Joplin hosted Strafford to open the 2023 portion of the schedule, with the Indians pulling away in the second quarter for a 69-27 win over the Eagles on Tuesday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Joplin trailed by six heading into the second period before the Indians outscored the Eagles 30-5 heading into halftime to build a 30-plus point cushion. Strafford held onto that margin in the second half en route to the win.
“I felt like we came out and played extremely hard,” first-year Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We talked a little before the game about how life is about effort. It doesn’t matter if it’s a relationship you’re in, playing basketball or when you’re at work. It’s all about effort that you put in. I thought we came out and did a great job before we struggled against their man-to-man press (in the second quarter). That allowed them to go on a run on us.
“Over, we are getting better everyday. And we preach to the girls that while you are always looking at wins and losses in the standings or on the scoreboard, we need to look for wins and losses within the game. We have to make sure we are boxing out or taking care of the ball. All the things that play into winning basketball games—we have to control those first before we can control the scoreboard.”
GAME ACTION
Both defenses were stout early in the contest, with Joplin (2-8) using a Bailey Ledford steal into a transition layup to cut the Strafford (10-3) lead to 5-4 with 3:20 left to play in the opening period.
The Indians built their first separation of the game shortly after with a 7-0 field by four points from Elsie Larsen and a 3-pointer from Lauren Jones to make the score 12-4.
Joplin closed the period with a back-cut score from Ashley Phillips to trim the lead to six.
“We actually put in some new offensive plays over the holiday break and I was really happy with our execution,” Cox said of his team’s play in the first quarter. “Our offense had grown kind of stagnant, so we put in some new concepts this week. I was happy we were able to run through it, reset it and run through it again.”
Strafford used a dominant second period to pusht the lead to more than 30 points by halftime. The Indians started the second period on an 11-0 run, with Brooklyn Adney knocking down a 3-pointer on the way to five points to lead the surge. Laney Humble added four points.
After a bucket inside from Joplin’s Alissa Owens, Jones jump started a 19-2 run to finish the first half with six straight points. Larsen added six points down the stretch of the second quarter, with Ally Rust connecting from the perimeter.
Joplin scored the final bucket of the first half on a 3-point from Phillips with 15 seconds on the clock.
“It was just the pressure of their press,” Cox said when asked what fueled the Indians’ second-quarter surge. “Being able to handle the ball under pressure is something we are still building on since Brynn (Driver) went down.”
Strafford’s lead was 34 points heading into the final eight minutes, with the Indians enforcing a running clock down the stretch of the win.
SCORING LEADERS
Jones led the Indians with 17 points, while Humble had 15 points for Strafford, while Rust had 13. Laresen and Adney each finished with 12.
Phillips had eight points to lead Joplin, while Ledford finished with five. Owens and Serafina Auberry each finished with four.
UP NEXT
Joplin is at Carthage on Tuesday.
