Bourbon High School’s girls’ basketball team won its fifth straight game and 11th game on the season after defeating Grandview (Hillsboro) on Jan. 29.

The Lady Warhawks’ scheduled game on Jan. 27 vs. Steelville was postponed due to the snow, and was rescheduled for Feb. 4. Bourbon will have a busy week ahead, hosting Chamois on Feb. 2 and Rolla Sr. High Home School on Feb. 5 in addition to the game in Steelville. All of those games will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Lady Warhawks will then play home games against Crystal City on Jan. 9, Cuba on Jan. 13, Lesterville on Jan. 16 and Valley Park on Jan. 19 for its last regular season game of the season. Bourbon’s schedule for districts is still TBD, and will be detailed when made available.

Jan. 29 vs. Grandview (Hillsboro)

After having a week off from basketball and from school due to the snow, the Lady Warhawks returned to action and showed little rust from the layoff.

The game was tied at two early on before Bourbon went on a 9-2 run to end the first quarter and entered the second frame up 11-4. The Lady Warhawks had a slight advantage in the second period and headed into halftime up 25-15. Bourbon’s offense was its most potent in the third quarter, and used second-and third-effort plays on the offensive glass to pour in 17 points in the frame and take a 42-27 lead into the final quarter. The Lady Hawks used the clock to their advantage in the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead and coasted to a stressless 48-34 victory for their fifth-straight victory.

Bourbon head coach Devon Payne spoke afterward about how his team was able to pull out a victory despite not touching the court for a week.

“Coming off basically a week without any basketball from all the snow and ice, it just makes it harder to find a rhythm,” Payne said. “I want to say our goal was to make sure that we weren’t carrying over bad habits from earlier this season. And honestly, we started out that way a little bit early on, but we were able to adjust, and I think kind of just shake ourselves back into the positive things that we’ve been working on prior to Snowmageddon.”

Kinzii Withorn, Bourbon’s leading scorer this season, picked up where she left off prior to the storm and drained four shots from downtown en route to a game-high 16 points. Kinzey Waldron added 12 points, and took seven free throw attempts, as she continuously attacked the basket through contact. Reese Bell scored six points, grabbed numerous offensive rebounds, and picked up multiple steals at the center of Payne’s swarming defense. Savanna Vance chipped in four points, Kaitlin King and Bree Bouse each scored three and Hayden Terry scored two for the Lady Warhawks. Marika Tennyson and Hailey Markley scored nine points apiece for Grandview.

Bourbon’s schedule will get tougher next week, and Payne addressed what he hopes to see from his team during the upcoming week after the time off.

“We have a very competitive week for us coming up, and a lot of positives to look at,” said Payne. “I think everybody’s just ready to be out of the house, and we’re kind of shell shocked to be back in a gymnasium. So I think they’re all aware of it. It’s just being consistent. We try to be as consistent as possible, and we don’t change too many things too often. It’s about improving what we know and what we’re gonna do night after night and that’s the best thing we can do.”

Payne’s group has taken a leap from last year’s seven-win season, and credited his senior point guard, King, for her leadership of his young team that has 11 wins and counting.

“Kaitlin King is our only senior this year, and she’s been running point guard for me for three years now, and so having that leadership and consistency at the front of the offense and the middle of the defense, goes a long way,” Payne said.  “We have so many younger girls on the team. We’re all freshmen and sophomores outside of Kaitlin, and we have no juniors. So they’re just coming into, their ability, and it’s just, it’s a positive thing for them. I look for them to keep growing physically, mentally, and I’m excited to see where we end up with this group.”

Payne added that he made sure to remind his team of the current winning streak and growth of the program.

“I went in and talked to the girls, and said I don’t know if anybody really knows about the win streak. You girls may have talked about it amongst yourselves, but we’ve got a winning record, and you guys have a lot to be proud of.”