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Month: February 2023

GIRLS HOOPS: Webb City keeps pace in COC race by beating Joplin

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

Webb City remained near the top of the Central Ozark Conference standings by earning a convincing 54-19 victory over Joplin on Monday night in a girls basketball clash inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

The Cardinals are now 15-8 overall and 5-2 in conference play with two COC games to go. 

Carl Junction is currently undefeated in conference play, while Republic has just one loss and Nixa, Ozark and Webb City have two setbacks apiece. 

“One of our goals at the beginning of the season was to be in the hunt for a conference title,” Cardinals coach Lance Robbins said. “Coming down to the end of the season, we’re still in the conversation. We have two tough games coming up with Nixa and Carl Junction to end the conference schedule. We know both of those teams are also right there in the hunt for a conference title. We’d have to have some help along the way, but we just need to take care of our own business. We just have to continue to get better each day and we’ll see what happens.”

Webb City is at Class 6 No. 4 Nixa on Thursday, and the Cardinals end COC play next Monday at home against league leading and Class 5 No. 1 Carl Junction.

In Monday’s clash with the Eagles, Webb City took control with a strong second quarter and then slowly pulled away the rest of the night. 

“I thought we kind of sputtered early offensively,” Coach Robbins said. “I thought Joplin’s girls were getting after it defensively. It took us a few minutes to get adjusted. Once we got adjusted, I thought we got into a groove and did some good things. We had good minutes all the way around from all of our kids tonight.” 

The Eagles, who have played a large part of the season without injured senior team leader Brynn Driver, fell to 4-19 overall and 0-7 in the COC. 

“Kudos to Webb City, they played extremely hard, and we knew they would be ready to play,” Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We did a really good job of taking care of the ball in the first quarter. But in the second quarter, we started having turnovers and that was the difference in the game. And our Achilles’ heel all year is not being able to make shots. We just have to get better at making shots.”

Cox noted he was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We play extremely hard every game,” Cox said. “There’s never a question about that. I’m proud of the girls. We never have to question them about playing hard, no matter the score.”

 

GAME RECAP

The game was deadlocked at five early when the Cardinals reeled off seven straight points to end the first quarter for a 12-5 advantage. 

Webb City pulled away for good with a game-changing 17-2 burst in the second quarter. 

Junior guard Malorie Stanley scored eight points off the bench during the surge, while senior guard Izzy Lopez hit a 3-pointer and sophomore forward Sami Mancini scored inside. Also, junior forward Dawsyn Decker, senior guard Kate Brownfield, junior guard Mia Robbins and Mancini all contributed free throws that extended Webb City’s lead to 29-8.

“I thought Malorie gave us a big boost off the bench defensively and offensively,” Coach Robbins noted. 

While the Cardinals got going, the Eagles were plagued with empty possessions throughout the second period. But a hoop in the lane from junior guard Bailey Ledford and a pair of midrange jumpers from sophomore forward Riley Kelly cut Joplin’s deficit to 29-12 by intermission. 

The Cardinals outscored the Eagles 13-4 in the third period to take a comfortable 42-16 lead into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, baskets from sophomore guard Kirra Long, Lopez and Brownfield extended Webb City’s advantage to 49-18 to force a running clock. 

Webb City limited Joplin to seven made field goals in the game, and the Eagles were held to seven points in the second half. 

“We played a lot of man-to-man in the first half and in the second half we switched some things up with our zone defenses,” Coach Robbins said of his team’s solid defensive effort. “I thought our kids did a great job defensively of applying pressure and getting into the passing lanes. And I thought we did a good job of boxing out and rebounding, too.” 

 

NAMES & NUMBERS

The 6-foot-5 Mancini scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. The 5-8 Stanley also reached double figures with 13 points.

Also for the Cardinals, Decker scored nine points, Long added eight and Lopez had five. Brownfield scored three points and Mia Robbins added a single tally. 

The Cardinals took advantage of 21 Joplin turnovers while committing just eight turnovers of their own.

Ledford led the Eagles with seven points, while Kelly had six points. Senior guard Izzy Yust scored three points, freshman forward Alissa Owens had two and freshman forward Raniya Triplett added one point.

Joplin travels to Branson on Thursday. The Eagles conclude COC play at home next Monday against Ozark. 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

WRESTLING: Local girls advance to state tournament; Joplin’s Washom makes history

Posted on by Jason Peake

Local girls wrestling teams competed at district tournaments on Saturday.

The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the state tournament. 

Five Joplin area schools had state-qualifiers.

 

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 3

OZARK, Mo. — Joplin High School junior Erika Washom made history by finishing fourth at 135 pounds at the Class 2 District 3 tournament to advance to the state tournament. 

Washom will be the first female to represent JHS at the state tournament. 

Washom was the lone local state-qualifier from this district tourney, which was held at Ozark High School.

After an opening round bye, Washom won by fall over Waynesville’s Gabriela Hoag. Washom suffered a loss by fall to Nixa’s Brenya Crahan, but she recorded a win by pin over Webb City’s Kylie Jennings.

In the third-place match, Willard’s Ashlan Thompson earned a 4-1 decision over Washom. 

Unable to advance for Joplin were Coryaunna Mueller (110 pounds), Amy Kessler (145), Mya Ndedi Ntepe (155) and Illahna Burtrum (190).

Competing but unable to advance for Neosho were Jilian Ramirez (135) and Carmen Peren (170). 

Webb City’s Jennings (135), Layla Espinoza (140) and Emma Combs (170) competed but were unable to advance. Jennings won three matches by fall but suffered losses to Lebanon’s Taylor Johnson and Washom.

Lebanon (224) and Nixa (194) were the top two teams.

 

CLASS 1 DISTRICT 3

CLINTON, Mo. — Athletes from Seneca, Cassville, Monett and Nevada secured state berths on Saturday at the Class 1 District 3 tournament at Clinton High School. 

Seneca had a pair of district champs, as Liberty Cornell was the top finisher at 155 pounds and Isabella Renfro took first at 190 pounds. Also for the Indians, Louzella Graham placed third at 115 to give Seneca three qualifiers.  

Cassville had three district champions— Annie Moore (115), Kailey Artherton (120) and Faith James (130). Also for Cassville, Hailey Roark was the runner-up at 140 and Taylor Glidewell finished third at 190. 

For Monett, Brooke Bluel was the runner-up at 120, Mary Jastal placed third at 105 pounds and Kayrie Burdett (110) and Jenna Spencer (115) both finished fourth.

Nevada had four qualifiers, as Drew Leer was the runner-up at 235, Sydnee Baldwin finished third at 110, Teresa Dawn was third at 145 and Xaveria Dawn placed fourth at 100 pounds.

Athletes from Carl Junction, McDonald County, Diamond and Aurora concluded the season at the district tourney.

Holden was the team champion with 141.5 points and Cassville was second with 137 points.

 

WRESTLING NOTES

In a change this year, Missouri now has two classifications for girls wrestling.

The state wrestling tournament will now be a four-day affair at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. It was previously a three-day event.

The Class 1 girls and Class 1-2 boys tournaments will be held on Feb. 22-23, while the Class 2 girls and Class 3-4 boys tourneys are slated for Feb. 24-25.

Area boys wrestling teams will compete at district tourneys on Friday and Saturday, with state berths on the line.

HOOPS ROUNDUP: Neosho boys beat Ozark for memorable win; Carthage boys hang tough with No. 2 Nixa; Mac County boys, Nevada girls earn Big 8 West titles

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO BOYS 52, OZARK 47

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho built an early cushion and held off Ozark for the Wildcats’ first win over the Tigers since 2010. 

The win is the fourth Central Ozark Conference win for the Wildcats, who moved to 17-5, 4-1 after the victory on Friday, which ties the school record for conference wins by Neosho.

Neosho limited Ozark (9-13, 2-3 COC) to 13 points in the first half and led by nine at the intermission. The Wildcats outscored the Tigers 22-4 in the third quarter to take a commanding 16-point lead. Ozark put on a rally in the fourth quarter, but Neosho staved off the comeback for the win.

Isaiah Green led Neosho with 16 points, while Kael Smith finished with 13 points. Carter Baslee scored 10 to give the Wildcats three players in double figures. Carter Fenske added eight and Brock Franklin scored five. 

Neosho is at Carl Junction on Tuesday.

 

NIXA BOYS 66, CARTHAGE 64

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage trailed by one possession for much of the final 10 minutes of game action but never found that final momentum surge to get the lead down the stretch in a loss to Class 6 second-ranked Nixa (22-0, 5-0 COC) on Friday in Central Ozark Conference action.

The Tigers (12-10, 2-4 COC) trailed by eight with less than six minutes to play in the third quarter before rallying back to cut the deficit to one, 44-43, by the start of the fourth quarter. Each time it looked as if Carthage would grab the momentum, the Eagles had an answer until the final horn.

Max Templeman led all scorers with a game-high 23 points to lead Carthage in scoring. Justin Ray knocked down two 3-pointers on the way to 16, while Clay Kinder had 10 points and two 3-pointers.

Kael Combs finished with 21 points and three 3-pointers to lead Nixa in scoring.

Carthage hosts Branson on Tuesday for Senior Night.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY BOYS 60, NEVADA 57

NEVADA, Mo. — The McDonald County Mustangs clinched an outright Big 8 West championship by beating the Nevada Tigers on Friday inside Wynn Gymnasium.

McDonald County improved to 13-10 and the Mustangs went 6-0 in the Big 8 West. 

Sterling Woods scored 24 points to lead the Mustangs and Destyn Dowd added 10 and Cross Dowd had nine. 

Nevada is now 11-13 and they went 4-2 in the Big 8 West. 

Drew Beachler scored 17 points to lead Nevada, while Brice Budd had 16 points and Jack Cheaney added 14.

Nevada led 41-40 entering the fourth quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Tigers 20-16 in the final frame. 

McDonald County will take on Rogersville in the overall Big 8 Conference championship on Tuesday.

Nevada is at Reeds Spring on Tuesday.

 

SENECA BOYS 40, WYANDOTTE (OKLA.) 49

SENECA, Mo. — Four players scored in double figures for the Indians.

Cooper Long led Seneca with 18 points, while Morgan Vaughn had 16, Blake Hurn added 12 and Ethan Altic scored 11.

 

NEVADA GIRLS 47, MCDONALD COUNTY 35

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada’s girls finished off an undefeated run through the Big 8 West.

The Tigers improved to 19-4 overall and they went 6-0 in the Big 8 West.

The Mustangs fell to 10-13 and they went 4-2 in Big 8  West play.

Nevada will host Marshfield on Monday for the overall Big 8 championship. 

On Friday, the Tigers had to come from behind, as the Mustangs led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Nevada outscored Mac County 20-12 in the second period for a 24-22 halftime advantage.

The Tigers built a 40-29 cushion entering the fourth quarter and the hosts never relinquished their lead.

Senior guard Maddy Majors led the Tigers with 17 points and junior guard Clara Swearingen added 11 points.

Roslynn Huston scored 14 points to lead the Mustangs, while Carlie Martin added 13.

 

SENECA GIRLS 64, WYANDOTTE (OKLA.) 33

SENECA, Mo. — Hazley Grotjohn poured in 33 points for Seneca.

Parker Long also reached double figures with 14 points for the Indians.

HOOPS: College Heights engineers Senior Night sweep against McAuley

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian girls outscored their rival McAuley Catholic 31-14 in the first and third quarters on their way to a 47-28 win on Friday evening at the College Heights Athletic Complex on Senior Night.

With McAuley Catholic’s defense keyed on slowing down or stopping College Heights sophomore and leading scorer Libby Fanning, open perimeter shots became available for College Heights’ guards.

Ava Lett stepped up to the challenge and knocked down four 3-point shots Friday on her way to a team-high 14 points, including five points during a critical 12-0 run in the fourth quarter that extended the Cougars’ lead from 35-25 to 47-25.

“We’ve got a lot of kids that can score,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “Ava Lett stepped up and had a great game tonight, shot well, and Maddy Colin. We had three kids around double-digits. Our scoring was balanced tonight, which makes us a better team than if Libby’s scoring 25 points and the rest have four, six or eight. I like that balance more.”

Fanning recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Colin added eight points, senior Addie Lawrence finished with five points, seniors Jayli Johnson and Lauren Ukena each added four points, and Kinley Marsh’s free throw resulted in her lone point scored.

McAuley Catholic played nearly even with College Heights in the middle quarters Friday and entered the fourth down 35-23 after Lett hit one of her four trifectas late in the third.

“We came out flat in the first half,” Blankenship said. “Coach (Mike) Howard does a great job with his kids. We’ve played so often. He knows us, who to guard, and what to expect. We try and throw in a few wrinkles here and there and had some success with a little bit of a variation we had on their zone offense against their extended 2-3 (zone).

“We had to make some adjustments at halftime and talked about our energy and our passion. We picked that up. We were not very intense with our defense in the first half, so the kids responded well and had a strong second half.”

The Cougars honored their seniors before the boys varsity game.

“Jayli, Lauren, and Addie, they’ve been so committed to our program over the four years,” Blankenship said. “They’ve made our team and our program so much better. One of the goals we always have for our seniors is to make the program better.

“Defensively, Lauren and Jayli are just tenacious and we’re able to extend our pressure with their speed. They read in the passing lanes really well and Lauren had several steals and layups tonight.

“Addie, she’s a great shooter. She struggled from the floor a little bit tonight, but she’s having so much trouble with her knee and that makes it hard. She’s capable of knocking down four to six threes a night, which makes the defense have to get out and guard her and that opens up our interior with Libby a little bit more.

“Our seniors are key in what we’re doing and they’ll certainly be missed when they graduate.”

College Heights improved to 14-10 overall and 5-0 in the Ozark 7 Conference, and the Cougars have a big one Tuesday on the road against eighth-ranked in Class 1 and fellow unbeaten in Ozark 7 play Golden City (20-4 overall, 4-0 Ozark 7).

Kloee Williamson led McAuley Catholic with 14 points, the trio of Lily Black, Avery Gardner and Vanessa Diaz each produced four points, and Kendall Ramsey added two points.

The Warriors dropped to 8-16 overall and 3-2 Ozark 7, and they return home Tuesday one last time this season to face Bronaugh.

 

College Heights boys 55, McAuley Catholic 31

College Heights scored eight of the game’s first 10 points, McAuley Catholic answered with a 13-0 run to go ahead 15-8 late in the first quarter, and College Heights entered halftime with a 35-21 lead after turning a 19-16 deficit upside down with a 19-2 stretch to end the first half.

The Cougars, in fact, earned a 39-12 advantage after McAuley’s last lead at 19-16.

“We picked it up on defense and we did a little better job taking care of the ball,” College Heights coach Eric Johnson said. “Our offense got some more looks and we got some steals off the press too that got us some easy baskets early. We weren’t too happy with our start because we had three or four turnovers and they hit some open shots.”

Caleb Quade scored a game-high 19 points, including 15 of them in the first half to spark the Cougars, and seniors Curtis Davenport and Bo Sitton each finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Davenport scored nine of his points during that 19-2 run before the half.

Jayce Walker and senior Noah Hipple each contributed five points, Colsen Dickens scored three points, and senior Ben Thomas reached the scoring column with a made free throw.

College Heights’ four seniors, who have been a part of two district championships during their high school career so far, were honored before the game Friday.

“They’ve been with us all four years and Curtis has been a four-year starter,” Johnson said. “Ben, Bo, and Noah, they’ve been with the varsity last two years and they’ve stepped up this year and filled their roles. All four are great kids, and it’s been real enjoyable coaching them.”

College Heights improved to 19-5 overall and 5-0 Ozark 7, and the Cougars have one more conference bout Tuesday on the road against Golden City (16-8 overall).

Noah Black led McAuley Catholic with nine points, Bradley Wagner added seven, Rocco Bazzano-Joseph hit a pair of threes for his six points, Jack Jones and Joe Staton each had four points, and Kable Reichardt added one point.

The Warriors fell to 6-18 overall and 1-4 Ozark 7, and they return home Tuesday for their last home game of the season with a clash against Bronaugh.

BOYS HOOPS: Webb City falls short in COC clash with Class 6 No. 6 Republic

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A valiant effort wasn’t enough for the Webb City Cardinals.

Webb City’s late rally fell short, and Class 6 No. 6 Republic left town with a 63-50 Central Ozark Conference victory over the hosts on Friday night in front of a large homecoming crowd inside the Cardinal Dome.

After a close first half, the Tigers doubled up the Cardinals 18-9 in the game-changing third quarter.

Webb City used a spirited surge in the fourth quarter to pull within eight, but Republic stymied the comeback attempt down the stretch. 

“I was happy with our effort,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We had a slow start, but we bounced back after that start, and we gave ourselves a chance. Our kids competed well. We just needed to finish a few more plays to give ourselves a better chance against a good team like Republic.”

Webb City slipped to 15-7 overall and 2-4 in conference games. 

Junior guard Barron Duda scored 14 points for the Cardinals, while senior forward Alex Martin added 12 points before fouling out. 

Sophomore guard Holton Keith contributed nine points, six assists and three steals, while junior guard Omari Jackson added seven points. Joe Adams and Eli Pace chipped in four points apiece.

Webb City shot 49 percent from the floor (20-of-41) but went just 2-for-8 on 3-pointers. 

Republic improved to 20-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. 

Sophomore guard Brenley Hagewood led the Tigers with 23 points, while senior guard Ahlante Askew added 10 points and junior guard James Rexroat had nine.

The Tigers made 20-of-35 field goal attempts (57 percent), including 6-for-15 from beyond the arc (40 percent). Republic out-rebounded Webb City 27-11.

The Tigers, who never trailed, built an early double-digit lead at 17-7 by the end of the first quarter. 

Webb City was down 23-9 early in the second period, but the Cardinals finished the first half on an 18-7 burst.

Duda, Keith, Jackson and Martin all contributed points during the spurt. Duda knocked down three late free throws to cut Webb City’s deficit to 30-27 at intermission. 

The Tigers owned the third quarter. 

Republic started the second half on a 17-3 run to take a 47-30 lead. The Tigers led 48-36 at the end of the third period.

“We had some really good looks and we ran our sets well, but we just didn’t capitalize in the third quarter,” Horn said. “We missed a couple bunnies around the basket. Republic got the ball to their shooters. I thought we guarded the 3-point line better than we did on Tuesday, but Republic hit a couple that allowed them to stretch their lead. They got us out of sorts a little bit, too.”

The Cardinals didn’t go down quietly. 

With an 8-4 spurt to start the final frame, capped by a hoop inside by Martin and a layup from Pace, Webb City pulled within eight at 52-44.

That’s the closest the hosts would get, however. 

The Tigers finished the game on an 11-6 run to secure the win. 

“I don’t think we capitalized on some things offensively when we had good looks,” Horn said. “I thought Republic did. We showed resolve and fought back late in the game, so I’m pleased with the effort. We just have to put four quarters together.”

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City is at Joplin on Tuesday night for another COC contest.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BOYS HOOPS: Joplin takes lead into the fourth quarter, never relinquishes it in win over Willard

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Joplin trailed after the first and second quarters before a hustle play by a senior to close the third period gave the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish down the stretch of the fourth quarter in a 74-63 win over the Tigers in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.

“Willard is playing really well right now,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “It was a battle of matchups. We are a bigger team and they are a small, quick team. It’s hard for our guys to get there and contest. They were making a lot of 3s, but I thought we adjusted enough and got enough stops. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting to the paint to open up the outside.”

After trailing the first two quarters of the game, Joplin went into the fourth quarter with the lead after senior Terrance Gibson scored inside and drew contact with four seconds left in the third period to make the score 46-45 in favor of Willard. Gibson missed the and-1 charity but grabbed his own rebound and took the ball to the rack for a bucket at the horn, sending the Eagles into the final eight minutes on top 47-46.

“He is a high-energy kid,” Schaake said of Gibson’s play at the end of the third quarter to spark Joplin. “When he is active like that on the boards and attacking, we are a different team. Energy plays like that can swing the momentum … and basketball is all about momentum swings. Kids want to look up and see the results if they’re working hard.”

Trailing late in the third quarter turned out to be the last time Joplin was behind in the contest, as the Eagles extended the early in the fourth before holding off the Tigers down the stretch.

Freshman Fred Taylor knocked down a second-chance baseline floater to open the fourth quarter before Gibson scored and drew contact after rolling to the hoop off the assist from junior All Wright, with Gibson knocking down the and-1 attempt to push the lead to 52-46 with 6:16 to play.

After a bucket from Willard’s Braden Bagley, Taylor buried a 3-ball at the 5:15 mark to give Joplin a 55-48 advantage.

Willard cut the lead to 55-51 with 3:40 left in regulation before Wright knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to double digits, 61-51, with less than three minutes to play. 

Junior Quin Renfro knocked down a 3-pointer of his own shortly after to push the Joplin lead to 13 points with two minutes to play.

“All is a closer and one of the best players in the state,” Schaake said. “You can always rely on him to make big shots late. I thought Quin and (Whit) Hafer were big at the end for us, too. You need guys like that to finish off wins.”

Joplin finished 9-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles hold onto the lead and preserve the conference win.

Wright finished with a team-high 19 points to lead Joplin, while Renfro dropped 18 points on his birthday to finish second in scoring. Gibson finished with 12 points and Taylor added 10 to give Joplin four players in double figures.

Drew Quinlan led Willard with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Cooper Wilken made five 3s on the way to 16 points, while Russell Roweton finished with 12.

Joplin hosts Webb City on Tuesday.

GIRLS HOOPS: Willard stymies Joplin early on way to COC win 

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Willard forced Joplin into a bevy of turnovers early to fuel a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter en route to a 47-32 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.

“They put a lot of pressure on us early,” Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We are continuing to get better at handling the pressure, we just aren’t there yet. Once we got into the halfcourt game, I thought we played amazing. … Our girls played really hard. We just need to keep getting better.”

The Tigers (7-13, 2-4 COC) forced the Eagles (4-18, 0-6 COC) into 10 turnovers during the first quarter thanks in large part to running the press early to fuel a 22-3 lead by Willard after the first eight minutes of action. Joplin’s lone field goal came from Bailey Ledford with 1:32 left in the quarter.

“Their press really gave us a problem,”Cox said. “We made some adjustments, but it was a little too late. The press has been one of our Achilles’ heels this year. … The press and rebounding was really the difference in the first quarter. We adjusted well to it, but we have to learn to start  the game as strong as we finish it.” 

Kailyn Washington had six points to lead the Tigers in scoring, while Carolina Crawford and Scarlett Floyd each added four points in the quarter.

Turnovers plagued the Eagles through the first half of the second period, as the Tigers stretched the lead to 27-3 on a 3-pointer from Karli Wheeler with five minutes to play in the half.

Joplin picked up the pace offensively in the back half of the second quarter, getting buckets from Izzy Yust, Bailey Ledford and Serafina Auberry.

Joplin ultimately trailed 32-15 at the intermission.

Willard pushed its lead to more than 20 for the first time with 2:48 left on the clock in the third quarter when Mia Davault knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to make the score 37-15. 

The Tigers took a 40-17 lead into the fourth quarter and never relinquished the momentum before the final horn. 

Yust led Joplin with nine points, while Ledford finished with eight. 

Wheeler led Willard with 10 points, while Crawford and Washington each added eight in the win.

Joplin hosts Webb City on Monday.

HOOPS: Thomas Jefferson sweeps Exeter in Ozark 7 doubleheader

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Thomas Jefferson and Exeter boys basketball game on Thursday evening had all the early signs of becoming a shootout with the host Cavaliers ahead 17-15 after one quarter.

The teams exchanged the lead at least seven times.

The visiting Tigers had their perimeter shooters feeling a hot hand with three 3-point baskets during the first eight minutes.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, fed their senior center Jay Ball early and often for 12 of their 17 first-quarter points.

Ball finished with a game-high 32 points, Thomas Jefferson hit more 3-point shots than Exeter did over the final three quarters and the Cavaliers’ defense tightened up on their way to a 59-41 win at the TJ Fieldhouse.

“Honestly, we just had no defensive intensity early in the game,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We rotated slow and gave them a lot of good looks at the bucket. In the second quarter, we started to make an adjustment and then in the second half, we really turned up the defensive pressure which changed the game.”

Tyler Brouhard finished with 10 points, eight of them in the first half with a 3-pointer late in the half that gave the Cavaliers a 28-21 halftime advantage.

Kip Atteberry added eight points, Tony Touma five points and Kohl Thurman and Levi Triplett two points each.

“We got the inside game established early,” Myers said. “Jay did a good job of finishing inside and then our guards stepped up and knocked down some big shots. Guys that don’t typically score a lot of points for us all got their names in the scoring column.”

Atteberry’s trifecta late in the third put the Cavaliers up 45-32 entering the fourth and Touma knocked down another trifecta to extend the lead to 48-34 after Exeter opened the scoring in the fourth.

“Kip had a great shooting night the other night,” Myers said. “He carried that over into this game. We hope that he keeps that confidence going into next week and on into districts.”

Thomas Jefferson improved to 16-6 overall and 3-1 in the Ozark 7 Conference, and the Cavaliers are back in action Tuesday at home against conference and district foe Verona.

The Cavaliers have games remaining against Verona and then city, conference, and district rival McAuley Catholic before the start of the postseason.

“Trying to build on the things we’ve been working on all year and trying to finetune a few things here and there to try and make a good run come playoff time,” Myers said.

Thomas Jefferson, two-time defending district champion, owns the top seed for the upcoming Class 1 District 7 tournament hosted by Golden City.

 

Thomas Jefferson girls 57, Exeter 11

The Cavaliers scored the first 20 points of the game and never looked back during a 46-point victory Thursday over their conference rival.

“We played them early in the season and (tonight) was the same type of game as before,” Thomas Jefferson coach Traci Walker said. “Our focus right now is on districts. We play McAuley on Senior Night next Thursday and then turn around and play them at districts. We have some team goals that we’re working on, so we tried using that for this game. We’re trying to finish above .500. That’s what we’re working on.”

Thomas Jefferson junior Gabbi Hiebert and sophomore Lannah Grigg combined for 49 points Thursday with Hiebert good for 29 and Grigg for 20.

“They are my dynamic duo,” Walker said. “It’s nice when we play teams that know they can’t guard both.”

Tannah Cassatt added four points and Macie Shifferd and Sarah Mueller each had two points for the Cavaliers.

Thomas Jefferson improved to 11-10 overall and 2-2 Ozark 7, and the Cavaliers return home Tuesday against conference foe Verona.

GIRLS HOOPS ROUNDUP: Carl Junction tops Branson; Neosho, Carthage, Webb City fall in COC play

Posted on by Jason Peake

CARL JUNCTION GIRLS 71, BRANSON 56

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — After a close first half, Carl Junction outscored Branson 22-7 in the third quarter to pull away for good on Thursday night in Central Ozark Conference girls basketball action.

Ranked first in Class 5, Carl Junction hiked its record to 22-1 overall and 6-0 in the Central Ozark Conference.

Up 21-17 at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs were clinging to a 33-28 lead at intermission.

But Carl Junction dominated the third period and built a 55-35 lead heading into the final frame.

Standout senior guard Destiny Buerge scored 25 points to lead the Bulldogs, while junior forward Kylie Scott had 23 points and senior guard Klohe Burk added 12 points.

Taylor Foster paced Branson with 18 points.

The Pirates slipped to 9-10 overall and 1-3 in the COC.

Carl Junction hosts Neosho on Tuesday in the team’s final home date.

 

OZARK GIRLS 49, NEOSHO 42

NEOSHO, Mo. — Ozark led by three heading into the final eight minutes of action and held off Neosho for a Central Ozark Conference and district win on Thursday.

The Tigers (11-10, 4-1 COC) went into halftime up three and the lead was the same as both teams entered the fourth quarter. Ozark got the first bucket of the fourth and kept that pace down the stretch. The Tigers pushed the lead to six early in the period before the Wildcats (10-11, 1-3 COC) cut it back to three with three minutes left. Unfortunately, that would be as close as Neosho got before Ozark pushed the margin out to seven and held on to the final horn.

Ozark’s Jordyn Foley started the final period off with a 3-pointer from the top of the key before Karlee Ellick scored on the inside for Neosho.

Ellick earned a steal for a layup on the break by Autumn Kinnaird the other way to trim the lead back to three, 41-38, with 3:11 to left in regulation.

After a pair of free throws from Sydney Hampton, Molly Rushing earned a steal for a fast-break score with 2:15 to play to give the Tigers a 45-38 cushion and essentially put the game out of reach.

Ellick led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, while Meredith Baldwin and Courtney Thomason each scored seven points. Raine Harris finished with six and Kinnaird closed with five. 

Neosho is at Carl Junction on Tuesday.

Ozark hosts Republic on Monday.

Webb City’s Malorie Stanley drives to the hoop against Republic’s Alex Price on Thursday night inside the Cardinal Dome. Photos by Derek Livingston.

REPUBLIC GIRLS 66, WEBB CITY 53

WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City girls basketball team hung tough with Class 6 No. 3 Republic for a large part of the night, but the Tigers rode a strong third quarter to a COC win over the Cardinals on Thursday inside the Cardinal Dome.

Webb City’s Sami Mancini scores inside against Republic on Thursday night.

After a close first half, the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 23-7 in the game-changing third period to take control.

Webb City fell to 14-8 overall and 4-2 in the COC. 

Sophomore post player Sami Mancini scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Webb City. On Wednesday, Mancini announced on Twitter that she’s received an offer from Vanderbilt.

Kate Brownfield added 10 points for the Cardinals, while Mia Robbins and Kirra Long added seven points apiece.

Republic improved to 19-3 and 4-1 in the conference.

Missouri State commit Kaemyn Bekemeier led Republic with 22 points and 10 rebounds. A senior guard, Bekemeier has scored more than 2,000 points during her prep career.

Lauren Chastain added 15 points for the Tigers.

Webb City took a three-point lead after Mancini’s hoop inside and Long’s trey, but the Tigers reeled off five straight points to take a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Tigers began the second period on a 13-6 run to go up nine. During the surge, the Tigers were able to force the Cardinals into a number of turnovers with their full-court press.

Webb City’s Robbins hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut her team’s deficit to 28-22 at halftime.

Ignited by their pressure defense, the Tigers used a 16-2 run in the third quarter to pull away for good. 

By the time the third period ended, Republic held a comfortable 51-29 lead.

The Cardinals had one last run in them. Brownfield scored eight straight points and Mancini hit the second of two foul shots, cutting Webb City’s deficit to 11 with 4:20 left.

But the Tigers wouldn’t be denied.

Webb City is at Joplin on Monday night.

 

NIXA GIRLS 68, CARTHAGE 37

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Nixa held a seven-point lead after the first quarter and expanded upon it over the remaining three quarters en route to a conference and district win over Carthage on Thursday.

The Eagles (16-5, 3-2 COC) outscored the Tigers (9-13, 1-5) by 14 in the second quarter to push the lead more than 20 by the intermission. Nixa held pace in the second half on the way to victory.

Sadie Conway had 13 points to lead Nixa, while Norah Clark finished with 12. Laila Grant added 10 for three players in double figures.

Carthage’s Kianna Yates led the Tigers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Lexa Youngblood added seven points, while Maggie Boyd and Lauren Choate each finished with five in the loss.

Carthage hosts Branson on Monday on Senior Night.

GIRLS HOOPS: Joplin overcomes double-digit deficit to beat Central in OT

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Joplin jumped out to a 10-6 lead after the first quarter, fell behind double digits early in the second half after a brutal second quarter in which they scored only two points, and rallied back late in regulation to force overtime tied at 42 before the Eagles ultimately earned a 52-46 win over visiting Springfield Central after scoring the game’s final seven points on Wednesday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

“We had a team meeting this week and we just talked about the difference between skill and will,” Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We understand that we’re not the most skilled team, but if we play with will and great effort then we can compete with anybody. I just told them that’s all we have to do, go out there and play with the will that’s in your heart.

“That’s what they did. I am super proud of the girls. It’s been a long season. They’ve played hard in every game, no matter whether we were down 50 or up 20, we played hard every second. I couldn’t be prouder of our girls.”

Central headed into halftime with a 20-12 advantage produced from a 14-2 second quarter during which freshman Alissa Owens made Joplin’s lone field goal at the 4-minute, 30-second mark. The Bulldogs’ first basket of the second half gave them a double-digit lead.

Joplin matched Central in the third quarter with 12 points and entered the fourth trailing 32-24.

The Eagles made up that eight-point deficit with a 18-10 advantage in the fourth, and three made free throws late from Bailey Ledford and Riley Kelly secured the 42-all score.

“There’s no quit in these girls,” Cox said. “That’s one thing you see from Izzy Yust, Jill McDaniel, and Serafina (Auberry), our seniors. You never see our team get too high or too low, and I contribute that to our seniors doing that and trying to keep our team calm and being great teammates this week. That’s what they came out and did tonight.”

Joplin made enough free throws at the end of regulation to force overtime and then took control in overtime, while Central missed three straight front ends of 1-and-1s within the final 23.6 seconds of regulation.

“We talked about all year, for us to be one of the premier programs in this area, we have to start doing all the little things right and if we do all the little things right it adds up to wins,” Cox said. “We did the little things right tonight. We haven’t done them all right part of the year, but we’re getting better at doing the little things right and hoping it translates into more wins.”

Ledford scored a game-high 17 points and sparked the Eagles’ comeback with 15 of her points in the second half and then overtime.

Yust finished with nine points, Owens added eight, Auberry had seven, Kelly tallied four, Libby Munn hit a trifecta for her three points, and McDaniel and Ashley Phillips each had two points.

Joplin improved to 4-17 overall and the Eagles are back in action on their home court Friday night against Central Ozark Conference foe Willard.

Talia Dyson and Desteny Pierce each led Central with 15 points. The Bulldogs dropped to 1-16 on the season.

BOYS HOOPS: Seneca knocks off Lamar in Big 8 play

Posted on by Jason Peake

SENECA, Mo. — Seneca’s boys basketball team earned a 77-65 win over Lamar on Wednesday night.

With a fourth straight win, the Indians improved to 13-9 overall and 4-2 in the Big 8 West.

The Tigers fell to 8-15 and 2-3 in conference games.

The Indians took the lead early in the game and never gave it up.

Seneca led 22-15 at the end of the first quarter and the Indians were up 42-29 at halftime.

Seneca’s advantage was 64-41 by the end of the third period.

Ethan Altic scored 19 points to lead Seneca.

Alex Wilkerson scored 25 points for Lamar and Ian Ngugi added 22.

Seneca hosts Wyandotte, Oklahoma, on Friday.

HOOPS ROUNDUP: CHC, Nevada girls win; CHC, Nevada and Seneca boys all victorious

Posted on by Lucas Davis

COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 61, THOMAS JEFFERSON 31

Up by 11 at halftime, College Heights Christian’s girls extended their lead to 21 (42-21) by the end of the third period en route to a convincing win over the Cavaliers.

Libby Fanning led College Heights with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Maddy Colin added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Jayli Johnson had nine points, five assists and four steals, while Lauren Ukena contributed five assists, five steals and two points.

Lannah Grigg scored 14 points and Gabbi Hiebert added 10 to lead the Cavaliers (10-10). 

College Heights led 16-7 at the end of the first period, 26-15 at the break and 42-21 by the end of the third quarter. 

College Heights improved to 13-10.

Thomas Jefferson hosts Exeter on Thursday. 

College Heights hosts McAuley Catholic on Friday. 

 

NEVADA GIRLS 54, NEOSHO 29

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada’s girls basketball team used a dominant second quarter to take control of Tuesday’s non-conference clash with the Wildcats inside Wynn Gymnasium.

Up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 16-5 in the game-changing second quarter to pull away for good.

Late in the second period, Clara Swearingen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Maddy Majors scored the final five points of the first half to give Nevada a comfortable 29-12 halftime advantage.

After winning the third period 20-7, Nevada held a commanding 49-19 lead entering the final frame.

Nevada improved to 18-4, while Neosho fell to 10-10.

A junior guard, Swearingen scored 21 points for the Tigers. A senior guard, Majors added 20 points. 

Senior forward Karlee Ellick led Neosho with 11 points and classmate Reagan McInturff had eight. 

Both teams return to conference action later this week, as Neosho hosts Ozark on Thursday and Nevada hosts McDonald County on Friday. 

The Tigers will look to secure a Big 8 West title on Friday.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS 63, THOMAS JEFFERSON 57 (OVERTIME)

Four quarters of basketball wasn’t enough, as College Heights needed an overtime period to earn an Ozark 7 win over Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday.

Both teams found themselves tied at 55s at the end of regulation, sending the conference clash into overtime. The Cougars (18-5, 4-0 Ozark 7) outscored the Cavaliers 8-2 in overtime, taking advantage of four straight turnovers by TJ (15-6, 2-1 Ozark 7) and knocking down all six free throws to fuel the win.

“Our kids did a nice job of handling some early adversity to get back in the game,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said to SoMo Sports. “If you would have told me we would be down 12-0, but have the ball with less than 10 seconds to play in a tie game, I’d have taken that all day. In the end, we just had too many turnovers to beat a good team like College Heights.”

Caleb Quade and Curtis Davenport each had 23 points to lead College Heights in scoring. 

Jay Ball had 19 points and nine rebounds as well as six blocks to lead Thomas Jefferson. Kip Atteberry knocked down four 3-pointers on the way to 14 points, while Tyler Brouhard had 11 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and four blocks. 

College Heights hosts McAuley on Friday. 

Thomas Jefferson hosts Exeter on Thursday.

 

NEVADA BOYS 80, PLEASANT HILL 67

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada took the lead early en route to winning the non-conference matchup between district foes.

Nevada built a 25-9 lead by the end of the opening frame. 

The Tigers were up 38-28 at the break before pulling away for a 60-44 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Jack Cheaney scored 24 points to lead Nevada, while Brice Budd had 19 points and Drew Beachler added 15.

Nevada improved to 11-12 overall. 

The Tigers host McDonald County on Friday in a key Big 8 West clash.

 

SENECA BOYS 58, EAST NEWTON 56

Seneca’s Ethan Altic made the game-winning basket just before the final buzzer.

The Indians had to come from behind in this one, as the Patriots held a 33-19 lead at intermission.

Seneca (12-9) hosts Lamar (8-14) on Wednesday night. 

 

GOLDEN CITY BOYS 43, MCAULEY CATHOLIC 39

Golden City took control in the second quarter and held on for the win over McAuley Catholic on Tuesday in Ozark 7 action.

Golden City outscored McAuley 14-6 in the second quarter to take a 19-11 lead into the intermission. Golden City held on down the stretch to earn the win.

Noah Black had 10 points to lead McAuley (6-17, 1-3 Ozark 7) in scoring, while Michael Parrigon finished with eight. Bradley Wagner and Alex Bohachick each finished with six.

Josh Reeves scored 19 points for Golden City (15-8).

McAuley is at College Heights on Friday.

BOYS HOOPS: Second-quarter swing leads Joplin past Neosho

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — Joplin’s strong second quarter erased a small deficit and built the game’s first real cushion at the same time, with the Eagles holding off Neosho in the second half on the way to a 76-69 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Tuesday.

Joplin’s All Wright knocks down a perimiter jumper in the Eagles’ COC win over Neosho on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Neosho (16-5, 3-1 COC) took a slim lead into the second quarter when Joplin’s defense settled in and led to a scoring surge from the offense that gave the Eagles (12-8, 3-2 COC) an 11-point lead into halftime. Joplin held off a Neosho push at the lead early in the third quarter and again held off the Wildcats down the stretch in the fourth to preserve the win.

“I thought in the first quarter they just kept getting layup after layup from the block,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said about the second quarter after the win. “I thought we guarded a lot better in the second quarter, and we started making shots. I thought All (Wright) was doing his thing and I thought Whit (Hafer) played really well. Same with (Terrance Gibson).”

“They’re a team that can shoot the heck out of the ball,” Schaake added about closing out the win. “They have unlimited range and (Isaiah) Green is really good. It was a physical game. We were getting to the rim as well and getting stops when we needed to at the end.”

GAME ACTION

After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw four ties before Neosho took a 20-18 lead into the second period, Joplin used a strong defensive effort to take control of the lead by the intermission. 

The Eagles, who scored the final two buckets of the first quarter, limited the Wildcats to one field goal five minutes of game action in the second period while going on a 16-2 scoring surge to take a 34-22 advantage with three minutes left in the first half.

Neosho’s Isaiah Green drives to the hoop for a bucket in the Wildcats’ loss to Joplin on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

“We just told them what they were trying to run and you anticipate instead of reacting,” Schaake said. “Our kids listened extremely well and then the effort caught up.”

Wright fueled the run with seven points, including a 3-pointer, while Gibson had four points and Hafer added a corner 3-pointer to close the run. Also key, Joplin was a perfect six-for-six shooting from the free-throw line during that stretch.

Joplin ultimately took a 41-30 lead into the intermission after Wright buried a stepback 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Neosho used an early 10-2 run in the third quarter to trim the lead to five, 47-42, midway through but that would be as close to the lead as the Wildcats would get in the period. Isaiah Green fueled the run with all 10 points in the run.

“On the road, everything is momentum-based,” Schaake said. “Kids look up at the clock and the score and can panic. We actually ran some motion for a while and got some clean looks, and that’s when we pushed it back to eight.”

Wright knocked down a mid-range pullup jumper with five seconds left in the quarter to give Joplin a 57-49 advantage with eight minutes to play.

Again, Neosho made a run at the lead through the first half of the fourth quarter, cutting its deficit to three points with 4:43 left in regulation after Green sank a pair of charity shots to cap a 6-0 run and make the score 59-56. 

Neosho’s Kael Smith pulls up from mid-range during the Wildcats’ loss to Joplin on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Again, Joplin answered, and this time it put the game out of reach for Neosho. Leading by one possession, Hafer grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a two-handed dunk before Gibson earned a steal for a dunk on the break the other way for back to back scores. After a free throw from Neosho, Wright drove the lane and drew contact for a three-point play to give the Eagles a 65-56 lead with 2:35 left to play and all of the momentum en route to the conference win.

“Anytime you can get your big men running the floor like that,” Schaake said with a smile. “The kids like that. They like to see a dunk here and there and then some and-1 buckets. That was a huge sequence that we went through.”

SCORING LEADERS

Wright finished with a team-high 32 points in the win, while Gibson closed with 17. Hafer added 11 and Fred Taylor was one away from double figures with nine points.

Green led all scorers with a team-high 37 points in the loss for Neosho, which included 11 field goals and was 14-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line. Carter Baslee finished in double figures with 16 points, while Kael Smith added eight.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts Willard on Friday.

Neosho hosts Ozark on Friday.

HOOPS: Carl Junction, Carthage split conference doubleheader

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction Bulldogs, top-ranked in Class 5, improved to 21-1 overall and 5-0 in Central Ozark Conference play with their 71-48 win over their county and conference rival Carthage on Tuesday night.

Carl Junction scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points, never trailed, and the Bulldogs received a combined 51 points from the dynamic duo of senior Destiny Buerge and junior Kylie Scott.

Buerge scored 21 of her game-high 28 points in the second half and Scott scored the game’s first seven points on her way to 23 for the evening.

Senior guard Klohe Burk knocked down four 3-point shots for her 12 points and proved to be a legitimate third scoring option.

“Those two can score in bunches,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said of Buerge and Scott. “They’re outstanding players. Kylie started off … just boom boom boom … and I called an early 30-second timeout, ‘Girls, Kylie scored the first seven points, and she hasn’t touched it (since). We keep settling for deep threes and we need to continue to pound it inside.’

“I was really frustrated with how long it took us to take what we were telling them as coaches and apply it to the game. We had good effort at times, we just need to continue to fight and keep working on getting better.”

Carthage punched away in the second and third quarters after finding a 20-8 deficit at the end of the first eight minutes.

The Tigers played the Bulldogs to a 10-9 advantage in the second and a 21-17 disadvantage in the third.

Carl Junction entered the fourth ahead 50-35 and extended the lead to 23 points on four different occasions, including what turned out to be the final score.

“Two big keys I thought tonight were our poor shooting and then (Kylie) Scott owned us inside,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “In the second half, they picked us up with more pressure. We didn’t attack the basket as well. Scott erases every attempt down there and then if we missed our floater, she’s going to get the rebound and run down to the other end.”

“I don’t think our kids realized how quick they were until gametime,” Shorter said. “You feel like you’ve got a chance to put them away and they just hang around, they’re always there. We had opportunities in the middle of the first half to stretch it a little bit and just didn’t do it. We settled for some shots that we could have got it inside, whether it’s with Kylie or Dezi or Destiny. We’ll go back to the drawing board and keep on working at it and see if we can get a little bit better for Thursday.”

Dezi Williams and Anna Burch rounded out Carl Junction’s scoring with six and two points, respectively, in the Bulldogs’ 16th straight win overall.

Carl Junction hosts Branson on Thursday.

Lauren Choate and Maggie Boyd combined for six of Carthage’s nine 3-point baskets Tuesday and the sophomore sharpshooters finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively.

Jaidyn Brunnert finished with seven points, Ashlyn Brust added five, Kianna Yates had three, and Zye Clark and Lexa Youngblood each contributed two points.

The Tigers (9-12 overall, 1-4 COC) wrap up the most brutal five-game portion of their schedule on Thursday at home against conference and district rival Nixa.

“Our girls are competitive,” Moore said. “We dug a hole to start off right away, but we rushed back and got it close again. Our girls don’t give up. We play hard. We fight. Carl Junction isn’t that much better than us. They just shot better than us tonight. Again, when we figure out why we can’t shoot the ball well enough and start scoring the ball at will like other teams do against us, we can be a very explosive ballclub. But we’re still waiting for that to happen, so I’m hoping that happens Thursday against Nixa.”

 

Carthage boys 82, Carl Junction 52

The Carthage Tigers found their shooting touch early on Tuesday against their county and conference rival, scoring 10 of the game’s first 12 points and never trailing during a 30-point victory in which the Tigers put up 41 points in each half with all nine of their made trifectas in the first half and then a series of layups, interior shots and free throws in the second half.

“We came out and executed really well early,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “I felt like Britt (Coy) and Max (Templeman) got us off to a hot start, and we forced CJ into something they don’t normally do. They had to come and switch out of their zone to man, and that’s something our kids relished. When they went to man, we were able to get some transition buckets and I thought in the second half we shared the ball in the halfcourt in our motion offense better than we have all year.”

Templeman scored a game-high 26 points with 18 of them in the first half, Clay Kinder finished with 15 points, Britt Coy added 14 points, and Justin Ray provided the Tigers with a fourth scorer in double-digits with 13 points.

Kruz Castor added six points, Ben Nicholas four points, and Dylan Pugh and Trent Yates two points each.

Carthage improved to 12-9 overall and 2-3 COC entering Friday’s home game against conference and district rival Nixa, a team currently 21-0 overall after Tuesday’s 62-58 win over Republic.

“For years, Nixa has been the top dog or one of the top two dogs in the conference,” Morris said. “We really have played them well all four years that I’ve been here. Our kids have bought into (Nixa) is a phenomenal basketball program, but we’ve got some pretty good kids as well. It should be a good crowd Friday with Homecoming and they’re coming off a high-intensity game (Tuesday) with Republic for the No. 1 team in the conference, so I think our kids will be ready to face them on Friday.”

Carl Junction dropped to 7-15 overall and 0-5 COC, and the Bulldogs return home Friday to welcome conference opponent Branson.

 

WRESTLING: Carthage tops Seneca in final dual of season

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage High School wrestling team earned a 38-33 dual victory over Seneca on Tuesday night.

Earning wins by fall for the Tigers were Tanner Putt (106 pounds), Aydan Nye (126), Bradyn Tate (132), Grey Petticrew (150) and Trey Nye (157).

Carthage’s Davion King recorded a tech fall, 15-0, at 165, while Gabe Lambeth earned a 7-1 win over Lincoln Renfro at 175.

Seneca’s Hunter Hanes defeated Alberto Sales 11-9 at 113, while Keatin Burleson topped Grady Huntley 11-7 at 120.

Seneca’s Brady Roark won by forfeit at 128 and teammate Andrew Manley won by fall at 144.

The Indians also won by forfeit at 190 and 215, with Jace Renfro and Nash Crane picking up the wins.

At 285, Seneca’s Nick Stephens edged David Recinos 3-2 in overtime.

Carthage finished the dual season with an 8-3 record. The Tigers will next compete at the Class 4 District 3 tournament on Feb. 17-18 in Ozark.

Seneca will host the Class 2 District 3 tournament on Feb. 17-18.

BOYS HOOPS: Webb City suffers home loss to hot-shooting Willard

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A steady barrage of 3-pointers propelled Willard to an 81-70 win over Webb City on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference boys basketball action inside the Cardinal Dome.

The visiting Tigers made 13 field goals from beyond the arc, including seven in the game-changing third period that saw the visitors pull away.

“We were awful defensively,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We gave up way too many wide open looks from 3 to their better shooters. We couldn’t keep them out of the lane. We just weren’t very good defensively tonight. You tip your hat to Willard. They did a good job of finding the open man and they moved the ball quickly. We didn’t move the ball quick enough on offense. We had some sticky hands and held the ball too long. You’re easy to defend when you do that.” 

Receiving votes in the Class 5 poll, Webb City slipped to 15-6 overall and 2-3 in the COC. 

Webb City made 29-of-51 field goal attempts (57 percent), but went just 8-for-25 (32 percent) from 3-point land.

Junior guard Barron Duda scored 23 points and made four treys to lead the Cardinals. Sophomore guard Eli Pace added 14 points, while senior forward Alex Martin and sophomore guard Holton Keith added 10 points apiece.

The Cardinals had 20 turnovers to the Tigers’ 10.

Willard improved to 9-12 and 2-2 in the conference.

The Tigers made 28-of-54 field goal attempts (52 percent), including 13-of-32 from long distance (41 percent). 

Junior guard Drew Quinlan scored 20 points and knocked down six 3-pointers to lead Willard, while junior guard Russell Roweton added 17 points. Two others reached double figures for the Tigers, as senior Riley Wolf scored 14 points and sophomore Braxton Boyer had 11.

Neither team was able to gain much separation in the first half. 

Playing at home for the first time since Jan. 13, Webb City held a 20-18 lead at the end of the back and forth first quarter. 

The Cardinals were up 24-18 early in the second quarter, but the game was deadlocked at 31 with just over two minutes to play in the first half. 

Willard closed the half on a 7-4 run, and the visitors held a 38-35 advantage at the break. 

The Tigers got going in a big way in the third period. Led by the seven made treys, Willard outscored Webb City 26-15 in the third period to take a 64-50 lead.

“They made six 3-pointers in the first half and then made seven in the third quarter,” Horn noted. “You have to guard somebody. We didn’t guard anybody. They had wide open looks.”

The Tigers never relinquished their lead in the final frame. The Cardinals trimmed their deficit to 10 with a minute to play, but the Tigers’ cushion was never in serious jeopardy.

Webb City hosts Class 6 No. 8 Republic (19-2, 3-1 COC) on Friday. Republic suffered a 62-58 loss to Nixa on Tuesday.

“They have as good a team as we’ll play all year,” Horn said of Republic. “It will be tough, so we just have to get back to work at practice and try to get better.” 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

GIRLS HOOPS: Webb City earns COC win over Willard

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City girls basketball team rode a strong third quarter to a 47-39 Central Ozark Conference victory over Willard on Monday night inside the Cardinal Dome.

After scoring just 13 points in the first half, and trailing on the scoreboard, the Cardinals righted the ship after the break. 

Clicking on all cylinders, Webb City scored the first 12 points of the third period to take a lead they would never relinquish.

“At halftime we talked about the fact that we were getting the shots we wanted in the first half, but they just weren’t falling,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “I thought our defense kept us in the game in the first half. At halftime, we told them to stay confident and to keep getting the ball inside to Sami (Mancini). We wanted to establish Sami in the second half, and I thought we were able to do that. She went up strong and was able to finish some shots she missed earlier in the game. That opened up things for us and we had kids step up and make some shots from the outside.” 

Webb City outscored Willard 34-22 in the second half.

“We tried to mix things up defensively to keep them out of rhythm,” Robbins said of the second half. “We knew they could be an explosive team offensively. Offensively, we just wanted to keep getting the ball into Sami. I thought she did a great job of scoring when she needed to or kicking it out. There’s no secret…we have to get her the ball in the paint.” 

Receiving votes in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s Class 5 poll, Webb City improved to 14-7 overall and 4-1 in the COC with the come from behind win.

A sophomore post player, Mancini scored 21 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. The 6-foot- 5 Mancini, who was double or triple-teamed when she received the ball in the paint, made 9-of-19 field goal attempts.

Three players scored seven points apiece for the Cardinals—senior Kate Brownfield, junior Mia Robbins and sophomore Kirra Long. Izzy Lopez contributed three points and Malorie Stanley had two to round out Webb City’s scoring.

The Cardinals made 14-of-46 field goal attempts (30 percent), including 4-for-23 from beyond the arc.

Willard shot 27 percent from the floor (12-of-44), and the visitors hit just 2-of-11 attempts from long distance. 

Senior Kailyn Washington led the Tigers (6-12, 1-3 COC) with 20 points and freshman Elise Murray added 12 points. 

The first quarter wasn’t exactly pretty, as Webb City did not make a field goal in the opening frame, just a pair of free throws. 

At the end of the low-scoring first period, Willard held a 9-2 advantage. 

The Cardinals started the second period on a 9-0 burst, as Mancini converted three hoops inside and Mia Robbins knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

The Tigers responded with an 8-0 run for a 17-11 lead. Two charities from Long trimmed Webb City’s deficit to four by the break. 

The Cardinals stepped it up immediately after intermission. 

Webb City started the second half on a game-changing 12-0 surge, with Mancini scoring three hoops inside and both Brownfield and Mia Robbins draining 3-pointers for a 25-17 lead.

The Tigers stopped the spurt, but the Cardinals scored seven straight points late in the third quarter, and the hosts held a 34-27 lead heading into the fourth period.

Overall, Webb City won the third period 21-10.

Webb City’s lead was down to two in the fourth quarter, but the hosts never gave up their lead.

Mancini converted a bucket in the paint and Lopez made two free throws to give the Cards some breathing room.

The Cardinals made 11-of-16 free throws in the final frame to secure the win. 

Taking better care of the ball against Willard’s full-court pressure down the stretch was another key to victory for the Cardinals. 

“At times we didn’t handle the pressure real well,” Coach Robbins said. “But I thought when we needed to late in the game, we did a good job of handling their pressure. We did a better job of stepping to passes and looking up the floor.”

Next, Webb City hosts Class 6 No. 3 Republic on Thursday in another COC clash. 

“Republic’s a very good team and they’re well-coached,” Robbins said. “We’re excited and ready for the challenge.” 

 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

GIRLS HOOPS: Neosho pulls away from Joplin behind big 3rd quarter from McInturff

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — After Joplin rallied to take a halftime lead, Neosho returned the favor in a big way during the third quarter to take control on the way to a 56-31 win over the Eagles in Central Ozark Conference play on Monday.

Joplin (3-17, 0-5 COC) trailed by six heading into the second quarter before holding Neosho (10-9, 1-3 COC) to one field goal leading into halftime with the Eagles on top 17-15. Reagan McInturff carried the Wildcats to a double-digit lead by the end of the third quarter after scoring double-digit points in the period, with Neosho extending the lead down the stretch in the final eight minutes of play.

“In the locker room at halftime, I lit them up a little bit,” first-year Neosho coach Daniel Durst said after the win. “I told them if you want to win this game you have to do these things—one of those things was defense, one was rebounding and the other thing we needed to do was to get the ball to Reagan on the inside. We pulled (Karlee Ellick) out (of the lane) … and I think once they got more time to visually understand what they were going up against, it really made a difference for them. In the second half, we were just getting (Reagan) the ball and she did an amazing job posting up, getting herself open and finishing around the rim.”

“I thought our girls played extremely hard,” first-year Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We had the lead at halftime, but Neosho made some good halftime adjustments. (Reagan McInTurff) got hot for them on the low block. I felt like we had a lot of great shot opportunities tonight, but they just didn’t fall.”

GAME ACTION

Neosho built a 13-7 lead after the first quarter thanks to a strong first quarter from McInturff, who finished the period with seven points that included a 3-pointer from the wing with 3:20 on the clock. Ellick added a pair of baskets in the paint to finish the quarter with four points.

Joplin’s defensive effort changed the momentum in the second period. The Eagles limited the Wildcats to one field goal in the quarter, eliminating their deficit and taking a 17-15 advantage into the intermission. 

“We are getting better each day,” Cox said. “In the second quarter, when we made that run—it was because we took care of the basketball. Today was probably our best day of breaking the press this season. We had some ups and downs, but that is basketball for you. I am proud of the progression from our girls.”

Joplin outscored Neosho 11-2 in the quarter, with Bailey Ledford knocking down a 3-pointer and Alissa Owens finishing with a pair of baskets.

McIntuff shouldered the load for the Wildcats in the third quarter, carrying her team to a 38-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter after scoring 12 of Neosho’s 21 third-quarter points. Meredith Baldwin also added seven points, including a 3-pointer.

“Reagan in the third quarter was pivotal to us winning this game the way we did,” Durst said. “Meredith was great for us today. Not only her scoring, and she hit some shots, but her movement without the ball was great and she did an amazing job facilitating the ball tonight. She really contributed to this win.”

Neosho pushed the lead to more than 20 for the first time with three minutes left in regulation after back to back buckets from Ellick inside, including an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 50-29.

SCORING LEADERS

McInturff finished with a game-high 21 points to lead Neosho in scoring. Ellick was close behind with 17 points, seven coming in the fourth quarter. Autumn Kinnaird and Baldwin each finished seven points in the win.

Ledford had 11 to lead the Eagles in scoring. Owens finished with six and Riley Kelly added five for Joplin.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts Springfield Central on Wednesday.

Neosho hosts Ozark on Thursday.

COLLEGE SIGNINGS: Neosho sends five student-athletes to collegiate level

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — Five Neosho High School seniors were recognized on Monday inside the La-Z-Boy End Zone Facility for having signed their national letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with their colleges and universities of choice.

Carter Baslee and Isaiah Green have the opportunity to remain football teammates since they both signed with local NCAA Division II school Missouri Southern, fellow football player Aidan Howell signed with NCAA Division III school Westminster (Fulton, Missouri), Karlee Ellick will take her 6-foot-2 height and room for growth to JUCO powerhouse Johnson County (Overland Park, Kansas) and Maddie Ebbinghaus has fashioned an opportunity for herself to go into fashion and compete in track and field at NCAA-III school Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, a school only 10 minutes away from Boston College.

 

BASLEE, GREEN STAY CLOSE TO HOME AT MSSU

Baslee and Green are two of 43 recruits that signed with Missouri Southern, a destination less than 30 minutes away—34 high school signees and nine transfers from across the nation will join head coach Atiba Bradley and his Lions squad coming off a 4-7 season in 2022.

“Obviously, Joplin is close to home,” Baslee said. “It’s a nice place to go. My mom kept me in check. She made sure that I stayed close, so she could be there whenever I needed her.

“Ultimately, the whole goal is not to redshirt. If I have to redshirt, then I am going to try and get bigger and more in the weight room to gain mass.”

“It feels great,” Green said. “I just want to be able to help the team as much as I can and make big plays. It seemed like they’re a family and that’s what pushed me to commit there. They seemed like they were interested in me, and it seemed like they had a plan for me and like the best fit for me.”

Baslee, predominantly an offensive lineman in high school and listed as a 6-4, 243-pound defensive lineman on his National Signing Day profile, displayed versatile athleticism during his time at Neosho with basketball and baseball giving Baslee a three-sport profile.

“We had a young offensive line, and he did a great job being the leader of that group,” Neosho football coach Brandon Taute said. “He also played some defensive line for us at times when he was needed and he was on every special team, which is rare for an offensive lineman. He was not only on every special team, but he was the leading tackler on special teams, and he recovered four fumbles. He’s an extremely versatile athlete, he’s worked extremely hard to get to this point, and we’re excited to watch him grow.”

Green, a three-sport athlete like Baslee with basketball and track and field alongside football, symbolized an improved Neosho football team during his senior year with his individual progress mirroring a leap from 1-9 to 4-6 and being a more competitive team overall in Taute’s second season as head coach.

“He started both ways for us,” Taute said. “He had maybe one of the best offseasons that I think I’ve ever seen a kid have. His growth from his junior year to his senior year was truly unbelievable. He had 112 receptions for over 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns, and also had two interceptions on the other side of the ball. His stats are unbelievable, we’re extremely proud of him, and just excited to see him grow and continue his education.”

 

HOWELL TACKLES COLLEGE CHOICE WITH WESTMINSTER

Howell, a key contributor on the defensive side his senior year for Neosho, will join a Westminster football team coming off a brutal 1-9 season during which the Blue Jays only scored 7.1 points and surrendered 32.8 points per game.

The Blue Jays finished 3-5 in 2021 and 4-6 in 2019.

They’re not to be confused with the Westminster College — also NCAA-III — in Pennsylvania, who are the Titans.

“First-year goal is to start,” Howell said. “They’re not redshirting me. Long term goal is graduating and getting a degree. It makes me very humble and happy.”

Howell will look to help the Blue Jays improve upon their defensive performance last season.

“He started at corner for us last year and he moved inside to play outside linebacker, and he went back and played some safety for us at times,” Taute said. “Very versatile on the defensive side of the ball. He was our leading tackler with 110 total tackles, 74 solo, and just always brought that energy and juice to our team. We’re excited to see him continue his journey at the next level.”

 

ELLICK INKS WITH ELITE JUNIOR COLLEGE HOOPS PROGRAM

Quite simply, the Johnson County Cavaliers have one of the best junior college women’s basketball programs in the country.

Under head coach Ben Conrad, Johnson County has recorded nine 30-win seasons, including eight straight 30-win campaigns from 2009-10 through 2016-17, and won a NJCAA national title in 2015 and finished NJCAA runner-up in 2017 and 2021.

Conrad took over the Johnson County women’s basketball program in 2008.

“They’re a great program,” Ellick said. “They’re undefeated currently and their coach (Conrad) really stuck out to me. He has a passion for the game, so I definitely thought that was the place to go.

“Yes, I always hold myself to high expectations, as well as my coaches, and so it was definitely a fit to go to a program that has high expectations.”

Ellick definitely made a strong impression on Neosho first-year head coach Daniel Durst, who joined former Neosho head coach Ryan Madison’s coaching staff during Ellick’s junior season.

“I don’t know if I’ve coached a more dedicated athlete,” Durst said. “She has progressed so far in just the two seasons that I’ve watched her play. I’m extremely proud. She’s averaging a double-double in points and rebounds right now on the season. She is definitely a go-getter, and I’m super excited to see what she does moving forward into the college level. We’re confident that Johnson County can get her to where she needs to be.”

 

EBBINGHAUS TO EXPLORE PASSION FOR FASHION, TRACK

While Baslee and Green signed with a college less than 30 minutes away from Neosho High School, fellow senior Maddie Ebbinghaus will be in a different time zone when she attends Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, 22 hours and approaching 1,500 miles from Neosho High.

“I am super excited,” Ebbinghaus said. “I’ve always wanted to major in fashion. That was the dream, and Boston is a big fashion place. I wasn’t originally looking for a school to run track, but I found this school that had a fashion program and a track team, so it was perfect.

“Maybe a little bit, but Boston is really like my home, I can feel it … I think I would regret not going up there more.”

Ebbinghaus still has one more high school track season ahead in the sprints.

“Last year, she was peaking at the right time and was ever so close to getting to go to state,” Neosho girls track coach Terri Kemna said. “I think she’ll be able to qualify this year. She leads by example. She’s extremely coachable and dependable. She should be able to step into their program and be one of their top runners right off the bat. Also, in the classroom, she is the ideal model student-athlete that we want for Neosho. I’m very proud of her and I’m glad that I helped coach her all these years, and she has a bright future.”

 

GIRLS SWIMMING: Webb City wins SWMO Championships; Carl Junction finishes 4th

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

For the first time in program history, the Webb City High School girls swimming and diving team captured the team championship at the SWMO Championships.

Webb City’s previous top finish at the event was third place.

On Saturday in Springfield, Webb City compiled 384 points, 40 more than second place West Plains.

Ozark (331), Carl Junction (326) and Kickapoo (264) finished third, fourth and fifth. Carthage finished eighth with 163 points. There were 23 full squads in attendance.

Webb City’s Sophia Whitesell won two events—the 200-yard individual medley (2:13) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10).

The Cardinals fared well in all three relays, as the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay both finished third and the 200 free relay was fourth.

Also for the Cardinals, Norah Klosterman finished third in the 500 freestyle and eighth in the 200 free, Skylar Powell took fourth in the 50 free and Camryn Klosterman was fifth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 breaststroke.

Webb City’s Alix Davis placed seventh in the 100 free and eighth in the 50 free, Powell was eighth in the 100 free, Hally Philpot finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke and Avery Mitchell was ninth in the 100 free and 10th in the 50 free.

Webb City’s Kelli Tollefson finished sixth in the diving competition.

Carl Junction won four events. 

Carl Junction’s Chloe Miller was the champion in both the 50 freestyle (24.02) and the 100 free (53.09), while Skyler Sundy won the 100 backstroke (1:00).

The Bulldogs took first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:41. Carl Junction placed second in the 400 freestyle relay and sixth in the 200 medley relay.

CJ’s Sundy was third in the 50 free, while Madeleine Garoutte placed fourth in the 100 butterfly and took sixth in the 200 IM.

Carthage’s Madison Riley won a pair of individual events—the 200 freestyle (1:55) and the 100 butterfly (57.48).

The Tigers finished second in the 200 freestyle relay, 

Also for Carthage, Olivia Manning was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke and took eighth in the 200 IM, while Aubree Santillan took third in the 100 backstroke.

Joplin’s Kiki Thom placed 11th in the 100 butterfly and 12th in the 200 IM. The Eagles finished 11th in the 200 medley relay.

Thomas Jefferson’s Natalie Carroll finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke, while Jasper’s Audrey Osterdyk finished ninth in the 100 breaststroke.

Monett placed seventh in the 400 freestyle relay. 

 

SWMO Championships

Final team standings: Webb City 384, West Plains 344, Ozark 331, Carl Junction 326, Kickapoo 264, Glendale 251, Central 216, Carthage 163, Lebanon 157, New Covenant 152, Nixa 119, Rogersville 116, Greenwood 114, Monett 86, Joplin 62, Nevada 41, Marshfield 26, Thomas Jefferson 24, Waynesville 24, Jasper 19, Hillcrest 14, Bolivar 12, Camdenton 4.

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