Mount Vernon and Carthage cruised to lopsided victories on the opening night of the 24th annual Freeman Lady Eagle Classic girls basketball tournament.
In a Wednesday night doubleheader inside Joplin High School’s Kaminsky Gymnasium, Mount Vernon defeated Joplin 54-12, while Carthage beat McDonald County 61-31.
MOUNT VERNON 54, JOPLIN 12
The Mountaineers led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring the Eagles 39-1 the rest of the way.
“We hadn’t played in 15 days,” Mount Vernon coach Grant Berendt said. “We had Thanksgiving break and a week off and had a game get canceled due to COVID. We were ready to play. I knew the first quarter could be a little ugly for us because we had to get our timing back and our legs back. And this was the first time any of our girls played in this gym. I told them it’s a little longer than our gym.
“I thought we bailed them out with some fouls early, but then we settled down,” Berendt added. “I really loved our defense from the first quarter on. We tried to set the tone there.”
After scoring 11 points in the first frame, Joplin managed just one free throw in the second period. The hosts went scoreless in both the third and fourth quarters.
“I’ve got to do a better job of putting our girls in a position to succeed,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “The girls can play hard, but I have to do a better job of making us successful. The girls played hard, but this is on me. I didn’t put our girls in a position to win.”
Senior guard Ellie Johnston poured in 25 points to lead the Mountaineers, while Missouri Southern recruit Lacy Stokes added 13. The 5-foot-8 Johnston scored 15 points in the first half.
“We rely a lot on Ellie and Lacy to get us going offensively,” Berendt said. “It was good to see Ellie set the tone offensively.”
Also for Mount Vernon, Reagan Boswell added seven, Kandence Krempges scored six and Jolie Prescott chipped in three.
Brooke Nice and Emma Floyd scored six points apiece for Joplin. Nice hit a pair of treys in the first quarter. Emma Floyd had one field goal to go with four free throws. The Eagles are competing without the services of the injured Ella Hafer.
Up four at the end of the first quarter, Mount Vernon outscored Joplin 18-1 in the second period. The Mountaineers won the third quarter 15-0 before scoring six unanswered points in the final period.
“They are a good, well-coached group,” Coach Floyd said of the Mountaineers. “Their guards are very quick and they have quick hands. I have to do a better job of getting us prepared to take care of the ball and to perform under pressure.”
Mount Vernon (2-0) returns to action with a matchup against Leavenworth at 7 on Friday.
Joplin (3-3) meets Leavenworth at 7 on Thursday.
“The good thing is we get a chance tomorrow to come back and redeem ourselves,” Floyd said. “We just have to come out and compete. If we compete and get beat, so be it.”
CARTHAGE 61, MCDONALD COUNTY 31
Ignited by its pressure defense, Carthage used a 13-2 run in the first quarter to take control.
“That’s what we want to do,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said of the fast start. “We want to get out early in our 55 (full court pressure). It’s hard for people to practice what we do in that with our speed. And Hailey Fullerton is a really intimidating person to put on the ball and make someone have to throw around her. We’re trying to force bad passes over a 6-1 girl and that can lead to easy buckets.”
The 1-2 punch of Hailey Fullerton and Kianna Yates led the Tigers, who improved to 4-1.
A 6-1 senior forward, Fullerton scored 16 points, while Yates, a 5-4 sophomore point guard, added 15.
The Tigers had three players score in double figures, as senior forward Brinna Ream scored 11 points off the bench.
“Brinna gave us great energy in the post,” Moore said. “She got some good buckets that took them from being able to pack in on everybody else. She missed a week of practices and she hasn’t got her basketball legs. This was easily her best game so far. That was a great effort from her tonight.”
Also for Carthage, Katie Crowe scored six, Lauren Wilson had five, Landry Cochran and Sophie Shannon scored three apiece and Presley Probert added two points.
The Tigers led 17-8 by the end of the first quarter. Ream scored seven straight points for the Tigers off the bench to give Carthage a comfortable 26-10 advantage.
By the break, the Tigers led 34-17.
The Tigers were able to get a number of easy hoops from in close while the Mustangs focused their defense on Fullerton.
“They had to come out of that because we took advantage,” Moore said. “We put Hailey on one side and ran a play opposite of her. They didn’t have help side defense and we got easy buckets. The idea that Kianna can get us into those sets and run our stuff without Hailey being our primary option is good for us.”
Cochran’s 3-pointer gave Carthage a 53-23 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third period and the game’s outcome was never in doubt in the final frame.
“I wanted to see how much energy we could bring,” Moore said. “I thought we did that initially, but I thought we lost some momentum in the middle. I thought we made a good run in the third quarter. That showed the maturity of our team.”
Caitlyn Barton scored 12 points to lead McDonald County (2-3).
Carthage takes on Carl Junction at 5:30 on Thursday, while McDonald County plays Carl Junction at 5:30 on Friday.
