CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers dug themselves out of a first-half double-digit deficit and took the lead briefly in the third quarter, only to see the visiting Nevada Tigers score 15 of the last 20 points of the third for a 45-37 lead entering the final eight minutes.
Carthage scored seven of the first nine points in the fourth and would cut the deficit to two late, but Nevada junior guard Clara Swearingen knocked down a clutch 3-point shot to extend the lead to 52-47 heading into the final minute on their way to a 55-49 win Thursday night in the battle of the Big 8 Tigers (Nevada) and the Central Ozark Conference Tigers (Carthage).
“I thought we had great energy for all 32 minutes,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “We did not shoot the ball well in that first quarter, dug ourselves that hole, and I was proud of Lauren Choate for getting hot in the second quarter and making that run happen for us. The girls feed off of her energy when she’s shooting threes and knocking them down and we can get set up in whatever defense we’re running, so I’m happy with that part.
“Defensively, too many miscues. Not properly picking up their best player (Swearingen) or leaving their second-best player (Maddy Majors) open.
“One of my initial concerns is that we haven’t played a lot of competition yet and maybe we had a false sense of ourselves. Nevada showed us our flaws, and we’ve got some things to work on to get better for the Pink and White (Tournament).”
Carthage’s slow first quarter saw the guests take a 14-3 lead before sophomore Lexa Youngblood hit a trifecta for the home Tigers.
Nevada led 25-13 in the second quarter and Choate went on a 7-2 scoring run to close out the first half and earned the home team a 27-20 halftime deficit.
Carthage scored nine of the first 10 points in the first 1:51 after halftime and led 29-28 on a Youngblood basket and for the last time at 32-30 on a Kianna Yates 3-point goal.
Majors then scored six consecutive points to spark the start of a 15-5 stretch to close out the third, a period where Carthage’s only points came on a Yates trifecta and a Choate basket.
Swearingen scored a game-high 20 points for Nevada, while Majors added 16, Abbey Heathman seven, Kara Phillips five, Katie Johnson four, and Lakyn Applegate three for a Nevada squad now 6-2 on the season.
Each team made seven 3-point baskets in the contest Thursday.
Choate led Carthage with 17 points and 10 of them she netted in the second quarter, Yates scored 12, Youngblood added 10, Landry Cochran had six, and Zye Clark scored the other four Carthage points in the second.
Carthage dropped to 5-2 overall and the Tigers return to action Dec. 27 against Glendale in the Pink and White.
