Blue Eye beats Miller girls in battle for Class 2 supremacy

Eyes across the state were eagerly awaiting the score to an early season top 5 showdown in Blue Eye against Miller Lady Cardinals. Blue Eye comes in at No. 4 in the preseason MBCA behind a senior heavy roster. They enter the showdown 3-2 after a brutal early season schedule. Miller comes in almost as a mirror image. Senior dominant, Final Four aspirations and a brutal early season schedule. The difference is Miller sits at No. 2 in the MBCA rankings and are 6-0.

None of that mattered once the game tipped off, however, and the elite defenses of the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Cardinals reigned supreme. No points would be scored for almost the first three minutes of the game until Miller senior Claudia Hadlock made a three ball with 5:15 remaining in the opening quarter. Miller had several chances to build on the 3-0 lead but miscommunications and several errant passes out of bounds kept the Lady Bulldogs right there. The 3-0 lead would hold until under 30 seconds remained in the quarter when Hadlock hit another three to double the Lady Cardinal lead to 6-0 after one quarter.
A back-and-forth ensued, leading to a halftime score of 13-7, Miller in control.

 
A third quarter run buy Blue Eye would tie the game at 21 going into the fourth quarter.

To start the final stanza, a 5-0 run from Hadlock alone put the Lady Cardinals into a good position, up 26-21 with just 5:30 remaining. But the Lady Bulldogs fought back, grabbing a 30-27 lead with just 36 seconds left. But Miller wouldn't score again, giving Blue Eye the game, 31-27.

Turnovers in the second half haunted the Lady Cardinals, proving especially costly in the final two minutes of the game.
“I thought we competed hard. Obviously Blue Eye is a fantastic team. We knew the challenge it was going to be to come to their place on their home court. The first half we handled our business and dictated the tempo and did what we wanted to do. In the second half, they dictated the tempo and at the end of the day, I think that is what caused us to get beat in the end,” Miller coach Sean Price said.

Scoring
Miller’s Hadlock led the game with 15 points for the Lady Cardinals. Kaylee Helton added nine, while Payten Richardson rounded out scoring for Miller with three.
The Lady Cardinals move to 6-1 on the season. They were tasked with a big challenge Monday as they traveled to Republic before opening the Walnut Grove tournament at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Fair Play.