CARTHAGE, Mo. — A solid overall performance and a strong finish led the Joplin High School girls basketball team to a historic victory.
The Eagles earned their first-ever win as a member of the Central Ozark Conference by knocking off Carthage 47-36 on Tuesday night.
Eagles coach Luke Floyd noted it was a memorable moment to witness his squad celebrate the win that was a long time coming.
“This is our program’s first COC win, so it’s been three and a half years in the making,” Floyd said. “The girls are excited, as they should be. I could not be more proud of them.”
Floyd noted it was a rewarding experience to see his team overjoyed in the locker room after the win.
“It was pure jubilation on their part,” he said. “They’ve earned it. They’ve worked hard for this moment. We know this is not the finish line by any means. But to get this off our back against a district opponent on their floor…I could not be more proud of them. I can’t even express the pride I’m feeling.”
The game was deadlocked at the end of the third period before the Eagles outscored the Tigers 15-4 in the final frame.
Joplin held Carthage without a field goal in the fourth period to secure a signature win.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well,” Tigers coach Scott Moore said. “I think if we shoot like we normally do and hit eight or nine 3s, we win that game. We didn’t play our best against a team we feel we should beat in our gymnasium. But I thought Joplin played great. They played better than I’ve seen on film, so hats off to them. But we didn’t play our best and we didn’t shoot our best. If we learn that we need to bring energy every night no matter who we play, then we’ll be better for it.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Joplin hiked its record to 10-9 and 1-2 in the COC.
Three players scored in double figures for the Eagles, as senior guard Brooke Nice had 15 points, senior forward Ella Hafer added 14 and junior guard Brynn Driver scored 12.
Carthage slipped to 9-11 and 0-3 in the COC.
Junior guard Kianna Yates scored 17 points before fouling out for the Tigers, while freshman guard Lauren Choate added eight points.
GAME RECAP
The game was deadlocked at eight after Carthage’s Raven Probert buried back-to-back 3-pointers, but Joplin scored the final five points of the first period, as Nice hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Driver scored in transition.
Joplin extended its lead to 19-12 with 3:40 remaining in the first half after Hafer and Izzy Yust knocked down treys.
Yates scored five straight points for the Tigers in the second quarter, but a hoop inside by Hafer gave Joplin a 21-17 halftime advantage.
Capped by a trey from Choate, Carthage used a 10-2 run to take a 27-26 lead, but the game was tied at 32 at the end of the third period.
The Eagles took the lead for good by scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter, as Hafer made one free throw before Driver hit a key corner 3-pointer and then converted a hoop in transition.
The Tigers managed just four free throws in the final eight minutes. Joplin hit 8-of-16 foul shots in the fourth quarter to lock up the win.
“We talked all night about weathering the storm,” Floyd said. “We know they’re a good team and we knew they were going to make a run. Yates can go off at any time. But to hold them to four points in the fourth quarter was big. It all started on the defensive end. We rebounded the ball well in the fourth quarter. Offensively, we missed some free throws, but we knocked them down at the end of the game.”
Carthage also finished the game without Yates, who fouled out with about two minutes to play.
“I thought there were some questionable calls on her,” Moore said. “It hurt to not have our catalyst out there at the end, but we have other kids who can step up. And those last two minutes didn’t determine who won the game, it was the first 30.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Carthage is at Republic on Thursday and Joplin is at Nixa on Friday.
