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Day: February 19, 2022

GIRLS HOOPS: Thomas Jefferson comes up short against Bronaugh

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Sixth-seeded Thomas Jefferson gave third-seeded Bronough everything they could handle but in the end, the Wildcats walked away with a 52-48 win over the Cavaliers in the opening round of the Class 1 District 5 tournament on Saturday.

Thomas Jefferson ends the season with a 7-16 record and graduates senior Alivia Beard.

The Cavaliers trailed by six heading into the second period when sophomore Gabbi Hiebert put her teammates on her back, scoring 13 of TJ’s 17 points in the quarter. She knocked down three 3-pointers, including a go-ahead catch-and-shoot 3-ball with five seconds left to send Thomas Jefferson into halftime with a 26-25 lead.

The Cavs held onto that slim lead in a third quarter that saw six lead changes in the final three minutes. Thomas Jefferson led 39-38 heading into the final quarter thanks to a nine-point effort in the period by Lannah Grigg. 

Sarah Mueller scored out of the break and Alexis Stamps added a charity make to push TJ’s lead to 42-38 early in the fourth.

Bronaugh rallied with the next seven points to regain the lead, 45-42, with less than four minute to play. 

Stamps knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off an inbounds play to tie the game back up at 45s with 2:12 left in regulation, but Bronaugh’s Nicole Hagerman buried a 3-pointer with 1:28 left and added a score on the drive at the one-minute mark to give the Wildcats a 50-45 advantage.

Beard tried to keep the Cavs within striking distance, sinking a 3-pointer with 32 second left to cut the deficit to 50-48, but Hagerman sank two free throws with 18.7 seconds left to ice the win and send Bronaugh into the semifinals.

Hagerman finished with a game-high 29 points, while Gretchen Banes closed with 11.

Hiebert led Thomas Jefferson with 18 points, while Grigg finished with 11. Stamps finished with nine.

The Wildcats take on second-seeded McAuley Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the district semis.

DISTRICT GIRLS HOOPS: McAuley pulls away from Everton to open postseason play

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Second-seeded McAuley Catholic girls basketball built a double-digit lead by halftime and pulled away down the stretch in the fourth quarter to earn a 57-39 win over seventh-seeded Everton in the Class 1 District 5 tournament on Saturday hosted by Thomas Jefferson.

The Warriors (17-10), who were without starting forward Lily Black because of illness, ended the first quarter on a surge and opened the second period in similar fashion to gain a 13-point lead with four minutes left in the first half. McAuley flirted with pushing the lead to 20 or more several times in the second half before Everton (3-18) made a run early in the fourth period to cut the lead to 11. Facing their first real adversity in the game, the Warriors responded with a 10-0 run to put the finishing touches on the district-opening win.

“The first thing I said to them after the game was that it wasn’t pretty, but at this point in the season, it’s survive and advance time,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “I’ll take an ugly win any day of the week. We were down Lily in this game and that was a huge loss because she does great defensively down low and she does a great job of getting our guards open. Other girls stepped in and got some minutes and played pretty well. … Overall, I am proud of their effort and I am just glad to be moving on.”

GAME ACTION

After playing to a 4-4 tie in the early going, McAuley took the first momentum swing after closing the first period on a 9-2 run highlighted by buckets from Kennedy DeRuy, Avery Eminger and Kloee Williamson to take a 13-6 advantage into the second period.

The Warriors opened the second period as hot as they closed the first, using an 8-2 run over the first four minutes to push the lead to double digits, 21-8. Eminger had an offensive rebound for a putback score, while DeRuy knocked down back to back 3-pointers to close the run.

“It’s very important for our confidence, especially down a starter, to close out quarters and open the next one well. … They started out in a man (defense) against us and I thought we could take advantage of that with some of our athleticism. When they switched to a zone, we just tried to find the open spots and attack. As long as we didn’t get in a hurry, we were successful.” 

McAuley took a 30-14 lead into the intermission and extended the advantage to 39-24 after a back-and-forth third period.

Everton made a run at the lead early in the fourth quarter, using a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 11, 41-30, with less than six minutes to play in the game.

The Warriors answered the adversity with a scoring surge of their own, putting 10 unanswered points on the scoreboard to push the lead to more than 20 points for the first time, 53-32, with 2:35 left. DeRuy started the run with a three-point play after drawing contact on a score on the break. Eminger grabbed an offensive rebound for a bucket before DeRuy scored on a back cut. DeRuy closed the run with a floater to push the lead to 53-32 with 2:35 left in regulation.

“I think they knew this was do-or-die time,” Howard said of his team’s play down the stretch. “They had to do something to stop that run because they didn’t want to allow (Everton) to hang around until the end because if they are close late, all the pressure is on us. … I am proud of them for not falling to the adversity they faced there. A lot of these girls have played in big games the last couple of years and they are kind of used to that pressure. I thought they responded beautifully to it.”

SCORING LEADERS

DeRuy led McAuley with a game-high 26 points, including three 3-pointers. She had 14 points in the second half. Eminger finished with 22 points, 13 coming in the first half. Williamson finished with five points.

Jazzmenn Luney closed the game with 20 points, while Erza Wood had 11 for Everton. Kenzie Sartin finished with six points in the loss.

UP NEXT

McAuley takes on (3) Bronaugh (15-9) in the district semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

HOOPS: Brackets released for Class 6 District 5 tourney

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

Joplin High School will host the Class 6 District 5 girls and boys basketball tournaments from Feb. 26-March 4.

Brackets for both tournaments are listed below.

 

CLASS 6 DISTRICT 5 TOURNAMENT

GIRLS BRACKET

Saturday, Feb. 26 games

11 a.m. — (1) Kickapoo vs. (8) Springfield Central

12:30 — (4) Ozark vs. (5) Carthage

2 — (2) Nixa vs. (7) Joplin

3:30 — (3) Republic vs. (6) Lebanon

 

March 1 semifinals

6 —Kickapoo-Central winner vs. Ozark-Carthage winner

7:30 — Nixa-Joplin winner vs. Republic-Lebanon winner

 

March 4

6 p.m. — Title game

 

CLASS 6 DISTRICT 5 TOURNAMENT

BOYS BRACKET

Monday, Feb. 28 games

3 — (1) Nixa vs. (8) Lebanon

4:30 — (4) Joplin vs. (5) Republic

6 — (2) Kickapoo vs. (7) Central

7:30 — (3) Ozark vs. (6) Carthage

 

March 2 semifinals

6 — Nixa-Lebanon winner vs. Joplin-Republic winner

7:30 — Kickapoo-Central winner vs. Ozark-Carthage winner

 

March 4

7:30 — Title game

HOOPS: Class 5 District 6 brackets released

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The brackets for the Class 5 District 6 girls and boys basketball tournaments have been released.

Willard High School will be the host for the tourneys. Carl Junction’s girls and Bolivar’s boys are the top seeds. 

 

CLASS 5 DISTRICT 6 TOURNAMENT

GIRLS BRACKET

(At Willard)

Saturday, Feb. 26 games

10 a.m. — (1) Carl Junction vs. (8) Hillcrest

11:30 — (4) Parkview vs. (5) Neosho

1 p.m.­ ­— (2) Willard vs. (7) McDonald County

2:30 — (3) Webb City vs. (6) Bolivar

 

Feb. 28 semifinals

6— CJ-Hillcrest winner vs. Parkview-Neosho winner.

7:30 —Willard-Mac County winner vs. Webb City-Bolivar winner

 

March 4

6 p.m. — Title game

 

CLASS 5 DISTRICT 6 TOURNAMENT

BOYS BRACKET

(At Willard)

Saturday, Feb. 26 games

4—(1) Bolivar vs. (8) Carl Junction

5:30 — (4) Neosho vs. (5) Willard

7 —(2) Parkview vs. (7) Hillcrest

8:30 — (3) Webb City vs. McDonald County

 

March 1 semifinals

6—Bolivar-CJ winner vs. Neosho-Willard winner

7:30 —Parkview-Hillcrest winner vs. Webb City-Mac County winner

 

March 4

7:30 — Title game

HOOPS ROUNDUP: Carthage squads fall at Ozark; Neosho boys suffer loss at Nixa; College Heights girls end regular season win lopsided win

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

OZARK BOYS 81, CARTHAGE 61

OZARK, Mo. — Ozark pulled away in the second half for an 81-61 win over Carthage on Friday night in Central Ozark Conference boys basketball action. 

The clash between Tigers was tied at 21 at the end of the first quarter and Ozark led 40-36 at halftime.

The hosts outscored the visitors 41-25 after intermission.

Ozark held a 58-50 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The host Tigers finished strong, outscoring Carthage 23-11 in the fourth quarter.

The loss snapped a three-game conference winning streak for Carthage (18-6, 4-4 COC).

Clay Kinder scored 22 points and hit four 3-pointers for Carthage, while Max Templeman added 13 points. Also for CHS, Britt Coy had 10 points and Joel Pugh scored eight.

Ozark improved to 17-7 and 6-1 in the COC. 

Tyler Harmon scored 21 points, while Ethan Whatley added 18. 

These two teams will meet again on Feb. 28 in the opening round of the Class 6 District 5 tournament at Joplin High School. Ozark is the No. 3 seed, while Carthage is seeded sixth. 

Carthage ends the regular season at rival Webb City on Tuesday night.

 

OZARK GIRLS 50, CARTHAGE 19

OZARK, Mo. — Ranked seventh in Class 6, Ozark took control early and the host Tigers continued to add to their lead throughout the COC clash.

Ozark held an 11-5 lead by the end of the opening period. Ozark then outscored Carthage 16-4 in the second period to take a comfortable 27-9 halftime lead. 

The host Tigers led 40-15 at the end of the third quarter. A 10-4 fourth quarter gave Ozark a convincing win. 

Sophie Shannon scored seven points for Carthage, while Kianna Yates added six points.

Zeffie Kent scored 16 points to lead Ozark (19-5, 7-1 COC). 

Carthage (11-14, 2-6 COC) is at Webb City at 6 on Tuesday. 

 

NIXA BOYS 77, NEOSHO 51

NIXA, Mo. — Nixa built a double-digit lead by halftime and pulled away from Neosho down the stretch for a Central Ozark Conference win on Friday.

Ranked fourth in Class 6, the Eagles (22-3, 8-0 COC) led by 11 points at halftime before outscoring the Wildcats by nine in the third quarter to build an insurmountable lead down the stretch.

Kael Combs led Nixa with 26 points, 16 coming in the first half. Jaret Nelson had 17 points and Jordyn Turner finished with 12. 

K’dyn Waters led Neosho (16-8, 3-4 COC) with 16 points, while Isaiah Green added 11 and Carter Fenske finished with 10. The Wildcats are ranked ninth in Class 5. 

Neosho is at Joplin on Tuesday.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 50, SARCOXIE 33

SARCOXIE, Mo. — College Heights Christian closed out the regular season with a convincing road win.

“We got off to a tremendous start, winning the first quarter 16-6,” CHC coach John Blankenship said. “Our defense was great in the opening quarter and our transition game was much better tonight. We rebounded well and gave ourselves second and third shot opportunities. I was very pleased with our effort tonight.” 

CHC’s Libby Fanning recorded her 11th double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Addie Lawrence scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Jayli Johnson had 13 points and five assists, while Maddy Colin contributed 14 rebounds to go with four assists.

The Cougars (14-10) begin Class 2 District 12 play at 7:30 on Monday night in Verona.

Second-seeded College Heights awaits either No. 3 Marionville or No. 6 Purdy in the semifinals. 

Also of note, the College Heights boys beat Sarcoxie 59-29 to end the regular season at 21-4. 

The CHC boys are the No. 1 seed for the district tournament. The Cougars will take on either No. 4 Miller or No. 5 Purdy at 6 on Tuesday in Verona.

 

MOUNT VERNON GIRLS 54, MCDONALD COUNTY 39

The Mountaineers took control with a 17-4 second period. 

Cameryn Cassity scored 19 points for Mount Vernon (13-10), while Jolie Prescott and Raegan Boswell added 14 points apiece.

Addy Leach scored 16 points for McDonald County, while Anna Clarkson had eight.

BOYS HOOPS: Joplin rallies past Willard behind Always Wright’s 41 points

Posted on by Lucas Davis

WILLARD, Mo. —  Joplin trailed by double digits in the second half only to put on a furious rally down the stretch on the way to an 80-77 Central Ozark Conference win with senior guard Always Wright’s career-high 41 points.

The Eagles (17-7, 5-3 COC) trailed by nine at the intermission and fell behind by as many as 11 in the second half before rallying back in the final six minutes of action to take the lead and hold off the Tigers (14-11, 2-6 COC) for the conference road win.

SCORING LEADERS

Wright led the way for Joplin with 41 points. He scored 19 in the second half and 12 points in the fourth quarter as the offensive catalyst in the win.

All Wright finished with 18 points, while Brantley Morris scored 11 to give Joplin three players in double figures.

Haden Brown led Willard with 29 points, while Gavin Davis finished with 22 points in the loss. Brett Hall closed with 13 for the Tigers.

GAME ACTION

Joplin went into the half down 43-34 before Willard pushed the lead to 52-41 with less than five minutes to play following back to back buckets from Brown.

Joplin used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter to trim a 10-point deficit down to 56-55. Morris started the run with a driving score before Always Wright knocked down a floater. Morris buried a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three before All Wright converted on the drive to close the run.

Brown added a three-point play and Hall knocked down a 3-pointer for Willard to give the Tigers a 62-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Always Wright made the first three baskets for the Eagles out of the break, trimming the Tigers advantage to five points, 66-61, in the process. All Wright converted from the perimeter at the 5:41 mark to cut the lead to four and scored on the drive the next possession to make the score 68-62 with 4:55 left in regulation. Always Wright brought Joplin all the way back with a stepback mid-range jumper with 4:25 on the clock to tie the game at 68s.

Joplin took its first lead of the game since early in the first quarter with less than four minutes to play after Morris drilled a 3-ball from the wing to make the score 73-70. 

Willard tied the game up on an inside bucket from Davis only for Morris to bury another 3-pointer from the corner at the two-minute mark to give the Eagles a 76-73 advantage.

Brown scored inside with a minute left to cut the lead to one, but Always Wright answered with two free throws with 29 seconds left to push the lead back to three.
Brown again found room inside on the drive, but with 10.2 left in regulation, Always Wright converted both shots at the foul line to keep the Tigers three points shy of a tie.

Willard missed a shot at the buzzer, sending Joplin to the conference road win.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts Neosho on Tuesday.

BOYS HOOPS: Webb City suffers heartbreaking loss at Republic

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

REPUBLIC, Mo. — Republic’s Devon McMillin made a layup at the buzzer to give his team a 60-59 victory over Webb City on Friday in a Central Ozark Conference boys basketball clash.

The Tigers trailed by one with five seconds left. Republic guard Ahlante Askew lost the ball near the foul line, dove on the floor to grab the loose ball and somehow hoisted a shot up in a crowd. McMillin caught the errant shot and laid in it at the buzzer. 

Ranked sixth in Class 5, Webb City fell to 16-8 and 4-3 in the COC. Republic improved to 15-10 and 5-3 in the conference. 

This one featured 12 ties and 19 lead changes.

There were four ties in the first quarter. Dante Washington went 3-for-4 at the foul line late in the opening frame to give Webb City a 17-16 advantage.

Cohl Vaden had 11 first-half points for the Cardinals and teammate Max Higginbotham hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, but the game was deadlocked at 33 at halftime.

The third period saw both teams trade the lead back and forth. A trey just before the buzzer by Higginbotham gave Webb City a 50-48 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The game was tied at 57 with 3:15 remaining.

Vaden’s hoop in the lane gave the Cardinals a 59-58 advantage before the two teams traded turnovers and empty possessions. 

The Tigers missed a shot from the perimeter and then turned the ball over with 18 seconds left. 

Up one, the Cardinals missed the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds left and Republic took a timeout with five seconds remaining before the game-winning bucket went in as time expired. 

Webb City’s Trey Roets, Higginbotham and Vaden scored 15 points apiece to lead the Cardinals. Washington added eight points, while Roets had a team-high nine rebounds.

Webb City made 21-of-44 field goal attempts (47 percent).

Republic made 24-of-45 shots (53 percent). 

Avery Moody led the Tigers with 19 points, while Brenley Hagewood scored 14. McMillin added 12 points and Askew had 10. 

Webb City hosts Carthage on Tuesday night.

 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

GIRLS HOOPS: Joplin’s rally comes up short in road loss to Willard

Posted on by Lucas Davis

WILLARD, Mo. — Joplin held an early advantage before Willard rallied to take a double-digit lead late only to see the Eagles make a final push that come up just short in a 62-57 loss to the Tigers in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.

The Eagles (10-14, 1-7 COC) led for much of the first quarter before the Tigers (11-14, 3-5 COC) found life to close the opening period and start the second quarter, taking their first lead of the game. Willard pulled out to a 15-point lead to start the fourth quarter. Joplin rallied late but ran out of time before getting a chance to tie the game.

“Willard is a good, well-coached team,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “They play hard and play great team basketball. We got off to a really good start and then hit a lull in the second and third quarters. To our girls’ credit, they kept fighting and made a run in the fourth. Hopefully we can build off of the fourth quarter heading into the last week of the season.”

GAME ACTION

Joplin, which has lost five games in a row, played in front for much of the opening period and held a 12-7 lead with 2:18 to play when Willard found life. The Tigers closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run to tie the game and opened the second period with the first five points to take their first lead of the game. Kailyn Washington gave Willard its first lead with a driving score to open the second quarter before Brielle Adamson knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to make the score 19-14.

Willard built the lead to eight points with two minutes left in the second quarter before a Brooke Nice 3-pointer and Emma Floyd elbow jumper to close the first half to trim Joplin’s deficit to 29-26 head into the intermission. 

Willard took control of the contest while closing out the third quarter with the momentum after a late 12-0 surge led the Tigers to a 15-point lead to start the fourth quarter. Willard led 37-29 early in the third off a 3-pointer from Carolina Crawford before Nice converted from the perimeter and Ella Hafer scored on the drive to cut the deficit to 37-34. 

From there, the Tigers scored the next 12 points to extend the lead to double digits. Crawford led the push with five points, while Washington had four points. Morgan Hall added a 3-pointer. 

Willard led 52-38 to start the fourth quarter  and by as much as 17 points before Joplin rallied to cut the lead to three in the final minute, but the Eagles never gained possession with the chance to tie. Hafer and Brynn Driver each had six points in the fourth quarter to lead the resurgence.

SCORING LEADERS

Willard was led in scoring by Crawford, who finished with four 3-pointers and 18 points. Washington converted twice from the perimeter and finished with 15 points. Adamson had nine points on three 3-pointers. The Tigers hit 10 total shots from beyond the arc.

Joplin was led in scoring by Hafer, who finished with 15 points. Nice had 14 points, while Driver closed the game with 11. Floyd finished with nine points in the loss.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts Neosho on Monday.

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