PITTSBURG, Kan. — After a seesaw battle in the first half, Carthage was able to gain a footing on the lead in the second half on the way to a 53-45 win over Carl Junction in the semifinals of the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament on Friday in non-conference action.
The first half saw double-digit lead changes without either team distancing itself from the other, with Carthage (8-9) taking a three-point lead into halftime. The Tigers pushed the lead to double digits early in the third quarter before Carl Junction (11-5) used a scoring run to trim the lead to one possession to start the fourth. Carthage pushed the lead back to eight early in the fourth and made free throws down the stretch.
“What an amazing team win tonight!,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said to SoMo Sports. “It’s been a long time since Carthage girls have beaten Carl Junction and we are so proud of the girls for executing the game plan tonight.
“We walked through a new game plan today before we left and the girls executed perfectly. I’m proud of all 14 girls for their efforts and focus in practice and in games. That’s a major key to our success.”
Carthage advances to take on Kickapoo in the championship game at 1 p.m.
The first half was as tightly contested as could be, with neither team gaining a lead greater than three points through the first two quarters.
There were two ties and five lead changes in the first quarter, which saw Carl Junction holding a 13-12 advantage with Destiny Buerge accounting for 10 points. There were five more lead changes and another tie in the second period.
Carthage limited the Bulldogs to three field goals in the second quarter—two offensive rebounds and putback buckets by Kylie Scott and a 3-pointer from Hali Shorter—and took a 23-20 lead into the intermission. Maggie Boyd led the way with eight points, including a pair of 3-balls.
Carthage opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run to build their biggest lead of the game to that point, 34-22, near the five-minute mark. Boyd started the run with another 3-pointer while Kianna Yates added seven of the next eight points.
Buerge picked up her third personal foul at the 5:43 mark and was relegated to the bench with Carl Junction in need of someone to step up. Scott answered the call, scoring 10 of the Bulldogs points with Buerge on the bench, including a pair of three-point plays. Shorter added a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to cut the Carthage lead to 36-33 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Buerge fouled out after picking up her fourth and fifth fouls inside the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.
After a 6-2 run to start the fourth on a bucket and two free throws from Yates as well as a mid-range jumper from Landry Cochran to give Carthage a 42-34 advantage. The Tigers pushed their lead to nine on a 3-pointer from Boyd before back to back buckets inside from Scott brought Carl Junction within five, 46-41, with 1:52 to play.
Carthage shot eight free throws and made seven of them down the stretch. For the game, the Tigers were 13-of-18 shooting from the charity stripe.
“Our starting guard trio of Kianna Yates, Maggie Boyd and Lauren Choate did a great job shooting the ball tonight,” Moore said. “Equally important was their defense on CJ’s guards tonight. We limited their scoring chances and rebounded really well.”
Yates finished with 19 points, seven coming in the fourth period to lead Carthage. Boyd finished with four 3-pointers on the way to 16 points, while Choate finished with 12 points in the win.
Scott finished with 27 points, 22 coming in the second half. Buerge finished with 10 points, while Shorter closed with six.
