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Day: November 23, 2021

PREP ROUNDUP: Joplin girls rally for win; Thomas Jefferson boys start 1-0

Posted on by Lucas Davis

JOPLIN GIRLS 61, EAST NEWTON 56

GRANBY, Mo. — Joplin erased a slow start and bounced back from a double-digit halftime deficit to beat East Newton on Monday.

The win moves the Eagles to 2-0 on the season.

“We got off to a very rough start, but to the girls’ credit they came out the second half and found a way to win the ballgame,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said to SoMo Sports. “East Newton did a great job of being aggressive on both ends of the floor. They moved the ball very well on the offensive end and kept attacking us defensively. … We have a lot of things to clean up, but I love that we were able to pull out the win on a night where we weren’t at our best.”

Joplin trailed 32-21 going into the half before outsourcing East Newton 21-9 in the third quarter to take a 42-41 lead heading into the final quarter. Brooke Nice and Brynn Driver combined to score all but two points for Joplin down the stretch to help hold on for the win.

Nice knocked down five 3-pointers, three in the third quarter, and finished with a game-high 28 points in the win.

“Brooke Nice shot the ball extremely well tonight,” Floyd said. “She’s a great shooter and was able to get us back on track in the second half.”

Driver scored 14, while Ella Hafer had 10 and Emma Floyd seven.

Joplin takes part in the CJ Classic next week.

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON BOYS 79, EXETER 63

Thomas Jefferson used a fast start to set the tone in a season-opening win over Exeter on Monday.

The Cavaliers outscored the Bluehawks 20-9 in the opening period to take the initial advantage and held that margin into the locker room with a 40-29 lead. Thomas Jefferson pushed the lead to 17, 61-44, by the end of the third quarter on the way to the win.

“I thought we did some good things tonight,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We have to be a more disciplined team moving forward, though. I know it’s the first game, but we made too many mental mistakes tonight. Overall, it was a good start to the season, we just need to learn from our mistakes and look to improve tomorrow against Bronaugh.”

Jay Ball finished with a double-double after tallying 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Caden Myers also finished with a double-double after scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. Drew Goodhope finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Tyler Brouhard scored 15 points, had five rebounds and closed with three steals.

Corey Hilburn led Exeter with 32 points, while JJ Felipe added 20 in the loss.

Thomas Jefferson hosts Bronaugh on Tuesday. The girls are scheduled for 6 p.m., with the boys to play after.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Webb City shakes off slow start to rout McDonald County in season opener

Posted on by Lucas Davis

WEBB CITY, Mo. — The offense’s production took a quarter to catch up to the play on the defensive end as Webb City girls basketball opened the season with a 55-24 win over McDonald County on Monday inside the Cardinal Dome.

The Cardinals and Mustangs took a 4-4 tie into the second quarter before Webb City outscored McDonald County 22-4 in the second period to take a commanding 26-8 advantage into the intermission. Webb City continued to pour it on in the second half, pushing the lead to more than 30 several times en route to the win.

“There are some very good things that we did in the season opener and there are some things we are going to have to correct,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “To start the game, I just thought it was a little bit of nerves and inexperience. … Late in the first quarter and into the second quarter, I thought the ball started to move better for us offensively. And when it did, I thought we started to get good looks at the basket and our kids were able to step up and knock them down with confidence. … The biggest thing I was pleased with was I thought our defense was pretty good throughout the course of the game.”

Neither team found much to work with on the offensive side of the ball in the first eight minutes of action. Both teams were plagued by turnovers while having trouble getting anything going in the half-court set.

The start of the second quarter was a different story for Webb City, with the Cardinals ripping off the first seven points of the period to take an 11-4 lead. Sami Mancini, a 6-foot-5 freshman forward for the Cardinals, started the scoring with an offensive rebound and putback bucket. Austyn Mickey knocked down a mid-range jumper from the baseline before Izzy Lopez drilled a 3-pointer from the corner.

“She is 6-foot-5 and everyone is going to key on her,” Robbins said of Mancini. “We want to get her the ball early and often and play through her. We have to get it in there if she is open, but we can’t force it. It may take a couple of ball reversals before we can get it in there. I felt tonight, we were trying to get it in there off one or two passes instead of getting it reversed a couple times.”

Webb City’s Malorie Stanley knocks down a 3-pointer during the Cardinals’ win over McDonald County. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

“She is a load to handle,” Robbins added. “And she does a good job of not playing selfishly. If she draws a double team or triple team, she will kick it out to find the open person.”

McDonald County got on the scoreboard in the second quarter with a pair of free throws from Carlee Cooper, but Webb City responded with a 13-0 run to take complete control of the contest. 

Kate Brownfield knocked down a 3-ball from the corner to start the run, with consecutive scores inside from Josie Spikereit and Mancini making the score 18-6 with 3:10 remaining. Malorie Stanley pulled up on the baseline for a basket, with Kirra Long and Ripley Shanks closing out the run with scores in the paint to push the lead to 24-6 with 1:10 to play

“The ball was moving to the open person,” Robbins said of the late run in the second period. “It kind of started clicking for us and we were making plays before they were there, if that makes sense. I thought the ball movement and unselfishness was good tonight. It is something we will have to continue to work on and get better at.”

Webb City pushed the lead to more than 20 for the first time early in the second half on a basket from Mickey and pushed the lead to 34-10 shortly after when Mancini scored inside while drawing a foul for a three-point play with 5:50 on the clock. The lead reached 28 points to close out the third quarter when Stanley sank a 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer to make the score 46-18.

“We talked about it at halftime,” Robbins said of his team’s play in the second half. “We had a nice lead so let’s not go out, fool around and let them hang around. Let’s go out and send a message in the first couple of minutes in the second half. I thought we were able to do that.”

SCORING LEADERS

Mancini led Webb City with 12 points, while Stanley added nine. Mickey and Brownfield each had seven points, with Long and Spikereit each adding six.

Samara Smith and Addy Leach each had eight points to lead McDonald County. 

UP NEXT

Webb City is in action next in the Carthage Lady Tigers Invitational from Dec. 2-4.

Webb City’s Izzy Lopez scores on the break in the Cardinals’ win over McDonald County on Monday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Grotjohn sisters lead Seneca past Neosho

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

SENECA, Mo. — Senior guard Aliya Grotjohn scored 25 points to lead Seneca to a 51-39 win over Neosho on Monday night in a non-conference girls basketball contest.

It was the season opener for the Indians (1-0), while Neosho fell to 1-1. 

After a sluggish start, Seneca finished the first quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 16-9 lead. The Indians pulled away in the second period and the hosts were up 37-19 at intermission. 

Aliya Grotjohn scored 18 points in the first half, while her younger sister Hazley Grotjohn added 10.

Seneca held a comfortable 43-23 lead entering the fourth quarter. 

Neosho trimmed its deficit to 11 late in the game, but the Wildcats would get no closer. 

In addition to Aliya Grotjohn’s 25 points, Hazley Grotjohn, a freshman guard, added 13 points for the Indians.

Junior forward Karlee Ellick led Neosho with 18 points, while junior guard Raine Harris added 10 points. 

The Indians will compete at next week’s Carl Junction Classic.

Neosho hosts Clinton on Tuesday. 

 

NEOSHO 46, LAMAR 30

Neosho defeated Lamar 46-30 last Friday.

Against the Tigers, Neosho’s Reagan McInturff scored 11 points, while Beclynn Garrett and Jayden Adams added eight points apiece.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Joplin returns plenty of experience as Schaake takes over the program as head coach

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Following the conclusion of Joplin’s season a year ago, Jeff Hafer stepped down as head coach because of health reasons. The good news for first-year head coach Bronson Schaake is the cupboard is far from empty as he takes over the talent-rich Eagles with the expectations of elevating them to the next level under his watch.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Schaake said about being the Joplin head coach. “You look around and see the facilities and the weights program, we have some kids who can do some amazing things athletically. Coming over from Riverton was a great opportunity.”

Schaake is tasked with improving upon the Eagles’ 13-14 record from a season ago. And that goal is certainly attainable with the level of talent returning to the fold. Schaake’s latest stop at Riverton High School, in Kansas, is a testament to his ability to build a reshape a program, taking over a struggling Rams team in 2016 before leading them to a 14-5 record last season while earning finalist consideration for Kansas Class 3A Coach of the Year. 

“There are some things I couldn’t do at Riverton as far as a few sets here and there and a few pressing types of things,” Schaake said when asked what he would bring to Joplin basketball. “Overall, I am going to have the same approach, the same philosophy here in Joplin. It will be built around discipline and fundamentals. I think that carries anywhere you go.” 

Joplin’s list of returning players is highlighted by senior 6-foot-3 guard Always Wright, 6-2 sophomore G All Wright, 6-4 junior F Terrance Gibson, 6-3 senior F LT Atherton, 6-1 senior G Bruce Wilbert and 6-7 sophomore Whit Hafer, who is back after suffering a leg injury early last season.

“I think our guards, the Wright boys, are really good,” Schaake said about his team’s strengths. “I think we are actually going to be a team that can get the ball down low once we settle in and get our legs back. I think we can do a lot. I think we can go inside out, and I think we can get the Wrights around the bucket a little bit more. We just need to be harder to guard.”

And while the offense is expected to be a strongpoint, Coach Schaake also believes Joplin can be a team built around defense as well. With the amount of size and athleticism on the Eagles’ roster, playing quality basketball on both ends of the floor is not a stretch by any means.

“I think we have to become a really good defensive team,” Schaake said. “I think we can score when we get in better shape and get some continuity with each other. But I think we can be a really good defensive team. We can throw some bigs out there and the Wrights are both 6-2, 6-3. We can be a good defensive team once we hone in.”

“We can throw some different lineups out there,” Schaake added. “We can go big and we can go small. We like to do a four-out motion type of offense and then more of a structured one where we can get the ball side to side with the continuity screen and roll.”

Last season, Joplin got off to a fast start, opening the year winning 10 of its first 14 games. Unfortunately, the Eagles sputtered down the stretch by losing nine of the last 11. In order to avoid that type of letdown this season, Schaake wants to see his boys improve in the mental side of the game as well.

“Right now it’s getting in shape,” Schaake said with a laugh. “Other than that, I think we need a little tougher mentality between the ears. Not all of them, but there are some guys in the rotation who have to get tougher with that, and that just comes with getting in better shape and getting a hold of them every day in practice.”

Joplin opens the season on the road at McDonald County with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled tip on Tuesday.

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