NEVADA, Mo. — A pair of second half spurts led Carthage to a 46-39 win over Nevada in a non-conference girls basketball clash on Thursday night inside Wynn Gymnasium.
In a clash between Tigers, the visitors had a 14-0 run in the third quarter and a 9-0 surge in the fourth quarter.
“It was a great team effort tonight,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “It takes all five players on the court to guard their best player and we did an amazing job of that, despite her still scoring 29 points. I’m really proud of how our girls executed the game plan offensively and defensively tonight. If we continue to play defense this well and our shooting picks up a notch, we will be a fun team to watch!”
Nevada led 6-5 at the end of the low-scoring opening period.
Carthage tied the game at 14 after a bucket from Lexa Youngblood and two free throws from Lauren Choate.
Senior guard Clara Swearingen scored all 12 of Nevada’s second-quarter points and the hosts held an 18-16 halftime advantage.
A Pittsburg State signee, Swearingen scored 15 points in the first half.
Carthage put together a game-changing 14-0 run in the third quarter to take a 30-21 lead.
Swearingen’s trey cut her team’s deficit to six entering the fourth quarter, 30-24.
Next, the visitors scored nine unanswered points in the fourth period for a 39-26 advantage with four minutes to play, and Carthage would not relinquish its lead down the stretch.
Choate led Carthage with 18 points, while Jaidyn Brunnert added 12 points, Youngblood had eight and Maggie Boyd contributed five.
“Lauren Choate shot the ball well and continues to put the pressure on other teams with her ability to shoot the deep three and take defenders off the dribble,” Moore said. “Maggie Boyd played awesome on both ends of the court for us. It’s a lot to ask of a player to guard their best player and run our offense as the point guard. She did that for the entire game and that was the difference tonight. Jaidyn Brunnert also flashed an inside and outside threat for us tonight as she scored a career-high 12 points. She gave us great energy on both ends of the court as well.”
Nevada’s Swearingen poured in a game-high 29 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. Lakyn Applegate added eight points for Nevada.
Carthage improved to 3-4 and Nevada fell to 4-4.
Nevada hosts Girard, Kansas, on Friday.
Carthage hosts Raymore-Peculiar next Thursday.
