Klipfel’s buzzer-beating 3 sends Kelly girls past Scott City 52-49

SCOTT CITY — Paige Klipfel is one of those players who believes every shot is going in.

Sometimes, it feels so right to be right.

The Kelly girls basketball senior drained a last-second 3-pointer Monday night to lift the Lady Hawks to a 52-49 victory over rival Scott City.

One good shot is all it took, and Klipfel wasn't about to be denied.

“My teammate was driving and she got covered,” she said. “I knew if I was open, I had a pretty good shot of making it, so I just kind of scooted out to the 3. I’m a senior, so I have pretty good trust in my shot. I just let it fly and it went in.”

Klipfel finished with eight points, while freshman Kaylee Still had a team-high 14 points and freshman Lettie Glenn tallied 11 to lead Kelly (6-6) to an emphatic victory.

It was a back-and-forth affair between the Lady Hawks and Scott City (1-9) out the gate. There were three lead changes in the opening quarter before the Lady Rams began to gain some separation off a 6-0 run to make it 22-13 with 4:09 left in the second quarter.

Backed by Blaire Riley’s driving layup in the closing seconds, Kelly went into halftime with a 27-24 advantage. The Lady Hawks steadily increased their lead in the second half, jumping in front by as much as 10 points late in the third quarter.

Then the game shifted.

Skylar Watson drained a corner 3 with 5:52 left to give the lead back to Scott City 42-41. The final five minutes featured four lead changes, with Klipfel’s third-chance layup with 58 seconds to go putting Kelly ahead 49-47.

With 12 seconds left, Kelly was called for a personal foul, sending Lily Landis to the line, where she knocked down both free throws to tie it.

Then, racing down the court, Klipfel was left alone in the corner with an opportunity to make the biggest shot of the season thus far.

“We’re a small team, so we have to really fight and work for the points that we get,” Klipfel said. “Just putting our heads down and working for every little bit that we can get is what it came down to.”

Klipfel then nailed the 3 for the win.

Landis finished with a whopping 26 points, while teammate Alyvia Karrenbrock had 10.

The Kelly victory came five weeks after the Lady Hawks defeated Scott City 58-48 in the Holiday Classic Tournament at the Show Me Center.

“We just realize that we can beat these teams that may have an advantage over us,” Klipfel said. “We just need to keep getting back in the gym and working. Making our offense better, our defense better and just keep moving forward.”

Kelly returns to its home court at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, for a key matchup against Woodland (7-4). Scott City will look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at Sikeston (6-8).

Landis’ historic milestone

The star Scott City senior entered the Scott City girls basketball 1,000-point club after dropping a game-high in points against Kelly. Landis was a 2024 first-team all-district performer and first-team All-Scott/Mississippi Conference selection.

Scott City star senior Lily Landis surpassed the 1,000-career point margin on Monday night against Kelly.Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com