to purposely put up an air ball on her first shot attempt of a game.
“I'm hoping for all makes first,” she said.
Mahy netted all four her of her 3s in the third quarter. She enjoyed a torrid stretch in which she hit a 3 on three straight Nixa possessions to turn a 34-28 Lady Eagles lead to 43-31.
“Credit to my teammates,” Mahy said. “They noticed I was feeling it and got me the ball and let me work.”
Mahy feels her follow-through is often a tell-all sign whether her shots are going to fall.
“Holding my follow-through and making sure it goes in before I go back has always been something I have to work on,” she said. “I like to fade back.”
Mahy had 12 of her 14 points in the third quarter.
“She is capable of getting hot,” Nixa coach Jenny Talbert said. “We see it all the time in practice and we've seen it in games. She's a great shooter. When (defenses) give her some space on the perimeter, I like our chances of her making those.”
Nixa was in control from start to finish, as the Lady Eagles’ defense stood out.
“I was proud of us for playing gritty at the end,” Talbert said. “Maybe our shots weren't falling, but I felt like we locked down our defense and were able to get some stops.”
“Defense and rebounding were a big part of (our win),” forward Taylor Wood added. “We did a good job shutting down some of their better players.”
Wood led Nixa with 17 points and Brooke Teter had 13.
The Lady Eagles (9-2) advance to the final against Greenwood (Arkansas) at 6 p.m Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s Pink Division title game, which Greenwood won 66-51.
“We're looking for revenge,” Mahy said.
“Our goal was to get to the championship game. Now our goal has adjusted to let's go win it,” Talbert said. “Why play in this tournament unless you're going to go take care of business and win on the final day. I think (the girls) are going to be fired up. They'll be excited and be ready to go.”
