BY JARED PORTER

Webb City (4-4) used a strong first half to down Pittsburg (0-4).

The Cardinals scored the first eight points of the game and later went on a 12-4 run in the second quarter to take a 14-point advantage into halftime.

"I think we were playing with a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity," Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. "This was our first home game of the season, and we were excited to be here playing in front of a home crowd. We fed off of that a bit, and even though we got a little bit complacent in the second half, I thought our girls showed some grit by battling them off at the end."

Pittsburg managed to trim the deficit to six points midway through the fourth quarter after Ela Hendrickson made a layup on a second-chance opportunity.

The Cardinals outscored Pittsburg 11-8 the rest of the way.

"I felt like our girls just played hard the whole time," Pittsburg coach Kris Crotts said. "We just finally got some shots to fall (in the second half) to give ourselves a chance. … We just needed to clean things up defensively a little sooner in the first half to avoid playing from behind late in the game."

Webb City had two players score in double figures in Keira Jackson and Jaydee Duda, who scored 13 apiece.  

Joplin Globe 12/16/2108 (Used by permission)