Month: February 2021

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Converting turnovers into hoops in transition and turning offensive rebounds into second-chance points were both key in Webb City’s 81-56 Central Ozark Conference victory over the Neosho Wildcats on Thursday night inside the Cardinal Dome. 

The Cardinals scored 34 points off Neosho’s 20 turnovers while also converting 24 offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points

“Coming out of our first timeout, that was a point of emphasis,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We had to start crashing the glass against their zone. We weren’t checking out early defensively. Neosho plays hard and goes after the ball. But we started doing a better job of boxing out. And we were able to get some turnovers and some runouts.”

Overcoming an early eight-point deficit, the Cardinals finished the first half on a 17-5 surge to take the lead for good.

“I thought our kids played well and I thought our kids played hard,” Horn said. “We got the game going up and down, and that’s what we needed to do.” 

Webb City’s 30-point third period put the game away.

“Their putbacks and our turnovers hurt us,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “They’re so big, strong and athletic. You have to box them out all the way back to the 3-point line. I think they overwhelmed us a little bit. They are probably the most athletic team we’ve played all year. But hopefully that got us prepared for the postseason.” 

The Cardinals are now 17-8 and finished 5-4 in the COC. The win assured the Cardinals of a top-four finish in the COC standings behind Nixa, Republic and Ozark.

Neosho is now 12-11 and 3-5 in the COC. 

NAMES & NUMBERS

In arguably his best performance of the season, 6-foot-3 junior forward Kaden Turner led the Cardinals with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Turner made 7-of-12 shots.

“He’s really good and he’s going to be a problem for anybody we play the rest of the way,” Horn said of Turner. “He’s going to be a big problem for everybody next year. He’s talented. He’s long and athletic and can shoot the ball really well. He’s put a lot of time in. We missed him when he was out, and we’re glad he’s back. He can help us go a long way.” 

Senior guard Mekhi Garrard had 16 points and seven boards, while junior guard Cohl Vaden added 15 points with three treys. 

Senior point guard Nickhai Howard scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and four steals and handed out three assists. 

Webb City shot 43 percent (33-of-77) and out-rebounded Neosho 52-26. 

Senior guards Chase Flynn and Landon Austin and sophomore guard Isaiah Green scored 12 points apiece for the Wildcats, who made 39 percent of their field goal attempts (22-of-57). 

GAME RECAP

Neosho got off to a great start. Three different Wildcats — Flynn, Brock Franklin and Carter Fenske — hit treys in the first period and the visitors held a 17-9 lead. 

“We started hitting shots and some of the best things Webb City does is off transition and making you turn it over,” Culp said. “If you can put the ball in the hole, and give yourself a fighting chance on defense, you set yourself up for success. Our start was nice to see, but then they went on that big run in the second quarter. We couldn’t quite recover from it.” 

A 3-pointer from Vaden and a hoop from Howard trimmed Webb City’s deficit to three, 17-14, at the end of the opening frame. 

“You have to give credit to Neosho, they were the better team in the first quarter,” Horn said. “They were the team getting the loose balls and the rebounds. I thought we matched their energy in the second and third and fourth quarters.”

Trailing 23-19, the Cardinals put together an 11-0 run late in the second quarter to take a 30-23 lead. 

Four different players scored during the game-changing spurt, as Turner had two putbacks and Garrard had one of his own, while Vaden hit a 3-pointer and Trenton Hayes scored on a turnaround in the lane. 

By the break, Webb City’s lead was 33-26. 

The Cardinals started the second half on a 9-2 run, with Garrard’s hoop after an offensive rebound giving the hosts a 42-29 advantage. 

Led by Turner’s 11 points in the frame, Webb City outscored Neosho 30-18 in the third quarter to take a comfortable 63-44 advantage into the fourth period.

Howard’s steal and layup made it 74-54 with 3:25 remaining. 

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Wildcats conclude the regular season at Branson on Friday. 

Second-seeded Neosho meets third-seeded Monett at 7 on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Class 5 District 11 tournament. 

“We have beat Monett twice, but it’s hard to beat a team three times,” Culp said. “They’ve struggled in some games and they’ve played well in some games, so we’ll have to play well on short rest.”

Webb City is taking plenty of momentum into the postseason after winning a second straight game in convincing fashion to end the regular season.

Top-seeded Webb City hosts fourth-seeded Carl Junction at 7 on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Class 5 District 12 tournament.

“We’re excited that we’ll be back at home against a rival,” Horn said. “It’s always a good atmosphere when Carl Junction comes over here. Coach (Justin) Pock is doing a good job with them. We’ll have to be ready.”

For the third straight season, the College Heights Christian girls basketball team will play for a district championship.

The top-seeded Cougars took control early and recorded a 49-34 victory over fourth-seeded Wheaton on Wednesday night at Ozark Christian College.

College Heights will meet second-seeded Greenfield in the district title game at 7:30 on Friday night at Webb City High School’s Cardinal Dome.

“That’s what we’ve been working towards all season, so we’re excited to be back,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “We know we have a tough matchup with Greenfield on Friday. But again, this is what we’ve been working for and we’re excited.” 

The Cougars captured a district title last year after falling short in the 2019 title game.

Now ranked fourth in Class 2 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, College Heights improved to 22-2.

With an active defense, the Cougars limited the Bulldogs to 12 field goals.

“We made a couple adjustments at halftime,” Blankenship said of his team’s defense. “Lainey Lett came out and did a great job guarding their post player. We had some good defensive rotation on the backside and that always allows us to get into our transition game, which was really effective tonight.” 

Thanks to the recent weather, it was College Heights’ first game in 11 days.

“We only had a few practices in there, so I was a little concerned about that tonight,” Blankenship said. “I thought overall the girls did well.” 

The champions of the Ozark 7 Conference, College Heights was led by senior guard Grace Bishop’s 18 points. Bishop hit two 3-pointers and also had four assists.

“She’s so consistent for us,” Blankenship of Bishop. “She played great defense on one of their guards who shoots the ball so well. She got out in transition and got some easy baskets for us. She’s such a stabilizer on both ends of the court for us.” 

Senior forward Lainey Lett contributed nine points, while classmate Catie Secker had eight points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Kaynahn Burk scored six points and handed out six assists. 

Also for the Cougars, sophomore Jayli Johnson scored six points and classmate Addie Lawrence added two. 

Wheaton ends the season at 10-13. 

Junior post player Monica Hinojosa led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while junior guard Lori McNeill added nine. 

The game was deadlocked when Bishop scored the final five points of the first period on a driving layup and a corner trey, giving the Cougars a 15-10 advantage. 

The hosts then scored the first six points of the second quarter to finish off an 11-0 burst, as free throws from Burk and hoops from Lett and Secker gave the Cougars a 21-10 lead.

College Heights outscored Wheaton 13-6 in the second quarter overall, limiting the Bulldogs to one field goal and four free throws, to take a 28-16 cushion into the break. 

Bishop scored seven points early in the third period to push CHC’s lead to 35-20. The Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 13-10 in the third quarter for a 41-26 advantage.

With a comfortable lead, the Cougars were content to run clock in the final frame, and their lead was never in jeopardy. 

DISTRICT TITLE GAME IS FRIDAY

Greenfield (20-6) advanced to the championship game by beating sixth-seeded Liberal 53-14. Marlie Wright scored 16 points for the Wildcats, while Tatum Torres had 15 points and Trista Torres added 11.

The Cougars did not face Greenfield in the regular season.

“I’ve seen a little film on them and they’re athletic and quick,” Blankenship said. “They like to get up and down the floor like we do. They run a nice full-court press. It should be a battle. It should be a good game.” 

CARTHAGE, Mo.  — Webb City’s experience showed against a young Carthage squad.

The senior-laden Cardinals built a 22-point lead by late in the third period and then withstood Carthage’s fourth-quarter rally to earn a 62-46 win over the rival Tigers on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference boys basketball action. 

Webb City led 45-23 with 1:44 remaining in the third period, but the Tigers didn’t quit.  

Carthage used a 17-2 surge to pull within seven with just over five minutes to play. But the hosts would get no closer, as the upperclassmen-led Cardinals didn’t get rattled. Instead they scored eight of the next 10 points to put the game away for good.

“It was good senior leadership,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We lost our composure for a little bit, but we quickly regained it. We had a quick start to the game, a quick start to the third quarter and then we rode some adversity. I was pleased that we executed in the halfcourt down the stretch.”

Carthage coach Nathan Morris was proud his team didn’t quit when it got down big. 

“Our youth and inexperience showed like it has for most of the season,” Morris said. “But our grit and toughness is really good. Like I’ve said all season, we’ve had peaks and valleys. And you can’t have that in COC varsity basketball. We got punched in the mouth early and it took us some time to wake up. We finally woke up. But you can’t wait until the third quarter to punch back.” 

Despite one stretch of the second half, the Cardinals were solid throughout the rivalry matchup. 

“I thought we were really good defensively,” Horn said. “We didn’t have some of the silly fouls we had picked up in our previous games. We were in passing lanes and we put good pressure on the basketball. We rebounded the ball well. And that led to some easy runouts for us.”

NAMES & NUMBERS

Webb City improved to 16-8 and 4-4 in COC play. 

Senior guard Nickhai Howard led the Cardinals with 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior forward Luke Brumit contributed 10 points, while senior guard Mekhi Garrard had nine before fouling out. 

Senior Trenton Hayes and sophomore Alex Martin chipped in eight points apiece for the Cardinals, who made 24-of-59 field goal attempts (41 percent). 

Sophomore guard Joel Pugh led the Tigers with 15 points, while classmate Max Templeman added 13 points and three assists. Fellow sophomore Tyler Willis contributed nine points and six rebounds. 

The Tigers, who played without senior Silas Templeman, made 13-of-43 shot attempts (30 percent). 

Carthage fell to 7-18 and 1-8 in conference action.

“Hopefully all this experience pays off for the younger guys,” Morris said. “But I hate it for our senior class. We played with just one senior tonight in a limited role. We’ve got one senior banged up and another out with an illness.”

GAME RECAP

The Cardinals scored the first seven points of the game before Carthage’s Pugh buried a pair of 3-pointers.

Webb City finished the first quarter on a 9-3 run, with Martin converting two buckets inside and Howard contributing five points. With that, the visitors held a 16-6 lead at the end of the first frame.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 24-6 after Howard and Kaden Turner hit 3-pointers and Garrard made a layup.

But Carthage finished the first half on a 9-4 run, with Pugh accounting for five of the nine points. By the break, Webb City’s lead was 28-15.

The Cardinals pulled away. Turner’s basket gave Webb City a 45-23 lead. 

Just when it looked like the game was going to be a blowout, the Tigers got going. Carthage finished the third period on a 10-0 burst and Webb City’s lead was 45-33 heading into the final frame.

Four straight free throws from Carthage freshman Justin Ray trimmed Webb City’s lead to seven, but the Cardinals rattled off eight of the next 10 points to go up 55-42. Brumit, Hayes, Turner and Cohl Vaden all scored during the surge.

Horn gave the Tigers credit.

“Carthage has a nice team,” Horn said. “They’ve got three really nice guards. They make it hard on you because you have to guard them on the 3-point line. They had guys make plays. They played hard.” 

Webb City finished the game on a 15-6 run. 

“Just because we like to play fast doesn’t mean we can’t grind it out in the halfcourt at the end of the game,” Horn said. “We have skilled guys who can execute.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Fourth-seeded Carthage travels to top-seeded Kickapoo at 7 on March 2 in the semifinals of the Class 6 District 12 tournament. 

“They are an extremely talented team,” Morris said of the Chiefs. “It’s a good challenge for our kids. We just need to come out and compete. If we do that, who knows? Crazier things have happened.”

Webb City hosts Neosho on Thursday night in the regular season finale. 

The top-seeded Cardinals host fourth-seeded Carl Junction at 7 on March 2 in the semifinals of the Class 5 District 12 tournament. 

CARTHAGE, Mo.  — Firing on all cylinders from the perimeter and in the paint, the Carthage Tigers started the second half on a 27-10 run to build an insurmountable lead on their way to a 55-38 win over Webb City on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference girls basketball action. 

Clinging to a 26-23 lead at halftime, Carthage pulled away for good with a 21-9 third period. Overall, the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 29-15 in the second half.

“At halftime, our big, fancy adjustment was to simply do what we do, but do it better,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “We needed to finish better. A lot of the shots we got in the first half were good shots, but they were just off a little. We just had to stay composed, get those same shots and knock them down. That’s what happened.” 

Moore noted his team’s inside-outside attack was key to the victory. The Tigers hit seven 3-pointers and also took advantage of their height inside to get hoops at point-blank range. 

“We definitely had the height advantage, so our goal was to work inside-out,” Moore said. “We wanted to soften them up inside and then kick it out to shooters. When they packed it in, our shooters were open with our side-to-side action.”

The Tigers hiked their record to 14-10 and finished 4-5 in the COC. 

“It was a nice way to finish up the conference season for us,” Moore said. “We improved by two games in the conference this year. That means a lot to us. We want to keep climbing up the conference ranks.” 

For the Cardinals, it was a tale of two halves. 

“I thought we defended pretty well in the first half,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “Offensively, I thought we moved the ball pretty well. In the second half, we lost their shooters a few times and they hit some 3s. They gained confidence. And offensively, we didn’t move the ball as well in the second half.

“If we want to be a successful team, we have to move the ball better offensively and we have to know our assignments defensively,” Robbins added. 

NAMES & NUMBERS

Senior post players Brinna Ream and Hailey Fullerton combined to score 31 points for the Tigers. 

The 5-foot-10 Ream compiled 16 points, while the 6-1 Fullerton added 15 points and nine boards. Ream made 7-of-12 shots, while Fullerton converted 6-of-12 field goal attempts.

Kianna Yates added nine points, while 6-1 Sophie Shannon pulled down nine rebounds. Carthage shot 46 percent (21-of-46) from the field.

Webb City fell to 8-14 and finished 3-6 in conference play.

Senior guard Jaydee Duda led Webb City with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting. 

Sophomore Kate Brownfield added 11 points and eight rebounds, making 9-of-12 free throws along the way. The Cardinals shot 26 percent (12-of-47).

GAME RECAP

Playing at home for the final time this season, Carthage jumped out to a 14-7 lead after Ream scored in the lane and both Yates and Presley Probert hit 3-pointers.

Duda scored eight points in the opening frame for the Cardinals, but the Tigers held a 16-11 advantage heading into the second quarter. 

Webb City used an 8-2 spurt in the second quarter, capped by Duda’s hoop in transition and Ripley Shanks’ putback, to take a 19-18 lead.

The Tigers didn’t trail for long, as the hosts answered back with an 8-1 surge, with Fullerton scoring a pair of hoops in the paint and Ream and Yates adding buckets of their own. 

Duda’s old-fashioned 3-point play trimmed Carthage’s halftime advantage to 26-23.

The Tigers got hot from the perimeter in the third quarter, as Fullerton buried three 3-pointers and Katie Crowe and Yates both hit treys of their own, extending Carthage’s lead to 47-32 entering the fourth period.

“Hailey got hot in the second half,” Moore noted. “That’s always a big momentum swing for our team. We ride and die with her hitting 3s at times. Tonight, we got to ride with that in the second half.” 

Yates’ free throw gave the Tigers a 20-point advantage with five minutes remaining.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Carthage ends the regular season at Lamar on Wednesday. 

The third-seeded Tigers travel to second-seeded Republic on March 1 in the Class 6 District 12 tournament. 

“Our kids are excited,” Moore said. “We played pretty well against them for about three quarters. Now we need to put a full four quarters together.” 

Webb City concludes the regular season at 6 on Thursday with a home game against East Newton. 

The third-seeded Cardinals play at second-seeded Nevada on March 1 in the Class 5 District 12 tournament.