WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City girls basketball team stayed within striking distance against one of the conference’s top teams for most of the night, but the Cardinals could never quite get over the hump.
With a strong finish, Willard improved to 15-1 with a 72-54 win over Webb City on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference action inside the Cardinal Dome.
The Cardinals hung tough throughout the clash, trailing by just five at the break and by seven entering the fourth quarter. But the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 23-12 in the final frame.
“We were just trading buckets with them early,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “But Willard scores the ball so efficiently. We’re not a team that can just trade buckets with people. They were able to make some 6-0 runs to separate from us. I thought we did a good job of battling at the end of the first half. We felt good about that. But Willard was able to establish themselves in the third quarter. Our kids battled the whole game.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Tigers (15-1, 2-0 COC), as Jada Holloman scored 16, Kailyn Washington had 15, Addy Adamson contributed 14 and Brielle Adamson added 13. Ranked third in Class 5, Willard made 29-of-58 field goal attempts (50 percent), including 8-of-27 from long range.
Senior guard Jaydee Duda scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Cardinals, who fell to 6-10 overall and 1-2 in the COC.
Sierra Kimbrough and Malorie Stanley scored seven points apiece for the Cardinals, who made 20-of-46 field goal attempts (43 percent). Kate Brownfield chipped in seven rebounds and five points.
The Cardinals are now playing without junior forward Kenzie Robbins, who is out with a knee injury.
Webb City led 8-4 after a layup by Duda, but Willard put together a 15-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Brielle Adamson and Washington.
Webb City turned the ball over eight times in the opening frame against Willard’s pressure defense. As a result, the hosts trailed 20-10 entering the second period.
“They get you to play fast and their team speed is incredible,” Robbins said of the Tigers. “They speed you up and we had some turnovers. When we turned it over, they converted those into points on the other end.”
The Cardinals outscored the Tigers 18-13 in the second quarter. Hoops from Josie Spikereit and one from Kylie Jennings, along with a free throw from Duda, cut Webb City’s deficit to 33-28 at halftime.
Spikereit’s second basket of the quarter came just before the buzzer after a Willard turnover and finished off a 6-0 burst for the hosts.
The Tigers started the second half on a 10-4 run. Ripley Shanks and Kimbrough made late free throws, and Webb City trailed 49-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
A layup from Duda, a trey from Stanley and a free throw from Shanks trimmed Willard’s lead to 62-54, but the Tigers would score 10 unanswered points to end the game.
Webb City hosts Branson at 6 p.m. on Friday.
