It was a tale of two halves for Joplin and Carthage on Thursday to open up Central Ozark Conference play.
The Eagles (5-6, 0-1 COC) and Tigers (10-5, 1-0 COC) traded baskets in a low-scoring first half, with Carthage grasping to a 17-16 advantage heading into intermission. Carthage took control in the third quarter after outscoring Joplin 16-6. The Tigers built an insurmountable lead with a 9-0 run to open the fourth period en route to a 44-25 win.
“I think the first half was Joplin’s pace,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “Coming off the big win against Strafford on Tuesday, the girls maybe didn’t have the energy back. … At halftime, we made a few adjustments. The girls took it to heart and said we have to come out and play Lady Tiger basketball, not Lady Eagle basketball.”
“I thought we played really good defense in both halves,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “We gave up second and third-chance points in the second half that we didn’t in the first. I think they got tired a little bit and lost their legs. I thought Carthage made some great adjustments (in the second half). … Overall, where our girls are at from where we started the year, I am extremely pleased.”
Carthage jumped out to a 6-2 lead fueled by a 3-pointer from Kianna Yates and a fast-break score from Raven Probert off a Joplin turnover near the midway point of the opening quarter. The Eagles trimmed the lead to 8-7 entering the second period behind a 3-pointer and a bucket on a drive with two seconds left by Brooke Nice.
The Tigers scored the first two baskets of the second quarter, including an offensive rebound for a putback score by Brinna Ream, to extend the lead to 12-7.
Joplin answered back with a 6-0 run spanning over the middle minutes of the quarter, which was highlighted by a Lily Pagan layup on the break and a 3-ball from the wing by Jacie Jensen to give Joplin its first lead of the game at 14-12 with 2:56 to play in the half.
“Credit to Joplin,” Moore said. “Their 2-3 zone, they scramble around, protect the paint, try to keep you out and force you to shoot 3s.”
The lead changed hands three times in the last 90 seconds of the first half, with Carthage clinging to a 17-16 advantage at the break.
“That first half was one of, if not the best half we have played all year,” said Floyd. “It started with our defense. We were able to get rebounds, outlets and we were able to get downhill. We are really working on playing downhill basketball. … For whatever reason, we got away from that.”
The momentum shifted in favor of the Tigers in the second half, starting with Carthage outscoring Joplin by 10 in the third quarter on the way to a 33-22 lead with eight minutes to play.
Ream scored five of the first seven points for the Tigers to start the second half, building a 24-18 lead by the four-minute mark in the process.
“She got a lot of hers on offensive rebounds,” Moore said of Ream’s performance. “Those are crucial to keep teams at bay.”
After Yates scored inside, Hailey Fullerton added her own basket in the paint before knocking down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:56 left on the clock to make the score 31-22. Yates finished out the scoring with a mid-range jumper to send Carthage into the fourth quarter with all of the momentum.
The Tigers essentially put the game out of reach when they pushed the margin to 44-22 after scoring the first nine points of the final stanza during the first five-plus minutes, with Fullerton accounting for seven of them.
“Once Hailey saw a shot go down in rhythm, it just built up from there, which was great,” Moore said. “The girls started feeding into it.”
STATS
Fullerton led Carthage with 17 points, with 12 coming in the second half. Ream closed with 13 points, while Yates scored 10.
Nice led Joplin with eight points, while Emma Floyd finished with six.
UP NEXT
Carthage is at Carl Junction on Jan. 12.
Joplin is at Webb City on Jan. 11.
