NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho rallied from a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Joplin 45-36 for a Central Ozark Conference win to snap an eight-game skid on Monday.
After Joplin built a four-point cushion by the intermission, the Eagles stretched the lead to six early in the second half before Neosho made a defensive adjustment that led to the Wildcats flipping the momentum in the final two periods. The Wildcats led 30-26 to start the fourth only to see Joplin open the quarter on a scoring run that gave the Eagles a 36-32 lead near the midway point. Neosho responded with the final 13 points of the game en route to victory.
“I thought we showed a little toughness, and I thought we were the tougher team at the end,” Neosho coach Ryan Madison said. “We got some pressure to work for us a little bit. … Overall, we had lost eight straight, so we needed that one pretty badly.”
“I thought we played a great first half and executed the game plan for the most part by taking care of the basketball,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “In the second half, it was turnovers. It’s making the same pass that we know is not going to work, but we continue to make it over and over again. I told the girls it is the definition of insanity—we keep trying to do the same thing and expect different results. Until that changes, we’re going to struggle.”
CHARITY DOWN THE STRETCH
Converting at the three-throw line was a huge factor for Neosho down the stretch. The Wildcats shot 10 free throws total in the fourth quarter, making all 10 attempts. That includes eight free throws coming in the final 13-0 run.
The only field goals for Neosho in the final period came on a 3-pointer from Michelle Lindsay to start the game-sealing surge and a turnaround bucket in the paint by Olivia Hixon with 1:15 left to give the Wildcats a 41-36 advantage.
“I think we were 15-of-16 (shooting free throws) in the second half,” Madison said. “Free throws are just mental. We told them at halftime to just step up there and relax.
“I was proud of them. We always talk about how the tougher team wins, mentally and physically. I thought in the second half, we were the tougher team. We got on the floor for some loose balls and did things like that, and we came down and hit our free throws. That’s mental toughness.”
GAME ACTION
After Neosho took a 10-7 lead into the second quarter following a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Reagan McInturff to close the opening period, Joplin closed the first half with all of the momentum. The Eagles started the second quarter on a 9-2 run to build a 16-12 lead before going into the intermission up 19-15. Much like Neosho in the fourth quarter, Joplin shot eight free throws in the second period and made six of them.
“We were attacking,” Floyd said. “(Neosho) was playing an aggressive defense in the first half and we were attacking downhill, getting them in foul trouble and us to the free-throw line. That was the key to success. Then, for whatever reason in the second half, (Neosho) was still aggressive, but we started going sideline to sideline and backwards. I am not sure we shot more than two or three free throws in the second half because we stopped attacking.”
After a steal and score on the break by Joplin’s Brynn Driver, Neosho switched up to a trapping defense, which gave the Eagles problems in the form of turnovers. The Wildcats rallied with a 13-3 run to close the third to take a 30-26 lead into the fourth. Baylie Bowers led the way with eight points in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“We just talked about trying to extend it out a little bit and maybe trap a little more on the wings,” Madison said. “For the most part, we did a good job. … We have to have something to speed teams up and we did that right there.”
“I want to see us make a deliberate effort to change the way we play against the zone,” Floyd said when asked what he wants to see from his team in terms of beating the press defense. “The zone is our kryptonite. … I want to see them take pride in what they do and make the adjustment in how we attack a zone.”
Joplin started the scoring in the fourth quarter with a mid-range jumper from Izzy Yust before Brooke Nice sank a 2-pointer. Jacie Jensen added an inside score off an offensive rebound to give Joplin a 33-30 lead. After two free throws by Neosho and a 3-pointer from Yust, the Wildcats closed the door with the next 13 points scored.
SCORING LEADERS
McInturff led Neosho with 11 points, while Bowers and Lindsay finished each with 10 points in the win. Hixon added seven, while Avery Renfro scored five.
Yust scored nine to lead Joplin, while Nice scored eight. Jensen added six.
DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Neosho opens the Class 5 District 11 tournament as the fourth seed. The Wildcats travel to face top-seeded McDonald County at 7 p.m. on March 2.
Joplin opens the Class 6 District 12 tournament as the fourth seed, and will travel to face top-seeded Kickapoo for a 7 p.m. tip on March 1.
UP NEXT
Joplin travels to McDonald County for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Tuesday before hitting the road against Nixa on Thursday.
