WEBB CITY, Mo. — For Webb City seniors Jaydee Duda and Sierra Kimbrough, Thursday’s 53-22 win over East Newton was a memorable final home game.
Prior to the tipoff, Kimbrough was named Homecoming Queen. On the court, Duda led the Cardinals with a game-high 28 points to close out the regular season on a high note.
“It was the last regular season home game, so we wanted to send our seniors out on a positive note,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “I thought both of them did an effective job tonight. It was awesome to see Sierra win Homecoming Queen. I know she probably had a lot of emotions and things on her mind, and then she had to transition into the game. Jaydee got us going early offensively and Sierra did a good job finishing it off there in the fourth quarter for us offensively. Those two have done a great job for us all year long.”
“We were disappointed with the way we played on Tuesday,” Robbins added about his team earning a bounce back win after falling to Carthage earlier in the week. “We thought that was a very winnable game for us. … I thought we came out tonight and did some good things offensively and some good things defensively—things that will give us confidence going into district play next week at Nevada.”
GAME ACTION
The Cardinals (8-14) limited the Patriots to one free throw over the first five-plus minutes of action in the opening period to build a 10-1 advantage. Duda led the way for Webb City with nine points during the run, including a 3-pointer from the wing.
“We were switching up between man (defense) and zone,” Robbins said of his team’s defensive execution. “I thought we got down and guarded and made them shoot contested jumpers and were able to rebound and get out to run in transition. … I thought we also did an effective job with our press early in the game.
“(The fast start) was really big for us. We’ve struggled in the first quarter of games all year long. So, to get off to a good start tonight was really important for us.”
Webb City started the second period on a 9-3 spurt to push the lead to 14, which was the margin by the intermission, 27-13. Duda started the run with a corner trey and a score on the drive before Kate Brownfield grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback bucket. Malorie Stanley closed the run with a score inside on a basket cut.
“Jaydee is one of those kids who can have 30 or 35 any given night,” Robbins said of Duda’s performance. “She came out ready to play and was able to get some easy buckets in transition. When she makes some of them early, her confidence just grows. She started hitting the 3 after that. It was just one of those good nights for her with the ball going in the basket.”
Despite the large lead at the half, Webb City didn’t get complacent to start the third quarter. It was quite the opposite. After a basket from East Newton put the first points on the scoreboard, Duda followed with the next seven points — including a three-point play — to stretch the lead out to 34-15. The Cardinals pushed the lead to 20 later in the quarter when Brownfield knocked down a free throw to make the score 37-17 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
“We talked at halftime about not being satisfied with being up 14,” Robbins said. “We felt like we could build on that lead and continue to improve. … Learning how to put a team away is important and something we will have to do in district play.”
Webb City put the game out of reach after opening the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run. Kimbrough highlighted the game-sealing surge with three 3-pointers.
STATS
Duda added three rebounds and three assists to go along with her 28 points. Malorie Stanley scored 10 points, while Brownfield finished with six points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Kimbrough closed with nine points, while Peyton Hawkins pulled down nine rebounds and had three assists.
DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Webb City is the third seed in the Class 5 District 12 tournament. The Cardinals open the postseason on the road with a matchup against second-seeded Nevada (11-11) scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 1.
“Nevada is a good basketball team,” Robbins said. “They match up well with us height and size wise. We are looking forward to the opportunity to play. We don’t want our season to be over.”
