ST. JOHN — Forget D-Wade of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
At St. John High School, it’s T-Wade.
St. John’s Teresa Wade scored a game-high 21 points, as the strong presence in the paint helped the Lady Tigers rout Central Prairie League opponent Macksville on Friday night, 56-35.
“I’m glad she’s on our team,” St. John head coach Danny Smith said of Wade. “(Getting Wade the ball inside) is definitely our game plan every time out and I don’t think it’s a secret to anybody because she is physically hard to stop and hard to stay with. So we always try to go to her.”
St. John opened the game with a 10-2 run that lasted until the 2:44 mark in the period.
Wade opened the game with a short shot from the post for two points.
Morgan Osborne, who finished the game with 18 points, dropped in her first two points at 4:40.
“She has,” Smith said acknowledging Osborne’s more aggressive play. “She’s played so much better. She played well defensively. She rebounds, and she’s definitely gotten more aggressive and it has helped us a ton.”
Wade backed it up with a steal and another four points, including a pair of free throws. Jamie Waters also contributed two points.
Jennifer Roach put in two points for the Lady Mustangs, two of only five points for Macksville.
But the low point for the Lady ’Stangs came at the buzzer when senior leader Megan Wood, who was forced to sit out for half of the season with a knee injury, went to the floor after landing on her knee.
“She fell on her knee that she injured earlier,” Macksville head coach Kathryn McAllister said, “and I think it really scared her, the knee pain. But she wanted to come back and she did well.”
Wood returned to the game in the second quarter and finished the game with a team-leading 12 points.
The Lady Tigers continued to widen their lead by scoring the first five points in the second quarter, but Macksville began to climb back.
At the 4:41 mark, Jena Clowers, who scored 11 points in the game, started the Lady Mustangs’ run with two points.
Osborne tossed in a 3-pointer for St. John before Clowers found her way to the free-throw line.
Clowers dropped in both free throws and on the next possession, she completed a three-point play to close the gap to 24-12.
Wood added two points to edge even closer, 24-14.
Both teams scored two more points to make it 26-16 at halftime.
Wood scored two points and teammate Yasnaya Susoeff scored two points apiece to make it 26-20 at the 5:32 mark in the third quarter.
“I was really proud of them for that,” McAllister said of her team’s play in the second quarter. “But it’s like we got within six and that was good enough, and we just didn’t keep pushing. But I was pretty proud of them for fighting back.”
It would be the closest Macksville would get the remainder of the game.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
At St. John

GIRLS

No. 3 St. John 56, Macksville 35
MACKSVILLE
     Jena Clowers 4 3-3 11, Keira Parr 2 1-2 5, Yasnaya Susoeff 2 0-0 4, Kristal Duff 0 0-3 0, Jennifer Roach 1 1-2 3, Melissa Espino 0 0-0 0, Mindy Wood 0 0-0 0, Megan Wood 4 4-6 12. Totals 13 9-16 35.
ST. JOHN
     Tia Smith 0 0-0 0, Jessie Hanson 1 2-2 5, Haley Falk 0 0-0 0, Morgan Osborne 6 4-4 18, Jamie Waters 1 0-0 2, Rhian Collins 1 0-0 2, Alexis Witt 4 0-0 8, Teresa Wade 8 5-9 21. Totals 21 11-15 56.
Macksville    5    11    11    8    —    35
St. John    16    10    14    16    —    56
     Three-point goals — St. John 3 (Waters 2, Hanson); Macksville (None).