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CJ CLASSIC: Carl Junction, Nevada advance to championship game with semifinal victories

By:
Jason Peake

 

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction and Nevada will meet for a tournament championship after both squads earned semifinal victories on Tuesday night at the 45th annual CJ Classic. 

Nevada started fast and held off Parkview 64-58 before Carl Junction shook off a slow start to upend Seneca 59-42.

“I’m just really excited for our girls and for our program,” Nevada coach Blake Howarth said. “A year ago, we were playing for seventh place in this tournament. Hats off to our girls. That shows the improvement they’ve made. They’ve worked hard and they’ve earned this and I’m overwhelmed. I know the girls are excited for the championship game on Thursday.” 

The championship game is slated for 8:30 on Thursday night.

“It always feels good to be in the championship,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “Nevada has a lot of weapons. They have a lot of kids who can score and who can shoot it. They’re quick and they can press. We’re going to have to play really well. I think our girls will be ready for the challenge.” 

 

CARL JUNCTION 59, SENECA 42

The tourney hosts had to overcome a bit of a sluggish start. 

Led by Aliya Grotjohn’s six points, Seneca held a 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But the Bulldogs looked like a different team as soon as the second period began. Carl Junction scored the first 15 points of the second quarter and outscored Seneca 21-2 overall in the frame to take control. 

“It was a little bit of a slow start, but it was just settling in,” Shorter said of what changed in the second quarter. “We forced some things and pressed a little bit in the first quarter. We were trying to get going by doing too much. But when we let the game come to us, shots started falling. It was a good run for sure.”

Carl Junction junior guard Destiny Buerge scores in the lane against Seneca on Tuesday night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

During the second quarter surge, junior guard Destiny Buerge swished three treys, Kylie Scott scored on a drive through the lane, Buerge went coast-to-coast for a layup and Anna Burch converted two free throws to give Carl Junction a 23-9 lead.

The Indians stopped the spurt with a hoop from Hazley Grotjohn, but the Bulldogs then scored six straight points to end the first half, as Scott converted in the paint off a nice feed from Klohe Burk to give Carl Junction a 29-11 halftime advantage.

The Bulldogs blew the game open by starting the third period on a 12-2 run for a 41-13 advantage. 

Carl Junction’s lead was 45-20 entering the fourth quarter and the outcome was never in doubt the rest of the way. 

“Defensively, we looked a lot better tonight,” Shorter said. “I thought the kids played really hard tonight and played smart. We got some good things out of our defense and it always helps when shots fall.”

Ranked sixth in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Carl Junction is now 2-0. 

Buerge led the Bulldogs with 22 points. She hit five 3-pointers. A junior guard, Burk added 10 points for Carl Junction, while sophomore forward Scott contributed nine points. 

A senior guard, Aliya Grotjohn scored 19 points for the Indians (2-1), while freshman guard Hazley Grotjohn added 10 points. 

Carl Junction’s Kylie Scott puts up a contested shot in the lane against Seneca on Tuesday night.

NEVADA 64, PARKVIEW 58

The Tigers built an 18-point lead by the early stages of the second period, but the Vikings rallied to pull within single digits in the final frame. 

In the end, the Tigers did more than enough to advance to the tourney’s championship game. 

Nevada sophomore guard Clara Swearingen looks to score in the lane against Parkview sophomore Jestiny Worley. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

Sophomore guard Clara Swearingen scored 26 points to lead the Tigers (3-0), while junior guard Maddy Majors added 19 points and junior forward Abbey Heathman had 13. 

Tara Masten scored 21 points to lead Parkview (2-1), while Leah Reichert added 11 points. 

Utilizing good ball movement and shooting well from the floor, the Tigers led 20-5 at the conclusion of the opening frame. Swearingen scored eight points in the first quarter, while Majors and Heathman had six apiece.

A hoop in the lane by Swearingen and a 3-pointer by Majors gave Nevada a comfortable 25-7 cushion and it looked like the game was going to get out of hand. 

But the Vikings got back into the game with an 11-0 run. A pair of mid-range jumpers from Majors stopped Parkview’s spurt, and by the break, Nevada’s lead was 31-22. The Vikings closed the first half on a 15-6 surge. 

Swearingen drilled a trey at the end of a back and forth third period to put Nevada up 53-41.

Parkview trimmed its deficit to 62-56 with 2:42 remaining after a putback by Brooklynn Masten and a layup by Tara Masten. 

But the Tigers never relinquished their lead down the stretch. 

“We were able to hold them off,” Howarth said. “I think that was on me. We got off to a great start. I took the foot off the gas too quickly by making a lot of subs. I should have let the flow of the game continue to happen.” 

Parkview and Seneca will play for third place at 7 on Thursday.

 

Seneca’s Aliya Grotjohn shoots a jumper against the defense of Carl Junction’s Dezi Williams. All photos by Shawn Fowler.

 

Nevada’s Maddy Majors scores in the lane against Parkview on Tuesday night. Nevada and Carl Junction will meet for the CJ Classic title at 8:30 on Thursday night.

 

Seneca’s Zoei Dodson is trapped by Carl Junction’s Destiny Buerge and Klohe Burk during Tuesday’s game.

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