Mount Vernon overcame an early double-digit deficit and rode a big second half to a 47-29 come-from-behind victory over Carl Junction in the championship game of the 24th annual Freeman-Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday afternoon inside Joplin High School’s Kaminsky Gymnasium.
After trailing by 12 early in the game, the Mountaineers finished strong, outscoring the Bulldogs 30-8 in the second half.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Mount Vernon coach Grant Berendt said. “They’re a very good team. Coach (Brad) Shorter has done an amazing job with that program. They know how to win games. I’m very proud of our kids. I think this is a really big win for us. This is something we can take and build on.”
In other action, Carthage defeated Leavenworth 71-40 for third place and McDonald County edged Joplin 36-34 for fifth place.
MOUNT VERNON 47, CARL JUNCTION 29
The Bulldogs led 24-17 early in the third quarter, but the Mountaineers finished the game on a 30-5 run.
“I think we ran out of gas,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “You could see that we got a little tired. We had a great effort in the first half. We played really hard and we were getting some good looks. We were able to get baskets from our motion offense. We started turning the ball over in the second half and I think our youth showed. And Mount Vernon hit some big shots. They’re a very good basketball team. But I was really proud of our kids’ effort.”
The Bulldogs got off to a great start, taking a 16-4 lead after Jessa Hylton’s free throws and Kylie Scott’s putback.
The Mountaineers (4-0) responded with a 13-2 run, capped by a corner trey from Ellie Johnston and a pair of free throws from Missouri Southern recruit Lacy Stokes.
Destiny Buerge drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 21-17 advantage at intermission.
Carl Junction led by seven early in the third period when the Mountaineers put together a game-changing 15-0 run.
Johnston hit three 3-pointers during the spurt, including a buzzer-beater to end the frame, while Stokes, Raegen Boswell and Allie Schubert all had hoops during the burst, giving Mount Vernon a 32-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs struggled taking care of the ball and also dealt with foul trouble throughout the second half, as Buerge picked up her fourth foul on a charge call late in the third period.
Johnston’s trey from the right wing pushed Mount Vernon’s lead to 38-27 with 4:15 to play.
“In the first half, I felt like we didn’t get some shots to fall that we typically do,” Berendt said. “I told them to keep shooting. We needed to be patient offensively, and we got some shots to fall in the third quarter. We rebounded the ball better and got the lead and then extended it.”
A senior guard, Johnston scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers to lead the Mountaineers, while classmate Stokes added 14 points.
Hylton scored 11 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Buerge and Scott finished with eight points apiece. Hannah Lee’s two points rounded out CJ’s scoring. Buerge and Hylton both fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Carl Junction is now 4-2 after going 2-1 at the event.
“It was a good week for us,” Shorter said. “We picked up a couple of wins. And making it to the championship game was important for us.”
CARTHAGE 71, LEAVENWORTH 40
Carthage ended the tourney on a high note, as all nine players scored and the Tigers hit 10 treys.
“From 1 to 9, our kids were offensively aggressive,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “Defensively, they were focused and tried to lock in.”
Three players scored in double figures for the Tigers, as Hailey Fullerton had 18 points, Kianna Yates added 14 and Lauren Wilson chipped in 10.
Raven Probert just missed double-digits with nine points on three treys, while Sophie Shannon added seven and Brinna Ream added six.
Aleshia Jones scored 20 points to lead Leavenworth.
Fullerton’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Carthage a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers took a 32-21 lead into the break.
After the Pioneers scored the first hoop of the third quarter, Carthage responded with a 17-0 run to take a comfy 49-23 lead.
Fullerton, Raven Probert and Presley Probert all drained treys in the final frame to put the finishing touches on the convincing win.
“They actually came out and scored the first basket and then we had a nice run after they scored,” Moore said. “They made adjustments on their press break and it took us some time to figure that out. But our girls are really smart about knowing where they’re supposed to transition and rotate. I’m proud of the fact that once they made an adjustment, our girls immediately responded. We’ve been focusing on answering runs with runs of our own.”
After winning two out of three at the event, the Tigers are now 5-2.
“It was three good basketball games for us,” Moore said of the week. “I liked our intensity and our scoring output. And we put up 71 on a pretty good team today. We’re pretty proud of our start to the season.”
MCDONALD COUNTY 36, JOPLIN 34
The tourney finale was deadlocked after three periods of play and went down to the wire.
Joplin trailed by four with a minute to play, but Brooke Nice hit a 3-pointer and Emma Floyd made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 34 with 48 seconds left.
The two teams then traded turnovers before McDonald County’s Adasyn Leach scored in the paint with four seconds left. Joplin’s last-second heave was off the mark.
“Our girls did a good job at the end,” Mustangs coach Sean Crane said. “We still have to figure out how to take care of the ball better and make layups. But we did a good job of coming through when it mattered. We had some young ladies step up. This tournament was pretty tough. We played a very good CJ team and a very good Carthage team. And Joplin is always a battle for us.”
Samara Smith scored 15 points to lead the Mustangs (3-4), while Kristen Penn added seven and Leach had six.
Brynn Driver led Joplin with 12 points, while Emma Floyd had 10 and Nice added seven. Serafina Auberry scored three points and Isabella Yust had two for the Eagles (3-5).
LADY EAGLE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Aleshia Jones, Leavenworth
Kianna Yates, Carthage
Hailey Fullerton, Carthage
Destiny Buerge, Carl Junction
Jessa Hylton, Carl Junction
Ellie Johnston, Mount Vernon
Lacy Stokes, Mount Vernon
