The Joplin girls basketball team rallied back in the second half to earn its first win of the season, 42-37, over Pittsburg on Friday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Eagles (1-3) went into halftime trailing by six before using a 13-0 run in the third quarter to regain the lead for the first time since the start of the game heading into the final eight minutes. Joplin never relinquished the lead down the stretch on the way to clinching its first victory.
“I am just so happy for our girls,” first-year Joplin coach Brad Cox said after notching his first-career victory. “We talked to the girls over the week about the difference between just working hard and working hard while competing. Millions of people go and work hard every day, but it’s the ones who are wired to compete that have the most success. … I just challenged them this week to go out and compete. We were down at halftime, stormed back and got the win. It was great. I am so happy for them.”
Joplin held the lead early in the contest on a bucket from Brynn Driver, but Pittsburg rallied midway through the period and took a 10-7 advantage into the second quarter.
The Eagles used a pair of free throws from Driver early in the second quarter to cut the lead to one before the Dragons used a pair of 3-pointers from Jacquiline Hall sandwiched around an inside bucket from Gabrielle White to finished the first half on an 8-3 run to go into the intermission with an 18-12 lead.
After Pittsburg scored the first bucket of the second half, Joplin flipped the momentum with a 13-0 run to rally all the way back for a 25-20 lead by the 2:05 mark of the third quarter.
“It all came from practice this week,” Cox said when asked what fueled the game-changing run. “We went to the 1-3-1 (after the success from last week with it) and were able to force more turnovers. We made some adjustments on (Jacquiline Hall), but credit to her because she is a heck of a player. It was our girls’ effort. We have to get better at rebounding, but that game turned because of our effort and willingness to compete.”
Bailey Ledford kicked the run off with a 3-pointer from the wing before a Dragons turnover led to Driver knocking down a shot from the perimeter with 5:40 left to cut the deficit to 20-18. Serafina Auberry tied the game up with five minutes left on an inside score before Driver gave Joplin the lead after stepping into a 3-ball from the wing for a 23-20 advantage before she added a second-chance mid-range jumper with 2:05 left to push the lead to 25-20.
Pittsburg’s Dessie Gorley ended the run with a mid-range jumper, cutting the Dragons’ deficit to three heading into the final eight minutes.
The Dragons tied the game out of the break on a 3-pointer from Hall, but a Ledford triple with 5:40 left pushed the JHS lead back up to two possessions, 31-26. Riley Kelly knocked down one of two from the charity stripe with 2:55 to push the lead six before Driver earned a steal for a layup on the break to give the Eagles a 36-28 advantage with 2:30 to play.
Pittsburg didn’t go away as Hall and Gorley hit back to back 3-pointers to cut the Joplin lead to one, 36-35, with 1:26 to play.
Joplin answered with Izzy Yust burying a wide-open 3-pointer from the wing with 56 seconds left for a 39-35 cushion.
“She had ice going through her veins,” Cox said about Yust’s 3-pointer. “I bring out Izzy and Brynn every game for captains, and that’s why. She stepped up without any hesitation and hit the shot. I just got chills thinking about it again. It was pretty awesome. It was a great first win for me at Joplin, and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”
Driver iced the win with a pair of free throws with 22.1 seconds left to push the lead to five.
SCORING LEADERS
Driver finished with 20 points to lead Joplin, while Ledford knocked down two 3-pointers on the way to eight points. Yust finished with seven.
Hall finished with 18 to lead Pittsburg, while Gorley added seven. Onna Jorge finished with eight.
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic from Dec. 8-10.
