WEBB CITY, Mo. — Faced with a halftime deficit, Carl Junction came from behind with a strong second half to knock off rival Webb City 55-40 on Monday night in a Central Ozark Conference girls basketball contest inside the Cardinal Dome.
The host Cardinals led at the end of the first two periods, but the Bulldogs began the second half on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good.
“One thing we pride ourselves on is the first five minutes of the third quarter,” Bulldogs coach Brad Shorter said. “We went on a run and that was beneficial for us. We were seeing some things on the sideline that we relayed to the kids and we started making shots. It was really a good second half for us and it was a good night for our kids.”
Up five at the end of the third period, Carl Junction outscored Webb City 18-8 in the final eight minutes to secure the hard-fought win.
The Cardinals were simply unable to hold off the Bulldogs’ second half surge.
“I thought our effort was good and I thought we did a lot of good things defensively tonight,” Cardinals coach Lance Robbins said. “I thought we controlled the tempo of the game in the first half and I thought they controlled the tempo in the second half. That was the difference in the game.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Ranked sixth in Class 5, Carl Junction improved to 17-5 overall and 4-1 in the COC. A sixth straight win keeps the Bulldogs in the hunt for a COC title.
“We’re right there,” Shorter said. “It’s a very tough league and very rarely does a team go undefeated in the conference. I’ve seen teams win it with three losses. If we keep plugging away, we’ll definitely have a shot.”
Junior guard Destiny Buerge scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Bulldogs.
That’s not all she accomplished. Buerge went past 1,500 career points during the game.
“It was cool to see Destiny get to 1,500 points,” Shorter said. “That’s pretty impressive for a junior.”
The 5-foot-8 Buerge, who scored all of her points in the final three quarters, hit four 3-pointers, grabbed seven boards and had three steals.
Two others reached double figures for the Bulldogs.
Carl Junction junior guard Hali Shorter scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while backcourt mate Klohe Burk contributed 10 points, seven steals and three assists.
“I thought Hali played really well tonight,” Coach Shorter said. “We had her for a double-double and she hit some big shots. And I thought Klohe played really well. She played really hard defensively and took care of the ball when Destiny was on the sideline.”
Sophomore forward Kylie Scott compiled nine rebounds, four blocked shots and six points.
“Kylie has been a rebounding machine,” Shorter noted. “She missed a lot of games last year, but I think she’ll get to 1,000 points and maybe even 1,000 rebounds in her career.”
Webb City fell to 8-11 and 1-3 in the COC.
Junior guard Kate Brownfield led Webb City with 14 points with three 3-pointers and six rebounds. Brownfield was the lone Cardinal in double figures.
Freshman post player Sami Mancini contributed six points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while senior forward Ripley Shanks scored seven points.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Cardinals 32-23. Webb City had 23 turnovers to Carl Junction’s 16.
GAME RECAP
A low scoring opening frame, capped by two hoops inside by Webb City’s Shanks, ended with the Cardinals up 9-8.
The Bulldogs began the second period on a 14-5 run to take a 19-15 lead, but the Cardinals responded with seven straight points, as Mia Robbins hit a 3-pointer, Izzy Lopez made a layup and Mancini scored inside.
Scott’s hoop in the paint cut Webb City’s lead to 22-21 at the break.
Buerge picked up two fouls in the first quarter and played limited minutes in the first half.
Carl Junction came out on fire in the third quarter, as the visitors scored 12 of the first 14 points of the second half. Buerge scored the first nine points of the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
Two free throws from Buerge gave CJ a 37-29 lead, but Brownfield buried a trey, cutting her team’s deficit to 37-32 at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulldogs recorded the first five points of the fourth quarter to go up 42-32. The Cardinals suffered through a scoring drought for the first half of the final frame.
“I think they picked up their pressure a little more in the second half and we didn’t value the basketball as well as we should have in the second half,” Robbins said.
Down 10 with time running out, Brownfield hit a 3-pointer for the Cardinals, but Shorter answered with a trey of her own on the other end. Shorter and Buerge combined to go 6-for-6 at the foul line late in the game.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City hosts Nixa on Thursday, while Carl Junction hosts Ozark on Thursday.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
Carl Junction’s Klohe Burk draws a foul on Mia Robbins after grabbing a steal on Monday night. All photos by Shawn Fowler.
