WEBB CITY, Mo. — Despite a week and a half layoff, the Carl Junction girls basketball team showed no signs of rust when Thursday night’s postseason opener got underway.
In fact, the Bulldogs looked like a team more than ready to begin the postseason.
Propelled by a blistering start, top-seeded Carl Junction cruised past eighth-seeded Ruskin 71-22 in the quarterfinals of the Class 5 District 7 tournament inside the Cardinal Dome.
“We’ve had such a long layoff that our kids were itching to get back on the court,” Bulldogs coach Brad Shorter said. “It showed in the first quarter. We got our game legs back in the second half. It’s been a week and a half, almost two weeks since we’ve played. I’m proud of our kids for how they came out and played tonight. It was a good effort. We’re excited to survive and advance.”
Carl Junction last played on Feb. 20—it was hard to tell.
On Thursday night, the hot-shooting Bulldogs scored the game’s first 14 points and built a 22-point lead by the end of the lopsided opening frame.
“It was a good start,” Shorter said. “We shot the ball well. We hit our first four 3-pointers and then we went through a stretch where we went 6-for-15 from 3. We don’t live by the three, but that definitely helped us tonight.”
In a game they never trailed, Carl Junction couldn’t miss early, as the Bulldogs connected on their first four 3-pointers for a quick 12-0 cushion. It was 14-0 before the Eagles got on the board.
The Bulldogs continued to click on all cylinders early in the game.
A hoop inside from Kylie Scott and treys from sisters Destiny and DeShaye Buerge made it 22-2.
Scott made 2-of-4 attempts at the foul line to give Carl Junction a commanding 24-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Buckets from Klohe Burk and Scott extended CJ’s lead to 32-5.
The Eagles finished the first half on an 8-3 run, but the Bulldogs held a comfortable 35-13 halftime advantage.
The second quarter was actually even, 11-11.
“There were stretches of the second quarter where our defense wasn’t very good,” Shorter said. “But I challenged them at halftime and we changed that in the second half. We came out and played well in the second half.”
Yes, they did. After the break, the Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 21-7 in the third period to take a commanding 56-20 lead into the final frame.
The final outcome was never in doubt in the fourth quarter.
A highlight of the fourth period for the Bulldogs came when senior guard Allie Wrestler knocked down a 3-pointer to the delight of the team’s starters on the bench.
“Allie has been shooting it real well all week,” Coach Shorter said. “She’s a really good shooter. I’m glad we have her and I know a lot of teams would love to have her. And that’s what’s great about our team. They’re there for each other. They loved celebrating Allie’s 3-pointer.”
A 6-3 junior forward, Scott recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Scott, who made 8-of-15 field goal attempts and 4-of-7 free throws, also blocked four shots and had three steals.
A 5-8 senior guard who has signed with Pittsburg State, Destiny Buerge scored 19 points to go along with six steals. Buerge hit five 3-pointers.
“It’s a terrific 1-2 punch,” Shorter said of Destiny and Kylie. “They can both score in bunches. They can rebound. They’re athletic and do so many things for our team. And we have a great supporting cast…it’s like a 1-2-3-4-5 punch.”
Also for the Bulldogs, sophomore Dezi Williams contributed eight points and nine rebounds, sophomore DeShaye Buerge had nine points on a trio of treys and senior guard Burk compiled seven points, four assists and three steals.
Senior guard Hali Shorter handed out 10 assists and scored five points.
Carl Junction made 26-of-57 field goal attempts (46 percent), including 12-of-25 from long range. Six different players buried a trifecta.
The Bulldogs assisted on 18 of those field goals.
“That’s a big deal when we can have that many assists,” Coach Shorter said. “Hali’s not going to score a bunch and not get a ton of rebounds because we have some athletes out there who can take care of that stuff. But she makes really good passes. I thought our entire team did, too. I’m really proud of that. Those assists are huge for us moving forward.”
Ruskin (4-18) made 8-of-47 shots from the floor (17 percent). The Eagles committed 21 turnovers to the Bulldogs’ nine. Ruskin senior guard Shanaya Bandy scored six points and sophomore guard Dayvionna Hart added five.
DISTRICT SEMIFINALS ARE SATURDAY
Carl Junction (26-1) will meet fourth-seeded Grandview (14-12) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday inside the Cardinal Dome.
Ranked first in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Carl Junction is taking a 21-game winning streak into the semifinals.
The Bulldogs are attempting to capture a district title for the eighth straight season.
GRANDVIEW 60, WARRENSBURG 50
Three players scored in double figures for Grandview, as Lariah Tucker had 17 points, Micah Kirkwood added 14 and Essence Kendall had 13.
Kimberly Maxwell scored 14 points for Warrensburg, while Grace Hill had 13 and Maleah Myers added 11.
Class 5 District 7 tournament
Thursday’s scores
(1) Carl Junction 71, (8) Ruskin 22
(4) Grandview 60, (5) Warrensburg 50
(2) Webb City 34, (7) Belton 24
(3) Bolivar 61, (6) McDonald County 33
Saturday’s semifinals: Carl Junction vs. Grandview, 1 p.m. Webb City vs. Bolivar, 2:30
