WEBB CITY, Mo. — After a three week layoff, the Webb City girls basketball team simply needed a little time to shake off the rust.
And in the team’s 2021 debut, Webb City overcame a sluggish start and rode a huge second quarter run to a convincing 56-29 victory over Joplin on Monday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash inside the Cardinal Dome.
In action for the first time since Dec. 21, the Cardinals missed their first 10 field goal attempts. But a full-court press jump-started a 22-0 second quarter surge that allowed the hosts to take control for good.
“It had been 21 days since we’d played a game,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “We were a little rusty in the first few minutes of the game. We weren’t real effective, but that happens when you haven’t had a game for 21 days. But I thought after that, we played pretty good basketball.”
For the visiting Eagles, a scoreless second period was simply too much to overcome.
“Another scoreless quarter and we’ve got to get past that,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “We can’t be a team that goes an entire quarter without scoring a point. That’s two or three times it’s happened to us this year.”
Senior guard Jaydee Duda poured in 30 points to lead the Cardinals (4-5, 1-0 COC). Duda made 14 field goals, including one trey, and hit 1-of-3 free throws. Duda, who scored 22 points in the first half, also had five steals and four rebounds.
“Jaydee did a terrific job tonight,” Robbins said. “It was her first game playing point. We moved Jaydee to the point and Sierra (Kimbrough) off the ball. I thought Jaydee did a terrific job of handling the ball and still getting her shots while creating for other people. I’m proud of her for her effort.”
A senior guard, Kimbrough also reached double figures with 10 points and she was credited with nine steals. Senior Raven Vaughn chipped in six points and three assists, while junior Peyton Hawkins had a team-high eight rebounds.
Webb City shot 38 percent for the game (24-of-63).
Junior forward Emma Floyd scored nine points and had seven rebounds to lead Joplin (5-7, 0-2 COC), while sophomore Serafina Auberry added six points and junior Brooke Nice had five.
Brynn Driver had four rebounds and Lily Pagan handed out three assists.
The Eagles made 11-of-30 field goal attempts (37 percent). Webb City took advantage of 29 Joplin turnovers.
After taking an early seven point lead, Joplin was up 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.
“I thought we did a really good job in the first quarter,” Floyd said. “We got some layups. But we got a little timid in the second quarter, especially when they began to make their run. We started trying to force things that weren’t there.”
Webb City turned up the full-court pressure in the second quarter, and the hosts were able to generate offense from their defense.
The Cardinals put up 22 unanswered points in the second quarter, while the Eagles were stuck on 13 points for the entire eight minutes. Joplin had 18 turnovers in the first half.
“We couldn’t get in our press early because we couldn’t score in the first quarter,” Robbins said. “We were a little stagnant early. But our diamond press helped us generate some turnovers and helped us get some easy buckets. After we got into the flow of the game, we did a better job of scoring the basketball.”
“In the second quarter, Webb City just out-toughed us, out-physicaled us and just did everything better than us,” Floyd said. “They’re very aggressive and they do a great job in their press. It’s a credit to them, but we have to step up.”
The third quarter was nearly even, as Webb City outscored Joplin 10-9. Eagles sophomore Isabella Yust recorded a pair of hoops late in the third period, but the Cardinals were up comfortably 44-22 entering the fourth quarter.
Webb City scored the first nine points of the final frame, as Kate Brownfield, Vaughn and Duda contributed hoops and Kimbrough knocked down a 3-pointer, pushing the hosts’ advantage to 53-22 with 6:45 to play.
For the Cardinals, it was a nice way to begin conference play.
“Hopefully this is something we can build on,” Robbins said.
Floyd noted his Eagles will continue working to improve.
“There were some really good things tonight,” Floyd said. “That first quarter is something we can build on. The end of the third quarter we matched their intensity. We see good things in spurts. We just have to lengthen those spurts.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Both teams hit the road for conference games on Thursday, as Webb City is at Ozark and Joplin is at Branson.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
