Shelley was a big part of McKenna’s life outside of being her mom. Shelley was an assistant volleyball coach for Maize South as well as the school’s physical education teacher. McKenna has played volleyball since she was a freshman.
Adding to the difficulty of the week was a 19-point loss at Wellington on Tuesday that snapped a five-game winning streak for the Mavericks.
Friday night, in their final regular-season home game, Poynter and Maize South were able to share some joy and smiles after they pulled out a 33-30 win against Clearwater.
Poynter paved the way for the Mavericks with 16 points, including 10 in the first half. The junior said there wasn’t anything in particular she was focusing on going into the game, especially when it came to a point total. She just wanted to play basketball and take her mind off of things.
“I didn’t really have any goal in mind,” Poynter stated. “I just wanted to do my very best for my team and help my team succeed tonight.”
Poynter helped Maize South (12-6, 5-3 AVCTL Division IV) go on a 9-1 run in the second half after trailing 24-19. She scored four points during the run and added an assist to Abby Homan, who recorded the other five points of the run.
Prior to the Mavericks’ second-half surge, Maize South coach Mike Domnick received a technical for arguing that fouls weren’t being called. Poynter thought the Mavericks used that break with 1:46 left in the third quarter to refocus and collect themselves.
“I think we really sort of settled down after that, took control and really started playing relaxed,” she said.
Poynter scored the final two points of the run to give Maize South a 28-25 advantage. Clearwater (6-12, 3-5) countered with five straight points concluded by a Bryna Vogel free throw to grab the lead back.
With 1:07 remaining, the Mavericks regained the lead on a three-point play by Mariah Suchan. The Indians went cold in the final minute of the game and they struggled to get rebounds on both ends. Maty McKay and Suchan each hit a free throw to push Maize South’s advantage to three, and then Clearwater’s final opportunity to tie the game was blocked away by Suchan.
Suchan finished with six points and Homan had five for the Mavericks, who have beaten the Indians two out of three times this season. The other win came in the fifth-place game of the Mulvane tournament.
Vogel led Clearwater with 13 points and nine of them came in the first half. Kylie Molisee also hit double figures for the Indians with 10.
With the victory, Maize South improved to 8-2 in its last 10 games. Poynter feels the key to the Mavericks’ recent success is playing as a team.
“We know that when we play individually we’re not the greatest,” she said with a laugh. “But when we all do our part and come together, we win.”
And wins will help Poynter during this difficult time. The best way to ease her mind though is getting on the court and playing.
“It’s tough before and after the game, but as soon as the ball goes up for the tip you’ve got to let it all go and play for the girls out there and not for yourself,” Poynter said.
Maize South wraps up the regular season next week with games at Circle and league-leading Andale. The Mavericks lost 47-46 in overtime to Andale in their first meeting.
