Tag: Carl Junction girls basketball

A semifinal berth wasn’t meant to be for the Carl Junction Bulldogs. 

The second-ranked West Plains Zizzers took control early and knocked off Carl Junction 61-42 in a quarterfinal contest of the Class 5 state girls basketball tournament on Saturday at the West Plains Civic Center. 

In the quarterfinals for the fifth time in six seasons, Carl Junction finishes the season with a record of 18-9. 

Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter looked on the bright side after the season-ending setback. 

“If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we’d be 18-9 and in the quarterfinals, I would have taken it,” Shorter told SoMo Sports in a postgame phone interview. “I’m excited about what we’ve got and the consistency we’ve had in our program. Hopefully this is another step for us and hopefully we can go further next year.” 

The Bulldogs will return all but one player from this year’s squad, as Hannah Lee was the lone senior. 

“She was a part of a ton of wins,” Shorter said of Lee. “I can’t say enough about the kid. She works really hard and she’s definitely going to be successful in whatever she decides to do. We’re going to miss her. We wish her the best.” 

With just one starter back from last year’s 28-0 squad, youthful Carl Junction played the second half of the season without 6-foot-1 freshman forward Kylie Scott, a starter who suffered a season-ending wrist injury. 

Shorter noted his young squad gained a lot of valuable experience this season. 

“That’s huge going forward,” Shorter said. “We are very young. It was a season of ups and downs with injuries, quarantines and COVID and all that. With all of that, our youth made it difficult at times. But I thought our group really grew and progressed this year. I’m excited about what’s to come for this group and for our program.”

Ranked second in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, West Plains scored the game’s first 14 points and never looked back. 

Carl Junction finally got on the board with 3:15 remaining in the first period when Destiny Buerge hit three free throws. 

Klohe Burk’s layup was the only Carl Junction field goal of the opening frame, and the Zizzers led 18-5.

The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the second quarter before both teams had a number of empty possessions. Carl Junction also had several turnovers in the low-scoring frame.

The Zizzers scored five straight points before Jessa Hylton’s layup got the visitors into double figures. But Ashton Judd’s hoop just before the buzzer gave West Plains a 25-11 lead at intermission.

Facing an active zone defense, the Bulldogs struggled offensively throughout the first half, as shots simply would not fall. 

“They got off to that lead and we were struggling to make shots,” Shorter said. “They rebounded it exceptionally well. It was a big difference. I think a little bit of it was due to our youth and playing against a matchup zone. Our kids hadn’t seen it or experienced it yet or known the toughness of it. You have to tip your hat to West Plains.”  

A trey from Burk and Buerge’s breakaway layup, her first hoop of the game, cut Carl Junction’s deficit to 31-16 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

Buerge buried back-to-back treys late in the period, but Carl Junction trailed 39-23 entering the fourth quarter.

Treys from Buerge and Burk trimmed West Plains’ lead to 45-29 with 5:40 remaining, but there would be no comeback for the Bulldogs.

At the same time, Carl Junction scored 31 in the second half after being limited to 11 in the first two periods. 

“I certainly loved the charge we had in the second half,” Shorter said. “We were resilient and continued to work. They never gave up. I thought our kids really competed hard all the way until the final buzzer.” 

A sophomore guard, Buerge scored 20 points to lead the Bulldogs, with 16 coming in the second half. Buerge, who has already surpassed 1,000 career points as a sophomore, made four 3-pointers.  

Burk, another sophomore, scored 11 points with three treys. A junior, Hylton added six points. Sophomore Hali Shorter and junior Ellie Lawson are two other players who will return with starting experience next winter. 

Judd scored 22 points to lead the Zizzers and Allyssa Joyner had 15 points.

West Plains (27-3) advanced to Thursday’s semifinals, where they’ll meet Union (18-1) at 5 at JQH Arena in Springfield. It’s the first Final Four trip for the Zizzers in 23 years.

MONETT, Mo. — Destiny Buerge poured in 29 points in just three quarters and Klohe Burk scored 18 points in her second game in a Carl Junction uniform, as the pair of sophomore guards led the Bulldogs to a dominating 66-34 victory over the Monett Cubs on Monday night in a non-conference girls basketball clash. 

Ranked seventh in Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Carl Junction improved to 11-4.

The Bulldogs never trailed and used a 17-0 run in the first quarter to pull away for good.  

“Even with everything that’s gone on and with it being such a weird year, we have really improved in a lot of areas,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “I felt like in the Pittsburg game we saw a lot of things starting to click. We saw some really good things out of our girls offensively tonight. From here on out, our biggest key is going to be rebounding.” 

BUERGE’S BIG NIGHT

The 5-foot-6 Buerge made 11 field goals, with five 3-pointers.

Buerge scored 24 of her 29 points in an impressive first half. She had 15 points in the first quarter alone and sat out the final frame. 

“She shot it well,” Shorter said. “She’s obviously very capable of filling it up like that. I thought she was real efficient tonight. It wasn’t like she took a ton of shots. She shot at a high percentage. And she spread it around nicely with several assists. When she can do that, it’s good for us offensively.” 

NEW ADDITION

Burk, a 5-6 shooting guard, is a recent addition to the Carl Junction roster. Burk, who transferred from College Heights after her family moved to Carl Junction, made six shots, including four 3-pointers. 

Shorter noted Burk’s addition gives the Bulldogs more firepower in the backcourt. 

“The addition of Klohe has been a big help,” Shorter said. “She can handle the ball and she’s basketball savvy. She’s picked things up really fast. She works really hard. She’s getting more accustomed to what we’re trying to do here at CJ, offensively, defensively…set plays. And she’s fitting in really nicely with our group of girls.” 

Of course, Burk was one of College Heights’ top performers throughout the first half of the 2020-21 season.

Before the holiday break, Burk had a number of big games for College Heights. She scored 26 points against Diamond, put up 23 points against Lockwood and had 20 against New Covenant.  

Burk’s older sister Kaynahn is a senior and decided to finish her final year of high school at College Heights. 

Klohe Burk scored nine points in her CJ debut last week against Pittsburg.

Of course, Burk is still getting accustomed to her new teammates and coaches. 

She said it’s been a smooth transition. 

“Honestly, it’s been a really good experience,” Burk said. “Coach Shorter has helped me a lot. So have all the players. Everyone has been really welcoming. I really enjoy it (at CJ) and I’m having a lot of fun playing with these girls.” 

GAME RECAP

After scoring 17 unanswered points, Carl Junction led 25-7 by the end of the first quarter.

The Cubs turned it over nine times in the opening frame against Carl Junction’s pressure defense. 

The visitors outscored the hosts 25-8 in the second quarter, and a pair of treys from sophomore guard Hali Shorter gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 45-15 halftime advantage. 

Burk buried three treys in the third quarter and the Bulldogs were up 59-27.

In addition to Buerge’s 29 points and Burk’s 18, junior guard Jessa Hylton scored 10 points for the Bulldogs before leaving with an apparent ankle injury. Hali Shorter chipped in six. 

Carl Junction played without Kylie Scott. Shorter said the 6-1 freshman forward missed the game due to an injury. 

Natalie Turner scored 16 points to lead Monett (0-12). 

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Bulldogs are at Parkview on Tuesday night. 

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction girls basketball team dominated the Glendale Falcons at home on Thursday night, winning 61-40.

CJ had a huge first quarter, rattling off 24 points, thanks in large part to sophomore Destiny Buerge’s big night. She scored 13 points in the first quarter alone. Despite scoring the first basket of the game, Glendale quickly fell behind and would be unable to catch up the rest of the game. The Bulldogs led 24-9 at the end of the first.

The game slowed down in the second quarter as both teams started played stronger defense. Buerge went 2-for-4 from the line with four field goals to give her 19 points going into halftime. Junior Jessa Hylton also had two baskets from beyond the 3-point line, giving her 11 points in the first half. Glendale kept pace, adding eight points to their total to make the score 36-17 going into the break.

Buerge once again came out firing in the second half, scoring nine of the Bulldog’s 11 points that quarter. She also made her lone free throw after an impressive basket also led to the and-one. Glendale did their best to claw their way back, scoring 10 points of their own in the third, but even with an improved defense, the deficit was too much to overcome.

The Bulldogs entered the fourth sporting a 47-27 lead.

To finish out the game Buerge scored just one more basket, giving her 30 points on the night. “Destiny did a nice job of attacking the basket early,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “You never want to take the aggressiveness out of kids, so we are happy with her driving to the basket and providing opportunities for others.”

Although Buerge had a quiet fourth quarter, freshman Kylie Scott picked up the slack. She scored four baskets and accounted for eight of Carl Junction’s final 14 points.

As a team, the Bulldogs went 4-for-7 from the free throw line and also got two baskets by senior Hannah Lee.

“We wanted to have the same energy we had Monday, come out and make sure we are playing hard and playing together,” Coach Shorter said. “We did a better job not turning the ball over tonight, but we need to improve our rebounding. Glendale played some really strong defense, and we just wanted to make sure we had good sharp cuts, moved the ball and pushed it up the court.”

Coach Shorter was also honored with the 2019-2020 Missouri Coach of the Year Award, presented by MSHSAA and NFHS, in between games. The award is presented to an individual who has made a life-long commitment to the ideals of coaching interscholastic sports.

ANDERSON, Mo. —  Looking anything but rusty after a long layoff, the Carl Junction girls basketball team was clicking on all cylinders from the start.

In a 2021 debut to remember, the Bulldogs rode a 26-0 run in the first half to a commanding 60-24 non-conference victory over McDonald County on Monday night.

“The Christmas break was good for us,” Bulldogs coach Brad Shorter said. “We got a lot of work in. We were able to clean up some things over the break and I think it showed tonight. The kids were hungry when they came out tonight. Our kids came out and played hard.”

Sophomore guard Destiny Buerge scored 19 points to lead the Bulldogs, who improved to 7-2. Buerge scored 13 points in the opening frame. 

Junior Jessa Hylton added 15 points for Carl Junction, while sophomore Hali Shorter and freshman Kylie Scott contributed nine points apiece. Hylton hit three 3-pointers, while Shorter hit two treys and Scott buried one. Senior Hannah Lee scored six points and junior Ellie Lawson rounded out the scoring with two points. 

Senior Kristen Penn led the Mustangs (3-7) with nine points, while junior Adasyn Leach added seven.

Carl Junction hadn’t played in more than two weeks, but it was hard to tell. 

The Bulldogs put together a game-changing 26-0 surge that spanned the majority of the first quarter and the beginning of the second period to take control. By then, Carl Junction held a comfortable 28-3 advantage. 

The hosts finally stopped the spurt, but Hylton, Hali Shorter and Scott all hit treys late in the first half and the Bulldogs were up 42-14 at halftime. 

While the Mustangs struggled offensively against Carl Junction’s zone defense, the Bulldogs created offense from their defense or simply picked apart McDonald County’s halfcourt defense. 

“We made the extra pass quite a few times tonight,” Shorter said. “That gave us some really clean looks. And Destiny and Jessa are a great tandem up top. They were able to get a lot of steals and run-outs at the top of our zone, and that always helps our offense. I thought we just played good team basketball.” 

Penn scored seven points early in the third quarter for the Mustangs, but the Bulldogs closed the period on a 10-3 burst to take a 56-24 lead.

With that, there was a running clock in the final frame. 

Carl Junction hosts Glendale on Thursday night in another non-conference clash.

KATIE SCOTT RECOGNIZED AGAIN

Former Carl Junction standout Katie Scott, now a freshman at Grand Canyon, has been named the Western Athletic Conference’s women’s basketball player of the week for the third consecutive time. 

Scott scored 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds and three steals this past Sunday in a 106-55 win over Park. Scott has scored 20 or more points in six of her team’s nine games and is leading the WAC in scoring with 20.7 points per game.

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. —  The Carl Junction Bulldogs didn’t get off to a particularly strong start on Thursday night, as the hosts managed just one field goal in the opening frame.

But it’s not how you begin, it’s how you finish.  

Carl Junction shook off the slow start and did more than enough to earn a 44-31 win over Springdale (Ark.) in a non-conference girls basketball contest. 

After the sluggish first quarter, Carl Junction outscored Springdale 41-27 the rest of the way. 

“It was a very slow start,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “We just didn’t come out with the energy we needed to have. We talked about that at halftime and we challenged the kids. We had much better energy in the second half. But we’ve got to get going right from the get-go and not wait.” 

Sophomore guard Destiny Buerge scored 21 points to lead Carl Junction. Buerge scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half and hit a pair of treys. 

Junior guard Jessa Hylton added 11 points for Carl Junction, while freshman Kylie Scott had seven. Also for CJ, Hali Shorter scored three points and Hannah Lee had two. 

Nevaeh Griffin scored 13 points for Springdale and Mary Hawkins added 10. These two programs have met for several years now in an interstate clash. 

“Their kids play hard and they play smart,” Shorter said of Springdale. “We’ve had this contest the last four or five years. It’s always a good contest because both teams play hard.” 

Buerge’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer accounted for Carl Junction’s lone hoop of the first quarter, and Springdale had a 4-3 advantage. 

The hosts picked it up in the second quarter, often turning Springdale’s turnovers into hoops in transition.

The visitors led 9-5 when Carl Junction used a 10-2 run in the second quarter to take the lead for good. 

Hylton’s steal and layup gave the hosts a 19-15 halftime advantage.

“A lot of the lack of energy caused us to keep the ball on one side of the floor,” Shorter said. “We didn’t move the ball very well. Late in the first half, we started to move it a little bit. We were able to get a few transition points and those were important. I feel like we’re scoring too much from our defense and not enough from our offense.” 

Carl Junction closed the third quarter on a 10-2 surge, as Buerge and Hali Shorter both hit 3-pointers, while Buerge contributed a pair of free throws and a runner in the lane to give the host Bulldogs a 29-19 lead heading into the final frame. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Hylton drained a trey and Buerge scored on a drive through the lane, pushing Carl Junction’s lead to 34-19.

It was a lead the hosts would never relinquish. 

Carl Junction improved to 6-2. The team’s lone losses have come to Nixa and Mount Vernon in tournament championship games. 

“I think we’re getting better,” Shorter said. “We’re young. We’re seeing a variety of teams and different styles of play and how to adapt to that.” 

Carl Junction was scheduled to play at Monett on Monday, but the game has been rescheduled for Jan. 25.