ANDERSON, Mo. — Carl Junction kicked off its third tournament of the young season with a 69-49 win over Alma on Monday at the Lady Mustang Classic hosted by McDonald County High School.
Also locally, Webb City fell 50-22 to Bentonville West, while the host Mustangs fell to Fort Smith Southside by the score of 58-37.
CARL JUNCTION OPENS THIRD TOURNAMENT WITH WIN
Carl Junction is playing in its third tournament of the season and after winning the CJ Classic as the hosts two weeks ago and finishing second at the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic last weekend, the Bulldogs started the Lady Mustang Classic on a high note—defeating Alma 69-49 in the opening round to move onto the semifinals.
“It is always our focus to prepare ourselves to be successful at the end of the year, and hopefully we can make a postseason run,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said when asked how tournament play helps prepare for the postseason. “Obviously, with the state changing the rule to being able to play in as many tournaments as you want, we’re going to get into as many tournaments as we can in the next few years to prepare us for tournament play at the end of the year. I am very proud of our kids. Three tournaments in three weeks with an extra game in there, they have to be tired. I am tired and worn out. They fought really hard tonight against a really good team.”
After building an eight-point lead by the intermission, Carl Junction (6-2) started the second half on a 12-0 run to take all of the momentum on the way to building a 20-point lead. The margin pushed as high as 26 in the second half, with the Bulldogs cruising to their third opening-round tournament win of the season.
“I thought our kids probably played our best game all year as far as playing clean and efficiently,” Shorter added. “We took good shots, moved the ball extremely well and rebounded well. When you play a zone (defense) like we do, teams are going to hit 3s just like if you press you’re going to give up layups. Being able to sift through it and understand how to close out on shooters and show to non-shooters, our kids did a really good job of that tonight. They also did an excellent job of getting hands on passes and in the passing lane, and I thought that was the difference tonight.”
GAME ACTION
Carl Junction led 13-12 in the first quarter after Alma’s Kenzie Rushing converted from the perimeter with less than two and a half minutes to play. The Bulldogs responded with a quick 8-0 spurt to build a 21-12 lead. The run was fueled by a midrange bucket from Anna Burch, a second-chance 3-pointer from Klohe Burk and a 3-ball from Hali Shorter, with the assist going to Burk off the drive and kick.
“It is a confidence builder,” Coach Shorter said of the early run. “Our kids shot it well tonight, but I thought we took good shots and I thought we passed the ball so much better. When we pass the ball that well, we put kids in a position to catch and shoot.”
The Bulldogs pushed the first-half advantage to 38-24 with 1:17 to play in the second quarter when Destiny Buerge came up with seven points in a 9-2 run, including a 3-pointer in the corner off the assist from Kylie Scott.
“Kylie is a stud,” Shorter said of Scott’s ability to influence a game. “She catches the ball at the high post and there are so many things she can do. She can drag it out and hit a 3, she can drive to the basket and she can pass really well. Her presence is huge. We lost that last year about halfway through the year, so you can see what kind of an impact she has with this team.”
Alma didn’t go away easily however, switching to the press the final 60-plus seconds of the period and forcing CJ into a couple mistakes while closing the half on a 7-1 run to trim the deficit to eight, 39-31. Presli Taylor and Halyn Carmack each converted from the perimeter in the run.
Carl Junction punched back to start the second half, essentially putting the game away by opening the third quarter on a 12-0 run to build a 20-point lead, 51-31, while keeping the Airedales scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of action.
“We focus on the first five minutes of the second half,” Coach Shorter said. “We talk about the little things like that because I think it is important for our girls to understand that it is 0-0 at halftime. Whatever lead we have is a little cushion, but when we come out, it is 0-0 and we want to see what you’ve got. I challenged them and they rose to the occasion for sure.”
Scott started the run with a bucket inside before Buerge knocked down a stepback 3-ball from the wing off the assist from Scott. After two free throws by Buerge, Burk splashed home a triple from the corner with the assist going to Scott. Ellie Lawson closed out the run with a bucket.
“She took great shots,” Shorter said of Burk. “She was shot-ready when she caught it, and she can hit them from 25 feet out. She took great shots and she passed the ball well. She has been playing outstanding, and so has Ellie Lawson. She does so many important little things, being in on plays, getting tips and keeping the ball alive. I am so proud of her, and Hali, too.”
The Bulldogs added an 8-0 run early in the fourth to push the lead to a game-high 26 points, 63-37.
SCORING LEADERS
Buerge led all scorers with 31 points, 13 coming in the second quarter. Burk made three 3-pointers on the way to 15 points, while Shorter and Scott each finished with six points.
Taylor had 15 to lead Alma in the scorebook, while Jordan Gramlich finished with eight and Rushing with seven.
UP NEXT
Carl Junction takes on Fort Smith Southside in the Lady Mustang Classic semifinals at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
BIG SECOND QUARTER LEADS WOLVERINES PAST CARDINALS
Webb City trailed by four after the first eight minutes before Bentonville West went on a 15-2 run in the second period en route to the 50-22 victory in the opening round of tournament play on Monday.
The Cardinals fall to 2-4 and match up with Frontenac at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Bentonville West led 9-5 after the first quarter before outscoring Webb City by 13 in the second quarter to take a 24-7 lead into the intermission. The Wolverines added to their lead in each of the final two quarters on the way to clinching the win.
Ripley Shanks led Webb City with four points, while Izzy Lopez, Kate Brownfield and Sami Mancini each finished with three in the loss.
Laynee Tapp had 15 to lead Bentonville West, while Ivorionna Johnson had eight.
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE PULLS AWAY FROM MUSTANGS
McDonald County went into the intermission trailing 23-20 before Fort Smith Southside outscored the Mustangs 17-7 in the third quarter to swing the momentum. The Mavericks didn’t let up down the stretch to seal the 58-37 win.
The Mustangs match up against Alma at 6 on Tuesday.
Samara Smith led McDonald County with 11 points, while Addy Leach closed in double figures with 10. KaitLynn Townsend finished with six points in the loss.
Sierra Smith and Sophia Neihouse finished with 15 points to lead Fort Smith Southside, while Addi Branham and Dylon McCord finished with five each.
