Joplin held the lead at the end of each of the first three quarters only for Branson to rally and take the lead early in the fourth quarter on the way to a 60-54 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday to open the Super Night.
The Eagles (6-8, 0-2 COC) limited the Pirates (6-6, 1-1 COC) to four points in the second quarter and built a 21-12 lead in the process. Branson rallied to take the lead with two minutes left in the third before Joplin ultimately took a four-point cushion into the final eight minutes of play. The Pirates took the lead back early in the fourth quarter and held off the Eagles from a comeback in the closing minutes.
“I liked the effort in the first half,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “I thought we played under control, we played smart and took care of the basketball for the most part. In the second half, Branson played like a team that wanted to come out and take the win and we played like a team hoping Branson would give us a win.”
GAME ACTION
Joplin started the contest as the aggressor after scoring the game’s first nine points. Emma Floyd and Ella Hafer grabbed offensive rebounds for putback scores to open the scoring before Brooke Nice followed with a 3-pointer from the wing off an inbounds pass. Hafer closed the run with a score on the break off a layup.
However, just as quickly as the Eagles took momentum, the Pirates answered right back. Branson scored the final eight points of the period, holding Joplin scoreless for the final four-plus minutes of action. Hadley Houston and Joanna Lansman each had 3-pointers to highlight the close to the quarter.
Joplin elevated its lead back to nine points by the intermission after limiting Branson to just four points on one field goal in the second period.
“It is just playing with consistent effort,” Coach Floyd said about his team’s response to Branson’s close to the first quarter. “We forced them into tough shots and we rebounded the ball.”
Emma Floyd started the quarter with a three-point play after drawing contact on a fast-break layup before Nice drained a 3-ball in the corner off the assist from Hafer to make the score 15-8. Floyd added another offensive rebound for a putback score before knocking down a pair of shots at the foul line to push the Eagles’ lead to 19-10 with 3:08 left, carrying that cushion into halftime.
Once again, Joplin looked to be in control in the third quarter after building a nine-point, 28-19 lead off a Nice 3-ball from the wing with 4:37 on the clock, but the Pirates had other ideas after scoring 12 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game with two minutes left in the third. Houston started the run with a 3-pointer before scoring in transition. Taylor Foster added two baskets inside before Maci Rogers buried a 3-pointer to give Branson a 31-28 advantage.
“In the second half especially, I thought they were able to get to the rim too easily,” Coach Floyd said. “If we can protect the paint like we did in the first half, we can be pretty good defensively. When we let the ball get in there, it’s tough to stop them that way.”
Joplin responded to the adversity by scoring the final seven points of the quarter as Nice had five points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds left and a layup on the break off a Branson turnover, to take a 35-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We did a good job of taking care of the ball in that 7-0 run,” Coach Floyd said. “Honestly, I thought we had figured it out to start the fourth quarter. I thought we calmed ourselves down, we weathered the storm and we are good to go.”
Branson tied the game back up with 6:40 left in regulation on a bucket from Ellie Hoenie before Foster grabbed an offensive board for a putback to give the Pirates a 39-37 lead.
Joplin tied the game at 40-40 on an Emma Floyd elbow jumper with 4:12 to play, but the Pirates played in front the remainder of regulation on the way to the win.
The Eagles missed nine of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“They are free points,” Coach Floyd said. “There is no excuse for missing them. We spend plenty of time working on them. That is just being mentally tough, wanting the basketball in that situation, stepping to the line and putting it in the hole. Unfortunately, tonight, we were not able to do that.”
SCORING LEADERS
Houston led Branson with 16 points, including two 3-pointers. Foster finished in double figures with 11 points.
Nice knocked down three 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 15 points, while Hafer was right behind with 14 points in the win. Emma Floyd finished with 10 points to give the Eagles three players in double figures.
UP NEXT
Joplin is at Hillcrest on Jan. 20
