PITTSBURG, Kan. — A late surge fell short for the Webb City girls basketball team.
Pittsburg (Kansas) finished strong to earn a hard-fought 53-49 victory over Webb City in a non-conference clash on Monday night.
The Cardinals trailed by just one with 19 seconds left, but the Purple Dragons converted 3 of 4 attempts at the charity stripe late in the game to secure the win.
Webb City held a seven-point lead in the first half but found themselves down eight in the third quarter.
Trailing by five early in the game, Webb City used a 10-0 run to take a 12-7 advantage. The surge was capped by a hoop inside by Adalyn Maxwell and a 3-pointer by Malorie Stanley.
Pittsburg’s Jaqueline Hall buried a buzzer-beating trey, cutting Webb City’s lead to two at the end of the opening frame, 12-10.
Picking apart the hosts’ zone defense, the Cardinals took a 21-14 lead in the second quarter after baskets from Jenna Schulz, Kirra Long, Addie Burns and Abby Sargent.
But the Purple Dragons turned things around and finished the first half on a game-changing 13-2 run for a 27-23 halftime advantage.
A back and forth third period, which featured 21 combined free throws, ended with Pittsburg up 38-33.
The Cardinals pulled within one at 42-41 after a pair of 3-pointers from Stanley and a hoop inside by Burns. But the Dragons reeled off four straight points.
Stanley’s fourth trey of the fourth quarter trimmed Webb City’s deficit to one with 27 seconds left.
Pittsburg’s Hall and Webb City’s Whitlee Keith each made two free throws, with Keith’s charities cutting the PHS lead to 50-49 with 19 seconds left.
Next, Pittsburg’s Alyssa Hotze drew a foul with 16 seconds remaining. Hotze made the first free throw and missed the second. But the hosts were able to snag the offensive rebound after the missed free throw and the Cardinals were forced to foul.
Hotze knocked down two free throws with 10 seconds left for a 53-49 cushion before the Cardinals missed a last-second field goal attempt.
A senior guard, Stanley led the Cardinals with 16 points. She made five 3-pointers.
Schulz and Burns contributed eight points apiece for Webb City, while Sargent scored six.
The Cardinals went 9-for-19 from the foul line, while the Dragons were 18-for-27.
Hall scored 20 points for Pittsburg, while Hotze added 18 and Ava Heardt had 10.
Webb City (2-7) hosts Seneca (1-6) on Tuesday night in the team’s final contest of 2023.
