CHERRY TWP — Alazia Greaves admitted she was a bit apprehensive after learning her responsibility for Friday's KSAC girls basketball clash with Redbank Valley.

Moniteau's sophomore guard was told at the beginning of the week that she would be shadowing Bulldogs' junior standout Brooke Hinderliter, who entered the contest averaging 20 points per game.

“I get nervous before every game, but I was especially nervous tonight because I knew I was going to have to play my best defense of the year.

“I've faced Brooke before and her dribbling technique is phenomenal,” added Greaves. “She can also step back and hit shots too.”

With a personal escort the entire game, Hinderliter scored 12 points, eight below her average, and attempted just six field goals as Moniteau nipped the visiting Bulldogs 40-39.

Warriors' coach Matt Stebbins was not short on compliments on Greaves' effort, which helped hand the Bulldogs (8-1, 3-1) their first loss of the season.

“We worked on it all week,” he said of the defensive gameplan. “That was the best defensive performance I've ever seen in high school basketball. Alazia also had a big night on offense with four 3-pointers.

With the game tied at 39, Moniteau's Alycia Brehm stole the ball with 19 seconds remaining in the fourth period. Following a timeout, senior forward Stephanie McCall was fouled and she made one-of-two at the foul line with seven seconds left for a one-point lead. Just as important, she rebounded her own miss following the second attempt.

Redbank Valley's final chance was a heave from Kaelyn Gruver that barely made it across mid-court as time expired.

“It was a team effort,” said Stebbins. “We got the ball to (McCall) at the end. We didn't shoot well from the line tonight (six-of-13), but she hit a big one for us. We used a six-player rotation and it worked well.”

Moniteau (6-4, 3-0) led 32-25 after three quarters. With Hinderliter being hounded by Greaves, the Bulldogs turned to junior forward Becca Dougherty, who responded with eight of her 12 points coming in the fourth period. Her basket with 3:47 left gave Redbank a brief 37-36 lead, but Kristina DeMatteis soon hit three free throws in a pair of trips to the foul line to put the Warriors up 39-37.

Dougherty's final bucket of the night tied the game at 39 with 1:30 on the clock.

“We expected a tough defense from Moniteau tonight,” said Redbank coach Amy Twigg. “They pressed Brooke pretty hard, but we lost this game on defense. We didn't play well there until the fourth quarter.”

Moniteau had dropped four of its previous five games, all non-conference affairs.

Beating an undefeated KSAC-South opponent was a great way to begin the new year.

“This is a big boost for our confidence,” said DeMatteis, who scored a game-high 17 points. “It was a super-big win.”

REDBANK VALLEY 39

Megan Bain 2 1-2 6, Cassie Fink 2 0-0 4, Macy King 1 0-0 2, Becca Dougherty 6 0-0 12, Brooke Hinderliter 4 2-2 12, Kaelyn Gruver 0 3-4 3, Cambria Hornberger 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 6-8 39.

MONITEAU 40

Kristina DeMatteis 6 5-8 17, Alazia Greaves 4 0-2 12, Stephanie McCall 3 1-2 7, Sara Hull 2 0-1 4, Kennedy DeMatteis 0 0-0 0, Alycia Brehm 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 6-13 40.

Redbank Valley 9 6 10 14 — 39

Moniteau9 12 11 8 — 40

3-point goals: Redbank Valley 3 (Hinderliter 2, Bain); Moniteau 4 (Greaves 4).

Wednesday: Moniteau at Forest Area