CARTHAGE, Mo. — Firing on all cylinders from the perimeter and in the paint, the Carthage Tigers started the second half on a 27-10 run to build an insurmountable lead on their way to a 55-38 win over Webb City on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference girls basketball action.
Clinging to a 26-23 lead at halftime, Carthage pulled away for good with a 21-9 third period. Overall, the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 29-15 in the second half.
“At halftime, our big, fancy adjustment was to simply do what we do, but do it better,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “We needed to finish better. A lot of the shots we got in the first half were good shots, but they were just off a little. We just had to stay composed, get those same shots and knock them down. That’s what happened.”
Moore noted his team’s inside-outside attack was key to the victory. The Tigers hit seven 3-pointers and also took advantage of their height inside to get hoops at point-blank range.
“We definitely had the height advantage, so our goal was to work inside-out,” Moore said. “We wanted to soften them up inside and then kick it out to shooters. When they packed it in, our shooters were open with our side-to-side action.”
The Tigers hiked their record to 14-10 and finished 4-5 in the COC.
“It was a nice way to finish up the conference season for us,” Moore said. “We improved by two games in the conference this year. That means a lot to us. We want to keep climbing up the conference ranks.”
For the Cardinals, it was a tale of two halves.
“I thought we defended pretty well in the first half,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “Offensively, I thought we moved the ball pretty well. In the second half, we lost their shooters a few times and they hit some 3s. They gained confidence. And offensively, we didn’t move the ball as well in the second half.
“If we want to be a successful team, we have to move the ball better offensively and we have to know our assignments defensively,” Robbins added.
NAMES & NUMBERS
Senior post players Brinna Ream and Hailey Fullerton combined to score 31 points for the Tigers.
The 5-foot-10 Ream compiled 16 points, while the 6-1 Fullerton added 15 points and nine boards. Ream made 7-of-12 shots, while Fullerton converted 6-of-12 field goal attempts.
Kianna Yates added nine points, while 6-1 Sophie Shannon pulled down nine rebounds. Carthage shot 46 percent (21-of-46) from the field.
Webb City fell to 8-14 and finished 3-6 in conference play.
Senior guard Jaydee Duda led Webb City with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting.
Sophomore Kate Brownfield added 11 points and eight rebounds, making 9-of-12 free throws along the way. The Cardinals shot 26 percent (12-of-47).
GAME RECAP
Playing at home for the final time this season, Carthage jumped out to a 14-7 lead after Ream scored in the lane and both Yates and Presley Probert hit 3-pointers.
Duda scored eight points in the opening frame for the Cardinals, but the Tigers held a 16-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Webb City used an 8-2 spurt in the second quarter, capped by Duda’s hoop in transition and Ripley Shanks’ putback, to take a 19-18 lead.
The Tigers didn’t trail for long, as the hosts answered back with an 8-1 surge, with Fullerton scoring a pair of hoops in the paint and Ream and Yates adding buckets of their own.
Duda’s old-fashioned 3-point play trimmed Carthage’s halftime advantage to 26-23.
The Tigers got hot from the perimeter in the third quarter, as Fullerton buried three 3-pointers and Katie Crowe and Yates both hit treys of their own, extending Carthage’s lead to 47-32 entering the fourth period.
“Hailey got hot in the second half,” Moore noted. “That’s always a big momentum swing for our team. We ride and die with her hitting 3s at times. Tonight, we got to ride with that in the second half.”
Yates’ free throw gave the Tigers a 20-point advantage with five minutes remaining.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Carthage ends the regular season at Lamar on Wednesday.
The third-seeded Tigers travel to second-seeded Republic on March 1 in the Class 6 District 12 tournament.
“Our kids are excited,” Moore said. “We played pretty well against them for about three quarters. Now we need to put a full four quarters together.”
Webb City concludes the regular season at 6 on Thursday with a home game against East Newton.
The third-seeded Cardinals play at second-seeded Nevada on March 1 in the Class 5 District 12 tournament.
