Eighth-ranked Ozark found rhythm behind the arc early to build a cushion on the way to a 60-50 Central Ozark Conference win over Joplin on Monday inside the Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Tigers (14-5) took a four-point lead into the second period before heating up from the perimeter to push the lead to double-digits by halftime. Ozark pushed the advantage to 17 to start the fourth quarter and Joplin (10-11) was unable to make a run at the lead before the final horn.
“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “Turnovers got us in the first half. We always talk about it, but you can’t win basketball games turning the ball over. I don’t know how many turnovers we had in the second half, but I told them if it isn’t noticeable then that’s a good thing.
“Defensively, they were just carving up our zone, getting wide-open looks and they weren’t missing them. We switched to man in the second half and that helped us out a little bit. They were still getting open looks, but I felt it allowed us to close out on their shooters a lot better that way. And on offense, we stopped turning the ball over and started attacking downhill. When we get downhill, good things usually happen for us.”
GAME ACTION
Ozark took a four-point lead into the second quarter and built a 12-point cushion by the intermission thanks in large part to perimeter shooting. The Tigers knocked down a trio of 3-pointers down the stretch to gain some separation.
Ozark’s Riley Boggs and Zeffie Kent opened the second quarter with baskets in the paint to push the Tigers lead to 19-11.
Up seven shortly after, Jordyn Foley sank a 3-pointer from the corner to give OHS its first 10-point lead of the game, 24-14, with 4:55 to play. Lyla Watson followed with a 3-ball to push the margin to 13.
After a score on the drive by Joplin’s Brynn Driver, Kent buried another triple to push the lead to 30-16. The Eagles got a basket from Ella Hafer in the closing second to go into the intermission down 12.
“They were a good passing team,” Floyd said. “Every time they caught the ball they were downhill getting in the paint, we’d collapse and they’d kick it out for wide-open 3s. Your shooting percent is going to go up if you get open shots.”
Joplin used a 3-pointer from Brooke Nice and a driving bucket from Driver to trim the deficit back to 10, 39-29, with 1:55 left in the third quarter. However, Ozark closed the period on an 8-1 run fueled by 3-pointers from Watson and Alexis Soloman to head into the final eight minutes of play with a 47-30 lead.
By the time the Eagles trimmed the lead to 10 points, there were less than 30 seconds to play in regulation.
SCORING LEADERS
Kent led Ozark with 13 points, while Moriah Putt finished with 10 points. Boggs and Foley each finished with eight points in the win.
Driver finished with a game-high 18 points, 14 coming in the second, to lead Joplin. Emma Floyd and Nice each finished with 10 points, while Hafer had nine points in the loss.
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts No. 10 Republic at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
“It’s another tough game against Republic,” Coach Floyd said. “Nixa, Ozark and Republic are either ranked or getting votes. They are all also in our district. There are no nights off, but I think what we are proving to ourselves is that when we put our minds to it, we can play with anybody. … We just can’t come out and play scared from the get-go. Republic is a carbon copy of Ozark and Nixa. They are going to come out, play downhill, shoot the ball well and play defense. We have seen it enough the last two games, we should be able to make the adjustment, hopefully.”
