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PREP HOOPS ROUNDUP: Carthage girls nearly upset Nixa; Carl Junction drops twinbill to Republic; McAuley girls roll; Carthage boys top Hillcrest

By:
SoMo Sports staff reports

 

CARTHAGE GIRLS HANG TOUGH WITH NIXA

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Scott Moore was definitely proud of the effort. 

Moore’s Carthage High School girls basketball team hung tough with one of the state’s best squads, but ultimately suffered a 52-45 loss to Nixa.

“We went toe-to-toe with the No. 5 team in the state tonight and had several chances to come away with the victory,” Moore told SoMo Sports. “We had two great practices leading into tonight and I felt we could pull off the upset and we almost did. Our girls played great on-ball defense tonight. I’m so proud of the effort on the defensive end.”

The Eagles led 21-19 at the end of the first period. The visitors were up 32-28 at halftime. Nixa was clinging to a 38-37 lead entering the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, the Eagles outscored the Tigers 14-8.

“We need to focus more on the offensive end,” Moore said. “We aren’t going to win many games by scoring in the 40s. We’ve got to make more shots at all three levels of the court…in the paint, midrange and 3-point line.”

Kianna Yates led Carthage with 14 points, while Lauren Choate added 12. Presley Probert contributed nine points, while Maggie Boyd had eight.

Macie Conway led Nixa with 12 points, while Ali Kamies added 11. 

Carthage (6-9, 0-2 COC) will return to action at next week’s Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas. Carthage meets Cassville at 4 on Thursday. 

 

CARTHAGE BOYS 59, HILLCREST 50

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Max Templeman scored 21 points to lead Carthage to a 59-50 win over Hillcrest. 

Clay Kinder and Justin Ray contributed 12 points apiece for the Tigers, while Joel Pugh added nine points.

Carthage led 18-16 at the half and 34-31 at the end of the third period. The Tigers outscored the Hornets 25-19 in the fourth quarter. 

Carthage, now 12-2, will compete at next week’s Ralph Miller Classic in Chanute, Kansas.

 

CARL JUNCTION GIRLS FALL AT HOME

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction’s girls basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit and took the lead early in the fourth quarter, but Republic finished the game on a 15-4 run to secure a 52-43 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday night in Central Ozark conference action.

Both teams are ranked by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Carl Junction (11-4, 1-1 COC) is ranked fifth in Class 5, while Republic (8-4, 1-0 COC) is ranked 10th in Class 6. 

Destiny Buerge scored 31 points for the Bulldogs. She had 18 of CJ’s 24 first half points. Kylie Scott added eight points for Carl Junction. 

Kaemyn Bekemeier scored 15 points to lead Republic, while Mihane Nambara added 12 points.

Republic scored the game’s first 11 points, but Carl Junction’s deficit was just six at the end of the opening period at 14-8. 

After eight straight points from Buerge, the Bulldogs took their first lead at 24-23, but a hoop inside by Republic’s Eternity Knotts gave the Tigers a 25-24 halftime advantage. 

Republic’s lead was 37-35 entering the fourth quarter. Two hoops from Buerge gave Carl Junction a 39-37 lead early in the fourth period before the Tigers scored 10 unanswered points as part of their 15-4 game-ending surge. 

The Bulldogs will compete at next week’s Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas. Carl Junction meets tourney host Pittsburg at 5:30 on Thursday. 

 

REPUBLIC BOYS 75, CARL JUNCTION 46

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Republic’s boys led 24-15 at the end of the first quarter and 39-24 at intermission en route to the COC win.

The visitors outscored the hosts 22-10 in the third period for a 61-34 advantage. 

Ayden Bard scored 19 points to lead Carl Junction, while Kyler Perry and Josh Cory added seven points apiece. 

Ahlante Askew scored 24 points for Republic, while Devon McMillin added 17. 

Carl Junction’s boys (3-12) are at Monett next Friday. 

 

MCAULEY GIRLS 61, VERONA 19

VERONA, Mo. — McAuley Catholic lost talented senior guard Kayleigh Teeter to an injury in the first quarter but rallied as a team to earn the win over Verona on Friday.

McAuley took a 12-6 lead into the second quarter before pulling out to a 26-14 advantage by the intermission. The Warriors outscored the Wildcats 35-5 in the second half to pull away to the win.

“The storyline of this game is that we learned a lot about ourselves and how we can come together and play as a team when one of our key players goes down with an injury,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said to SoMo Sports. “After Kayleigh hurt her knee early in the first quarter, we played timid and were more concerned with her health than playing the game. We collected ourselves at halftime and played much better in the second half.

“My reserve players did a great job in filling in the void tonight. Several girls played roles they weren’t used to and did a great job.” 

Avery Eminger led McAuley with 19 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter. Kennedy DeRuy and Lily Black each finished with 14 points to give McAuley three players in double-figure scoring. Kloee Williamson added eight points in the win.

“Lily Black and Avery Eminger both set career highs in points,” Howard said. “Avery Gardner hit some key shots in the 4th and Kloee Williamson played terrific defense. I’m proud of the way they executed in the second half and finished the game.”

McAuley takes part in the Lancer Classic on Jan. 17.

 

VERONA BOYS ROLL PAST WARRIORS

VERONA, Mo. — Verona won the boys game over McAuley 84-40.

The Wildcats held a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. Verona was up 48-12 at halftime. 

Michael Parrigon scored 10 points for the Warriors. Jaiden Carasquillo scored 25 points to lead Verona, while Jacob Stellwagen added 21. 

McAuley (3-10) is at the Lancer Classic next week. 

 

 

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