NEOSHO, Mo. — Webb City built an early cushion against Neosho and held off the Wildcats, who were celebrating Senior Night, down the stretch to earn a district and Central Ozark Conference win, 48-40, on Monday.
The Cardinals (9-12, 2-4 COC) held a small cushion by the end of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. Webb City built the advantage to double digits in the second half but Neosho (8-16, 0-7 COC) trimmed the deficit to two possessions late but couldn’t get any closer.
“It was a good win and it was a big game because one, it’s a conference game, and two, it’s a district opponent,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “We wanted to come down here and play well because it was Senior Night for them and we would probably see more enthusiasm on their side because they wanted to send the seniors off on a positive note.
“I thought we got off to a pretty good start but it was just one of those games where we couldn’t pull away from them. Neosho kept battling. Thankfully, our kids made some plays in the third and fourth quarter.”
GAME ACTION
Webb City held a four-point lead heading into the second period and opened the quarter with a 6-2 run to push the lead to 16-8. Sami Mancini had all three baskets in the paint to fuel the run. She finished with 10 points in the first half.
“She came off the bench tonight and I thought she did a great job,” Robbins said of Mancini. “Some of those baskets were off clean post moves and some were off the offensive glass. That is something we need from her every night.”
After a pair of free throws from Neosho’s Karlee Ellick, the Cardinals pushed the lead to 10 points on back to back buckets from Austyn Mickey to make the score 20-10 at the 3:20 mark.
Ellick and Maelynn Garrett closed out the first half with consecutive baskets to trim the Wildcats’ deficit to 20-14 by the intermission.
Ellick continued her strong play in the second half, putting the Wildcats on her back offensively. She scored eight points in the third quarter, including a pair of offensive rebounds for putback scores, to help Neosho keep the Cardinals’ lead within two possessions for much of the period.
“I thought Karlee Ellick did some really nice things tonight,” Neosho coach Ryan Madison said. “She battled a girl with a lot of size. … She has gotten better and better all year. She is taking care of the basketball a lot better and scoring the ball very well. … She is a very coachable kid. She is only a junior, so she can keep getting better.”
Webb City’s Izzy Lopez converted from the perimeter with 15 seconds left in the third to push the lead to 33-25 with eight minutes left to play.
Ellick opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play to trim the lead back to five, but Webb City’s Kate Brownfield responded with a three-point play of her own to push the margin back to eight. Mancini added a basket inside with 5:50 left to give the Cardinals their second double-digit lead of the game, 38-28. Brownfield proved to be the offensive catalyst for Webb City down the stretch, scoring all eight of her points in the fourth quarter.
“I thought Kate Brownfield was huge in the fourth quarter,” Robbins said. “We just went to her in the post and she was able to deliver for us. … We felt like she had a good matchup. Anytime we see someone Kate’s size or smaller on her, we are going to run her in the post because she is really good with her back to the basket.”
Neosho refused to go away, however, as Ellick had back-to-back inside scores with 2:25 left to cut the lead to five, 42-37. Five points would be as close to the lead as the Wildcats would get before the sound of the final horn.
SENIOR NIGHT
Neosho honored seniors Taigen Mitchell and Emily Phillips in front of the home crowd before tip.
“I have only coached them for two years, but for me, they have been extremely valuable by providing leadership,” Madison said. “As a new coach last year, they really helped with me transitioning in and to understand the program a little bit. They are two very nice kids who are great to be around. I wish we could have sent them off with a win tonight, but I thanked them for all they have done for the program and told them we are lucky to have them here.”
SCORING LEADERS
Mancini scored 10 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 17 points for Webb City. Mia Robbins closed with nine points, including two 3-pointers. Brownfield finished with eight, while Lopez added six points in the win.
Ellick finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Wildcats, with 15 of those points coming in the second half. Phillips finished with six points, while Beclynn Garrett and Maelynn Garrett each finished with five.
UP NEXT
Webb City is at Republic on Thursday.
Neosho is at Nixa on Thursday.
