Mexico girls basketball head coach Makenzie Mudd was shaking on Wednesday night.

Mexico vs Fulton Districts Photo Gallery

It wasn’t just from excitement but from having ice water being poured over her head in the locker room following the Lady Bulldogs’ 51-46 Class 4 District 8 semifinal victory over North Central Missouri Conference arch rival Fulton. Mexico knocked off the Lady Hornets in Fulton largely due to a 23-12 third quarter after losing to them the previous two times by a combined margin of five points, settling the season series at 2-2.

“It is the first time it’s happened,” a smiling Mudd said after being asked whether the water bath was her first. “It was kind of awesome, but it had ice in them so it’s a little cold.”

Mudd said despite dreading going into the chill outside with damp hair, it was a much better feeling after the girls endured two frustrating losses to their big rival. The Lady Bulldogs (12-15) never forgot and were chomping at the bit to advance to Wednesday where they were guaranteed one more shot with Fulton (11-15), who received a bye as the No. 2 seed.

“We knew we were capable of beating them because we beat them once,” Mudd said. “They play so hard against us, and I commend them for that. We knew it was going to be tough tonight, so we talked a lot yesterday about settling down, knowing who their strong shooters are and who they always look to, and trying to slow them down a little bit to make the game at the pace we want it to be at.”

Whenever Mexico had the momentum, Fulton’s offense seemed to be frozen as it searched for a place to pass the ball. Mudd said there were a few times where those aforementioned shooters broke loose, like Audrey Arnold for two 3-pointers as part of her team-high 18 points and Aubrey Fleetwood for two 3-pointers, and also when the Lady Hornets cut to the rim. Overall, Mexico’s defense settled down to settle down Fulton’s scoring long enough for its big third quarter that included 15 points from Claire Hudson.

After Arnold, Kier Henderson and Deztani Galbreath-Chambers each followed with seven points while Mexico had Hudson pouring in 18 points along with six rebounds, Karlee Sefrit following with 13 points and Jo Thurman adding nine points on three 3-pointers, five rebounds and five assists.

“We were trying to make that man-to-man a little bit tighter and not let them be comfortable with the ball,” Mudd said. “Take advantage when the ball got in the post with the post players and try to put them in a position where they couldn’t score.”

At one point, though, Mexico was in an uneasy position near the end of the first half. Fulton shot ahead 26-20 at halftime after going on an 8-0 run while taking advantage of some Lady Bulldog turnovers. 

The senior Thurman said it was important for Mexico’s season to not end to its rival on its rival’s court. Thurman hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half to put Mexico in front and another when the Lady Bulldogs needed it in the third quarter, which was also when the team needed to smooth out the offense after a rough second quarter.

“We didn’t let the score define us when we were down,” Thurman said. “We fell behind and out shots weren’t falling so we just talked in the locker room, ‘They have to fall at some point. So just keep shooting.’ We were transitioning really well. We just had to figure out how to get the ball in the hoop and we did.”

Hudson, in particular, figured out how to put the ball in the hoop after not doing it once in the first half. She began the quarter with a 3-point play and then a 3-pointer and just kept the points coming in threes with another 3-point play and two 3-pointers.

“Fulton was posting stuff (on social media), and they were saying stuff to us,” Hudson said. “We knew we couldn’t let that affect us. We all kept our heads in that game.”

Hudson said Fulton was being “handsy” underneath the rim — including three blocks from Bre’Awn Richmond — but she was determined to attack the rim. Mudd said Hudson had to shake off some tough defense as well.

“She was struggling because Henderson played great defense on her,” Mudd said. “We talked in the second half about just taking it to her. Make her have to foul you or give yourself an opportunity to pass to a teammate. She got her mindset really right and was able to create opportunities for herself and others.”

As for Mexico in the post, Kenzie Taylor put in six points and pulled down four rebounds, but the senior Sefrit gave the Lady Bulldogs another solid do-or-die performance inside. While Mexico was waiting to break out in the third quarter, Sefrit tallied 10 points in the first half.

Mudd said going into the season and during the season that Mexico was going to see teams with more size, and Fulton has a center Galbreath-Chambers that has hurt them before, offensively and defensively. Still, Sefrit didn’t show any fear when going to the rim.

“She played really strong down low,” Mudd said. “She is a really strong player. Mentally, when she’s on it, she’s going to go get them, and she’s not going to give up. That’s what happened tonight.”

The district title game at 6 p.m. Friday will only be the third meeting with eighth-ranked  and top seed Moberly (25-2) after Mexico wrapped up its four-game season saga with Fulton. Even though the Lady Spartans are heavily favored, Mudd said Mexico played pretty well the last time when the Lady Bulldogs lost by 18 points to follow an almost 30-point loss to Moberly. Besides, the Lady Bulldogs have nothing to lose.

“In this situation and in this environment, it’s going to be a really good setting for us to go out there and give it our all,” Mudd said. “What do we have to lose at this point?”