BRANSON — Ozark's Sydney Hampton was in her element Monday.
Roaming along the baseline behind Branson's 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defenses, the junior forward found herself free-lancing while gaining all the freedom she could want.
Hamton responded with a game-high 15 points in Ozark's 55-25 rout of the Lady Pirates.
"I love our zone offense," Hampton said. "It gives us more freedom to run where we want and to find the holes in the defense. I feel I'm better at finding the holes that way than following a strict offense."
The Lady Tigers showed patience while picking apart Branson's defense and racking up points in the paint in bunches.
"The kids were sharing the ball well and moved the ball around until we found the hole we were looking for," coach Brandon Clift said.
In particular, point guard Molly Rushing and Hampton worked well together. As Rushing would penetrate, Hampton would put herself in position to receive a pass and score.
"They were really wide (in their zone), so right from the get-go it was pretty easy to find the open man," Rushing said. "On our back-side, I found Sydney a lot. It was a lot of fun."
Rushing repeatedly worked through traps up top. She proceeded to pull up for mid-range jumpers on her way to 12 points or draw Branson's interior defenders to leave Hampton alone.
"Molly was really effective," coach Brandon Clift said. "I told the girls we would pick our opportunities to be aggressive. I think you saw that when Molly would get downhill and attack the middle of the zone. She saw she could find holes to get through and she got her dribble nice and low where their hands couldn't affect it. Sydney was the benefactor of a lot of passes inside and she finished very well."
"Molly hit me so many times on a speedy pass on the back side," Hampton said. "The back-side seal was there a ton. We planned it out well and it worked out well."
Ozark was only 4-of-16 from 3-point land. But those misses often led to putbacks, as the Lady Tigers again exposed Branson's interior defense by collecting 12 offensive rebounds.
Ozark often operates out of a zone defense, as well. But Clift looked at the matchups and made the right call by having the Lady Tigers play man-to-man.
Branson (9-9 and 1-2) turned the ball over on its first seven possessions and finished with 25 giveaways. The Lady Pirates didn't score in the fourth quarter. Elli Mehrhoff, who transferred to Branson following two years at Spokane, scored five points.
"I felt like we could play man and keep them from driving to the lane," Clift. "Also, they have a 6-1 post player and if she would get a clean look at offensive boards, it could be a tough night for us inside. When you play man, I think it gives you a better opportunity to block out defensively. If we've got to block someone out, I know Alexis (Soloman) is going to get it done."
"We've done zone a lot, but work on man all the time," Hampton said. "We know when to go to man or zone. We go off of who we're playing."
With Ozark having lost to Jefferson City Helias on Saturday, Clift was concerned about the Lady Tigers' preparation time for Branson.
"Having only one day of prep, I'm pleased how the girls executed our game plan," he said.
Since its 2-6 start to the season, Ozark (10-10 overall and 3-1 in the COC) has climbed to the .500 mark three times. The Lady Tigers have yet to be above .500. They will get another chance with Wednesday's re-scheduled trip to Willard.
"We'll get Willard," Rushing said. "I believe in us 100 percent. We're going to get it done."
"We've improved so much and worked as a team to improve. We've done well toward adapting to each other," Hampton said. "We'd love to get above .500 and stay above (.500), that's the goal."
Ozark 55, Branson 25
OZARK (55) — Foley 4 0-1 9, Hampton 6 2-2 15, Sult 1 0-0 3, Rushing 5 0-0 12, Soloman 2 4-6 8, Carson 1 0-0 2, Wofford 3 0-0 6.
BRANSON (25) — Hagston 1 2-3 4, McQueen 1 0-0 2, Rogers 3 0-0 9, Sever 1 0-0 2, Swafford 1 0-0 2, Mehrhoff 1 2-2 5, Foster 0 1-2 1.
Ozark 14 16 19 6 - 55
Branson. 6 10 9 0 - 25
3-point goals - Rogers 3, Rushing 2, Sult, Foley, Hampton
