SENECA, Mo. — With a second double-digit win in as many nights, the Webb City girls basketball team definitely ended the 2022 portion of the schedule on a positive note.
Webb City rode a strong first quarter and a solid overall effort to a 60-44 victory over Seneca on Tuesday night in the ’22 finale.
The win comes one night after the Cardinals pounded Pittsburg (Kansas) 77-29.
“This is a positive way to end the first part of the season,” Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. “There’s a lot of good things we saw the last two nights that we can build on. These two wins give us some momentum going into the second half. We’ll use the next week and a half to work on some things and to try to get better. Hopefully we can use this win as a springboard going into the second half of the season.”
Hot-shooting Webb City used a 19-3 run in the first quarter to take control of the non-conference clash, and the Cardinals withstood Seneca’s mini-surge in the second half.
“I thought we had a good, solid performance all the way around,” Robbins said.
The Cardinals shot the ball well from the perimeter in the early going.
Webb City made five 3-pointers in the opening frame, with Kirra Long, Mia Robbins and Sami Mancini each knocking down one trey and Kate Brownfield hitting two of her own.
“I thought we shot the ball really well last night and I think our confidence grew from that,” Coach Robbins said. “We made our first couple of shots tonight and I think we fed off of that. But it all starts with our defense. Our defense leads us, and it helps us get good looks on the offensive end.”
Seneca sophomore guard Hazley Grotjohn kept her team within striking distance by scoring 10 first-quarter points. Webb City’s lead was 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals continued to knock down shots from beyond the arc in the second period, as Mancini, Izzy Lopez and Long all buried 3-pointers.
Those treys and a free throw from Malorie Stanley gave Webb City a comfortable 31-16 halftime advantage.
Grotjohn scored all but two of her team’s points in the first half.
The Cardinals faced some adversity in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-5 Mancini picked up her third, fourth and fifth fouls in just over a minute, with the disqualifying fifth foul coming at the 3:13 mark of the third quarter on what appeared to be a clean blocked shot.
“It was my fault that Sami got her fifth foul,” Coach Robbins said. “I didn’t get her out quick enough when she got her fourth. But we played three games without her at the Mac County tournament, so our girls know how to play without her on the floor.”
Seneca used a 10-4 run to cut what was once a 17-point deficit down to eight.
But late hoops from Long and Brownfield and a 3-pointer from Mia Robbins extended Webb City’s lead to 47-34 at the end of the third period.
Webb City’s lead was never in jeopardy in the fourth quarter, as it remained in double figures the rest of the way.
“We had several kids step up and hit big shots,” Coach Robbins said. “I thought Kirra Long came ready to play today and she hit some big shots. Mia hit a couple of big shots and Kate gave us another solid performance.”
Three players reached double figures for Webb City, as Brownfield and Long scored 17 points apiece and Mancini had 14 points and 20 rebounds.
A sophomore, Long made a trio of 3-pointers. A senior, Brownfield also had eight rebounds. A junior, Mia Robbins added eight points. Mia Robbins, Mancini and Brownfield all hit two 3-pointers apiece.
Grotjohn scored a game-high 29 points. She hit four treys and grabbed nine rebounds for the Indians, who fell to 2-5 on the season. Senior Parker Long contributed seven points for Seneca.
Webb City heads into the Christmas break with a 6-4 record.
After the break, Webb City is at Nevada on Jan. 3. Seneca hosts Clever on Jan. 2.
