STRAFFORD, Mo. — The Carthage girls basketball team kicked off 2021 in a big way.
After building a double-digit lead with a 12-3 run in the third quarter, Carthage held off the hosts late for an impressive 63-53 non-conference victory at perennial power Strafford on Tuesday night.
Tigers coach Scott Moore called it a “great team win.”
“It was a great team effort tonight,” Moore said. “It was great to see us back playing Carthage basketball. We didn’t show that in the Pink & White Tournament, so I was really pleased to see the girls come out with our normal energy tonight. Typically, we’ve been beating teams with our athleticism and intensity, but tonight I feel we beat Strafford with our heads and our composure on both ends of the floor.”
Senior forward Hailey Fullerton the Tigers (9-5) with 18 points, while sophomore guard Kianna Yates added 17 points.
Also for the Tigers, Katie Crowe contributed 11 points, while Brinna Ream had seven, Sophie Shannon scored six and Landry Cochran added four.
Strafford, winners of five consecutive state championships in Class 3, fell to 10-3. Hannah Hess led the Indians with 17 points.
The fast-paced clash was deadlocked at 18 at the end of a back and forth first period that featured nine lead changes.
A pair of hoops inside by Shannon, followed by a basket by Fullerton, gave Carthage a 29-24 lead.
The Indians, ranked fifth in Class 3, made 3-of-4 free throws before Carthage’s Cochran scored on a putback to give the visitors a 31-27 advantage.
Strafford’s Hess drilled a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, cutting Carthage’s halftime lead to one at 31-30. There were 12 lead changes and three ties in the first half.
The Tigers outscored the Indians by nine in the game-changing third quarter, with a midrange jumper from Yates and two free throws from Crowe giving the visitors a 43-33 advantage heading into the final frame. Strafford managed just three points in the third period.
“Our halfcourt defense really locked down in the third quarter,” Moore said. “We prevented them from getting many open looks. And when they missed shots, we boxed out well and rebounded well.”
Carthage scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, an old-fashioned 3-point play from Yates and a hoop from Fullerton, for a 48-33 cushion.
Strafford pulled within seven, but Fullerton hit two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers were up 58-48 with just over two minutes to play.
The visitors would never relinquish the lead down the stretch.
Carthage is at Joplin at 7:30 on Thursday night.
