WEBB CITY, Mo. — A strong second half propelled Ozark to a 59-40 win over Webb City on Thursday night in a Central Ozark Conference girls basketball clash inside the Cardinal Dome.
The Cardinals overcame an early nine-point deficit and held a five-point lead in the third period. But the Tigers rattled off 11 straight points to end the third quarter to take a lead they would never relinquish. Ozark outscored Webb City 34-11 after halftime.
“We got off to a slow start but were able to battle back with a strong second quarter of play, both offensively and defensively,” Cardinals coach Lance Robbins said. “Ozark was able to come out in the third quarter and take back the momentum from us and we didn’t recover. Their length in the zone caused us problems in the second half.”
Webb City fell to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the COC. The Cardinals saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Senior Kenzie Robbins led Webb City with 14 points, while junior Kate Brownfield added 11 points and freshman Sami Mancini had nine points and 13 rebounds.
Brownfield made three 3-pointers, while Robbins hit two treys.
The Cardinals made 13-of-34 field goal attempts (38 percent), including 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. Webb City made just 9-of-21 free throw attempts.
Winners of six straight games, Ozark improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 in conference action.
Riley Boggs scored 14 points to lead the Tigers, while Lyla Watson added 11 points. Ozark made 18-of-43 field goal attempts, with 8-of-17 from 3-point range.
The Tigers led 10-1 early in the game, but the Cardinals used a 10-3 run to pull within two.
Ozark’s Boggs hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 16-11 advantage, but Webb City’s Robbins nailed a buzzer-beater from halfcourt, trimming the hosts’ lead to two at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals scored the final six points of the first half, as Mancini converted a putback inside, Ripley Shanks made one free throw and Brownfield buried a 3-pointer from the right wing off a feed from Izzy Lopez. Those points gave the hosts a 29-25 lead at intermission.
Brownfield scored 11 points in the first half.
A trey from Robbins gave Webb City a four-point lead, but Ozark ended the third quarter on an 11-0 surge for a 43-36 advantage entering the final frame.
The Tigers outscored the Cardinals 16-4 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Webb City is scheduled to compete at next week’s Lady Cat Classic at Rogersville. The Cardinals open the tourney against Licking on Monday.
