CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction girls basketball team captured the program’s sixth straight district championship on Thursday night.
It was far from easy.
In fact, it’s safe to say the Webb City Cardinals definitely made the Bulldogs earn it.
In an all-out slugfest, top-seeded Carl Junction edged third-seeded Webb City 55-52 in the intense championship game of the Class 5 District 12 tournament inside a packed Carl Junction High School gymnasium.
The Bulldogs overcame a nine-point deficit and Carl Junction’s biggest lead of the game was four.
“I told the girls the last two days in practice that this was going to be a one or two possession game,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “I had a really strong feeling about that. We took some big shots on the chin and we were able to subside. We kept fighting. I’m really proud of our girls. They really came out and played well in the second half.”
In the end, the Bulldogs made a few more plays down the stretch to secure a hard-fought, season-saving victory.
Said Shorter: “We have such a young team, and we were at a point where it was like, ‘What are you going to do? Are you going to keep fighting or are you going to fold it up and go home?’ They did exactly what I was hoping they would do…fought.”
Carl Junction (17-8) will meet District 11 champion McDonald County (13-14) on March 10 in the sectional round at a location to be determined.
The Cardinals (10-15) saw the season end with the close setback.
Webb City coach Lance Robbins was definitely proud of his team’s gritty performance.
“I thought our girls played hard,” Robbins said. “I told them in the locker room that they have nothing to hang their heads about. I thought they competed very well tonight for four quarters. I was proud of their effort overall. Sometimes the other team just makes one or two more plays than you.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Sophomore guards Destiny Buerge and Hali Shorter combined to score 50 of Carl Junction’s 55 points.
Buerge led Carl Junction with 35 points on 10 field goals and 15 free throws to go along with 11 rebounds.
Shorter scored 15 points with three key 3-pointers. She also went 4-for-4 at the foul line and pulled down six boards.
Only two other players scored for the Bulldogs, as sophomore Klohe Burk hit three free throws and senior Hannah Lee made one field goal. Lee grabbed seven rebounds.
Carl Junction made 15-of-48 field goal attempts (31 percent) and hit 22-of-28 free throws.
Three players scored in double figures for the Cardinals, as senior guard Jaydee Duda had 15 points, senior guard Sierra Kimbrough added 11 and sophomore forward Kate Brownfield scored 10 points to go with 10 boards.
Juniors Peyton Hawkins and Ripley Shanks contributed six points apiece, while freshman Mia Robbins had nine rebounds, four points and three assists.
Webb City shot 38 percent (18-of-48) from the floor and went 11-of-22 at the foul line.
Duda and Kimbrough played their final game for the Cardinals.
“Our seniors weren’t ready to be done tonight,” Robbins said. “They played their tails off.”
GAME RECAP
Carl Junction defeated Webb City 76-50 a few weeks ago, but the rematch was a nailbiter.
Want proof? This one featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.
In a district championship game for the seventh straight season under Coach Shorter, Carl Junction led 8-7 at the end of an intense and low-scoring first quarter.
Webb City took its first lead at 16-14 when Robbins scored in the lane, but Shorter’s runner tied the game at 16.
The Cardinals finished the first half on a 9-4 run to take a 25-20 halftime lead.
During the surge, Kimbrough hit a 3-pointer, Shanks recorded a pair of putbacks and Duda scored just before the buzzer. All four of CJ’s points came on Buerge free throws.
Buerge had 18 of CJ’s 20 first-half points.
The Cardinals scored six of the first eight points of the third period to take a nine-point lead at 31-22, but the hosts eventually tied the game at 33 on Buerge’s short turnaround jumper.
Webb City received one free throw from Hawkins before Carl Junction’s Shorter buried a go-ahead trey from the top of the key.
But Duda’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave fired-up Webb City a 37-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The game was deadlocked at 41 with 4:44 remaining. The Cardinals got two hoops in the paint from Brownfield while Shorter knocked down another big 3-pointer on the other end, cutting Webb City’s lead to 45-44.
The clash was tied at 47 with 1:30 remaining when Buerge put back a missed shot and drew a foul. Her old-fashioned 3-point play pushed the Bulldogs in front 50-47 with 1:07 left.
Webb City’s Hawkins hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, but Buerge drew a foul and hit both of her attempts at the line for a 52-48 lead with 49 seconds left.
The Cardinals then turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but the Bulldogs had an empty possession before Webb City’s Duda scored on a quick drive the other way, making it a two-point game with 22 seconds to play.
The visitors fouled Shorter and she calmly sank two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
“I felt like Hali was the difference maker,” Coach Shorter said of his daughter’s play. “She really hit some big shots and some big free throws tonight.”
Once again, Duda streaked coast-to-coast for another layup, cutting her team’s deficit to two with just 4.5 seconds remaining.
The hosts got to the foul line with three seconds left and Burk made 1-of-2 to keep her team’s lead at three, 55-52.
Next, the Cardinals rebounded the missed free throw, but they were unable to get off a potential game-tying shot before the buzzer sounded.
“We just had to play hard and go all out,” said Buerge, who banged up her left elbow, but stayed in the game. “I think we just picked up the pressure a little more and played harder defense and rebounded better than we did in the first half.”
Shorter noted it was a team effort.
“We had some kids step up late,” Coach Shorter said. “Destiny is such a competitor. Hali hit some big shots and key free throws, and so did Klohe.
“What was also very important was how Ellie Lawson and Hannah Lee played,” Shorter added. “Hannah rebounded the basketball and Ellie moved the basketball and set good screens to get kids open. You have to have players do those things.”
A PROUD COACH
Webb City had won three of four games heading into Thursday’s showdown.
Coach Robbins noted he was proud of how his team concluded the season, including a district semifinal win over second-seeded Nevada that put the Cardinals in the title game.
“They never gave up and they never quit,” Robbins said. “We faced a lot of adversity this year. We’ve had several issues from the start to the end…from injuries to different things off the court we’ve dealt with. I felt like our girls stuck to competing hard every time they stepped on the floor and playing hard night in and night out. I think these last three games really showed that.”
RECENT HISTORY
In 2015, the first of seven straight district title game appearances, Carl Junction fell to McDonald County 38-35.
But the Bulldogs have now captured six straight district crowns.
Carl Junction defeated Carthage in the 2016 title game, Cassville in ’17 and Webb City in each year from ’18-21.
Along the way, the program has featured standout players like Brenlee McPherson, Alex Vogt, Emma Frack, Megan Scott, Shila Winder and of course, last year’s Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year Katie Scott.
Shorter noted this year’s young squad is continuing the tradition of a deep postseason run.
“That’s a testament to the girls,” Shorter said. “We’ve had great players and a lot of great kids here that worked hard. I’ve been fortunate to have them and a great coaching staff. It feels good.”
Congratulations to the class 5 District 12 Champions pic.twitter.com/q6SiAr9U8p
— Bulldog Sports (@CJHSAthletics) March 5, 2021
