COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 58, SARCOXIE 41
The College Heights Christian School girls basketball team finished the regular season on a high note by beating Sarcoxie on Thursday night.
“We had another great team effort tonight with very balanced scoring,” College Heights coach John Blankenship told SoMo Sports. “We shot 54 percent from 3-point range, with four players hitting from the 3-point line. Other than a couple of short stretches, we played well tonight. It was a great way for our seniors to finish out the regular season.”
Libby Fanning led the Cougars with 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Jayli Johnson compiled 11 points, five assists and three steals.
Also for the Cougars, Maddy Colin had 10 points, Addie Lawrence scored eight, Kinley Marsh added six and Ava Lett scored five points to go with three assists. Allie Stout contributed four points and Jesalin Bever had two.
“Lauren Ukena played her normal great defense with seven steals and several deflections,” Blankenship noted.
The Cougars are now 15-11 ahead of the postseason.
College Heights is the top seed and the host for the Class 2 District 12 tournament. The Cougars will meet either fourth-seeded Wheaton or fifth-seeded Purdy in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 at their athletic complex gymnasium.
NIXA GIRLS 74, WEBB CITY 42
NIXA, Mo. — Webb City fell to 15-9 overall and 5-3 in the Central Ozark Conference with Thursday’s setback against Class 6 No. 7 Nixa.
After a close first half, Nixa outscored Webb City 42-17 after the break.
Webb City got a boost from its bench in the first quarter, as Malorie Stanley hit a pair of 3-pointers and Dawsyn Decker scored two hoops inside to give the Cardinals a 17-12 lead at the end of the first period.
The Eagles outscored the Cardinals 20-8 in the second period for a 32-25 halftime advantage.
The Cardinals were plagued by empty possessions and turnovers in the third period and the hosts took a double-digit lead.
Webb City received hoops from Sami Mancini, Kirra Long, Decker and Stanley late in the third quarter, cutting the visitors’ deficit to 10. But Nixa scored the final seven points of the frame, five at the foul line, to take a 55-38 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles won the final period 19-4 for the final margin.
Nixa improved to 18-6 and 5-2 in the conference. Laila Grant led the Eagles with 19 points and Norah Clark added 16.
Stanley scored nine points for the Cardinals, while Kate Brownfield and Mancini added seven points apiece. Decker scored six points, while Long and Izzy Lopez added five points apiece and Mia Robbins had three.
There were 52 fouls called and the two teams combined to shoot 69 free throws. Nixa went 32-for-45 at the foul line, while Webb City made 12-of-24 at the charity stripe.
Webb City hosts Class 5 No. 1 Carl Junction on Monday night in the regular season finale for both squads.
BRANSON GIRLS 68, JOPLIN 34
BRANSON, Mo. — Branson took control in the second quarter on the way to a Central Ozark Conference win over Joplin on Thursday.
The Pirates held a seven-point lead heading into the second quarter before outscoring the Eagles 21-7 to build a 22-point lead by halftime. Branson put the game out of reach in the third period.
Alissa Owens had 18 points to lead Joplin in scoring. Izzy Yust added five in the loss.
Joplin is at McDonald County on Tuesday.
EL DORADO SPRINGS GIRLS 61, NEVADA 54
NEVADA, Mo. — Ranked first in Class 3, El Dorado Springs hiked its record to 21-5 with a close road win over the Tigers inside Wynn Gymnasium.
Nevada ends the regular season with a record of 19-6.
Maddy Majors led the Tigers with 20 points and Clara Swearingen added 17 points.
Macie Mays scored 21 points to lead the Bulldogs and Neely Schaaf added 17.
El Dorado Springs led 30-25 at halftime and Nevada was up 43-42 at the end of the third period.
The visitors outscored the hosts 19-11 in the fourth quarter.
Nevada will compete at the Class 4 District 13 tournament in Pleasant Hill.
NEVADA BOYS 53, EL DORADO SPRINGS 49
NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada held an 18-point lead in the third quarter before El Dorado Springs pulled within two late in the game.
But the Tigers held on late, as Cade Beshore and Jack Cheaney both connected on key free throws in the final minute for the hosts.
Beshore and Cheaney scored 11 points apiece for the Tigers (13-13), while Drew Beachler added 10.
Landon Murry scored 18 points for Class 3 No. 10 El Dorado Springs (20-5), with 16 coming in the fourth period.
In the regular season finale, the Tigers held a 32-14 halftime advantage, and the hosts were up 37-28 at the end of the third period.
Nevada will compete at the Class 4 District 13 tournament in Pleasant Hill.
