The Carthage High School girls swim team captured the team championship at the Springfield Duals on Tuesday.
Braden McBride’s Tigers topped the team standings with 344 points.
Monett (205), Rogersville (187), Springfield Central (177), Waynesville (100), Marshfield (88), Seymour (44) and Jasper (24) rounded out the team standings.
Carthage’s 200-yard medley relay team of Aubree Santillan, Olivia Manning, Madison Riley and Joey Hettinger took first place in 2:00.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Riley, Santillan, Hettinger and Manning took first in 4:12.
The Tigers were second in the 200 freestyle relay, as Victoria Martinez, Kamryn Dininger, Madelyn Kennedy and Reese Lee recorded a time of 2:00.
Riley won two individual events, the 200 freestyle in 2:04 and the 500 freestyle in 5:40.
Santillan took first in the 100 backstroke (1:07) and was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle.
Manning won the 100 breaststroke (1:17) and took second in the 100 butterfly.
Dininger placed third in the 200 free, while Martinez (200 IM, 100 fly), Hettinger (100 free), Alexis Fosdick (500 free) and Jekaterina Arnold (100 backstroke) all finished fourth in their respective events.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Monett won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:58, with Claire Nation, Emma Parrigon, Emma Hunter and Sonnie Winfrey competing.
The Cubs were third in both the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.
Monett’s Winfrey was the runner-up in the 100 freestyle and Grace Lee took third in the 500 freestyle.
Jasper’s Audrey Osterdyk placed third in two events, the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — With the game tied at 54s and 6.5 seconds left in regulation, Webb City senior F Alex Martin caught the inbounds pass on the right wing, squared to the basket in a triple-threat stance before driving deep into the paint and putting the ball up and in with 1.1 ticks left to ultimately send the Cardinals to a 56-54 win over Rogers-Heritage (Arkansas) on Tuesday inside the Cardinal Dome.
“He was big all night,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said of Martin’s go-ahead bucket. “The last play, it was a situation where he was going to have to make a read. … They gave him a little room and he got downhill. Coming out of the last timeout, we talked to him about not playing for the three-point play and just making sure to finish the basket. He went really strong to the rim and made a big man’s play.”
The win snaps a two-game skid to close out the Carthage Invitational for Webb City, with the Cardinals improving to 3-2 after victory over the War Eagles (2-8).
“I don’t know what is going to happen the rest of the season, but I know that locker room was ecstatic when I went in there,” Horn said about the importance of this win. “It was a big weight lifted off their shoulders. You could feel their confidence starting to come back. It is something that we may look back on in a few weeks and say that was a turning point for us. I think we grew up a lot tonight.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Webb City sophomore guard Holton Keith scores inside during the Cardinals’ win over Heritage on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Webb City shot 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from the perimeter in the win.
Martin paced the Cardinals with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and to go along with nine rebounds and two assists.
“He carried us for a stretch,” Horn said of Martin’s performance. “From the second quarter, really through that fourth, he was someone we knew who was going to consistently put the ball in the basket. If we got the ball in his hands, we knew good things were going to happen. … He put us on his back when we needed it.”
Senior G Joe Adams made three 3-pointers on the way to 13 points, while junior G Barron Duda finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and seven rebounds. Sophomore G Holton Keith had nine points and three assists.
DOWN THE STRETCH
Webb City entered the fourth quarter trailing 40-36 and got the first basket to trim the lead to one possession. The Cardinals and War Eagles traded scores over the next several possessions before Webb City took its first lead, 48-47, since midway through the second quarter on a score in the paint from Martin before Keith grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback and a foul, knocking down the ensuing and-1 free throw, to give Webb City a 51-47 lead with 2:20 to play.
Heritage junior F Ben Manuel—who finished with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double—made a 3-pointer to cut the Webb City lead to one before an inside score from senior Carter Hensley gave the War Eagles a 52-51 lead with 1:17 left.
A 3-ball by Duda with 55 seconds left gave the Cardinals a 54-52 lead before a quick score inside by Manuel had the game knotted up at 54 with less than 45 seconds to play.
A Webb City turnover looked to lead to a game-deciding layup on the break the other way, but the transition basket was missed with the Cardinals grabbing the rebound and calling timeout with 6.5 seconds left to set up Martin’s game-winning basket.
HOW THEY GOT THERE
Early turnovers were the catalyst in Webb City falling behind early. The Cardinals had seven giveaways in the first quarter, which allowed the War Eagles to jump out to a 13-3 lead through the first six-plus minutes of action.
“They were just playing nervous, tentative and a little bit scared,” Horn said of his team’s play through the first quarter. “And those things are uncharacteristic of us. We talked earlier and I think our confidence was a little shook from Friday night and Saturday. We needed to see the ball go in the basket to know that we are still good and can make plays. As the game wore on, they relaxed, their confidence rose and we were able to make winning plays.”
Webb City senior G Joe Adams drives to the rim during the Cardinals’ win over Heritage on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Webb City’s Adams knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers later in the quarter to help cut the Heritage lead to seven to start the second period.
The Cardinals opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run highlighted by a pair of paint scores from Martin and a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the corner by Duda to tie the game at 16-16 with 6:10 to play in the first.
Webb City took its first lead moments late on a 3-pointer from Adams, but both teams traded buckets and the lead until Heritage closed the first half on an 8-1 run, led by two 3-pointers from senior G James Isbell, who finished with 14 points and four assists, and junior G Eli Howard, with Isbell anding a score on the drive as well, to take a 33-24 lead into the intermission.
The Cardinals started the second half with the first six points off a bucket from Duda and four team charities to trim the deficit to 33-30 before Heritage went back up six on a three-point play from Manuel.
The lead remained between one and two possessions until the War Eagles took a 40-36 advantage into the last eight minutes.
MONETT, Mo. — Neosho’s boys basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to earn a 48-31 victory over Monett on Tuesday night.
Clinging to a four-point lead at the end of the third quarter, Neosho outscored Monett 17-4 in the final frame to earn the non-conference win.
“Great team defense by our guys,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “Monett had 11 points in the first four minutes then only scored 20 the rest of the game. It was ugly, but a good win for us.”
Monett led 11-6 at the end of the first period, but Neosho won the second quarter 19-7 to take a 25-18 halftime advantage.
Neosho’s lead was down to 31-27 entering the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Green scored 13 points to lead Neosho, while Michael Day added nine and Kael Smith had eight.
“Michael Day had another great shooting night, hitting three huge 3-pointers,” Culp said. “Isaiah Green did an awesome job guarding their point guard and creating lots of offense for us.”
Carter Baslee contributed six points and Carter Fenske chipped in five. Collier Hendricks scored four points and Brock Franklin added three for the Wildcats, who improved to 4-1 on the season.
Blaine Salsman and Jason Garner scored nine points apiece for the Cubs (3-2).
Neosho hosts Seneca on Friday night.
SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL 63, CARTHAGE 55
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Carthage fell to 3-2 on the season after a non-conference setback to district opponent Springfield Central.
Central led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter and 30-22 at halftime.
The Tigers trailed 47-36 at the end of the third quarter. Carthage outscored Central 19-16 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
Four Tigers scored in double figures. Justin Ray led Carthage with 15 points, while Max Templeman had 12, Clay Kinder added 11 and Britt Coy contributed 10.
Bryce Walker scored 20 and Sterling Vinson added 18 for the Bulldogs.
Carthage takes on Parkview at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the 4-States Challenge at Webb City.
MCAULEY 46, EXETER 32
McAuley built a nine-point lead after the first quarter and expanded it out until the final horn in a win over Exeter on Tuesday.
“It was a good bounce back win for our guys,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said to SoMo Sports. “Now we have to focus on the next one.”
McAuley outscored Exeter 16-8 in the second period to lead 29-12 going into the intermission and held off the Tigers in the second half.
The Warriors improved to 3-5 on the season with the win.
Rocco Bazzano-Joseph and Bradley Wagner tied for the team lead in points with 12 each. Noah Black finished with nine points while Kable Reichardt added five and Michael Parrigon four.
McAuley is at Northeast Vernon County on Friday.
McAuley’s Michael Parrigon puts up a shot from in close during Tuesday’s contest against Exeter. McAuley won the game 46-32. Courtesy photo.
ANDERSON, Mo. — For the third time in as many weeks, the Carl Junction Bulldogs will play for a tournament championship.
Ignited by fast starts to both the first and third quarters, Carl Junction rolled to a 68-44 victory over Springdale (Arkansas) on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Lady Mustang Classic at McDonald County High School.
Carl Junction will meet Bentonville West in the tourney title game at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
It’s the third tourney championship game of the young season for Carl Junction. The Bulldogs won their own CJ Classic two weeks ago and were the runner-up at last week’s Taco Bell Tournament of Champions in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Ranked fourth in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Carl Junction improved to 7-1 on the season.
Just two weeks ago, Carl Junction edged Springdale 62-58 in the semifinals of the CJ Classic. The rematch was all CJ. Simply put, the Bulldogs dominated for most of the night.
Carl Junction raced out to an 18-5 lead by the end of the first period, with senior guard Destiny Buerge scoring nine in the frame.
Springdale started the second quarter on an 11-2 surge, with many of those points coming on hoops in transition.
But Carl Junction weathered the storm and closed the first half on a 13-4 spurt for a 33-20 halftime advantage.
During the late run, Kylie Scott scored six points, Klohe Burk converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Dezi Williams and Jadyn Howard both scored baskets in the paint.
After the break, Carl Junction began the third period on a 17-0 run to blow the game open.
Buerge scored 14 points in the third period to Springdale’s nine, and Brad Shorter’s Bulldogs held a comfortable 56-29 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Carl Junction owned a 64-34 cushion in the final frame, and both coaches got their reserves plenty of time on the court late in the game.
A Pittsburg State signee, Buerge scored 25 points to lead CJ.
Scott added 14 points, while Williams had 11, Burk scored seven and Anna Burch contributed six.
Kaiya McCoy scored 13 for Springdale and Jakayla Bunch added 11.
In the other semifinal, Bentonville West beat Fort Smith Southside 56-53.
In Tuesday’s consolation semifinals, Farmington edged Gentry 60-59 and Webb City beat McDonald County 38-35.
See a related story on the Webb City-McDonald County game.
ANDERSON, Mo. — Webb City connected on 5-of-7 free throws in the final minute to secure a hard-fought 38-35 victory over McDonald County on Tuesday in the consolation semifinals of the Lady Mustang Classic.
With the win, the Cardinals (4-3) advance to play Farmington in the tourney’s fifth-place game at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
McDonald County (3-5) will play Gentry (Arkansas) for seventh at 3:30 p.m.
After trailing early, Webb City scored the final seven points of the first quarter, as Malorie Stanley and Kylee Sargent both hit 3-pointers and Izzy Lopez made one free throw to give the Cardinals a 10-4 lead entering the second period.
A trey from Lopez gave the visitors a 15-6 advantage early in the second quarter, but Mac County freshman Carlie Martin scored three buckets to keep the Mustangs within striking distance.
Webb City received a hoop inside by Kim Martin and a trey from Kirra Long late in the first half before Mac County’s Megan Elwood made two free throws, cutting Webb City’s lead to 20-15 at the break.
Webb City, once again played without starting post player Sami Mancini, also had to play much of the first half without senior Kate Brownfield, who picked up three fouls by the early stages of the second quarter.
After intermission, the Mustangs scored the first nine points of the third quarter and took a 25-24 advantage into the fourth period.
The game was deadlocked at 27 when the Cardinals took the lead for good after Brownfield and Dawsyn Decker each scored buckets inside.
Stanley’s mid-range jumper gave Webb City a four-point lead, but Mac County’s Martin answered with a hoop of her own with 1:20 to play.
Next, Brownfield made 3-of-4 shots at the charity stripe, McDonald County’s Jamie Washam hit two free throws of her own before Martin’s basket cut Webb City’s lead down to one with 16 seconds left.
The Cardinals and Mustangs both misfired on the front end of 1-and-1 free throws with 11 seconds and six seconds remaining, respectively. That kept the Cardinals in front by just a single tally.
Webb City’s Long was fouled with 3.2 seconds left, and the sophomore guard calmly sank both shots for the final margin.
On the hosts’ final possession, a last-second heave near midcourt was off the mark.
A senior guard, Lopez scored 10 points to lead the Cardinals. Brownfield and Stanley scored six points apiece, while Long had five.
Martin scored 16 points to lead McDonald County, while Elwood added eight.
In the first consolation semifinal, Farmington edged Gentry 60-59.
Ranked fourth in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Carl Junction improved to 7-1 on the season.
