There's no place like home.
The Webb City Cardinals would likely agree with that statement.
In their respective home openers, Webb City's girls and boys basketball teams both snapped three-game skids on Tuesday night inside the friendly confines of the Cardinal Dome.
The Webb City girls came from behind to beat McDonaldCounty 52-44 in the opener of a nonconference twinbill, and the Webb City boys were in control from the start in a 79-47 rout over the Mustangs.
After trailing by 10 in the third quarter, Webb City suddenly turned things around by putting together a game-changing 18-0 run in the fourth quarter.
"We finally started playing with some energy," Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. "Our energy level wasn't very good in the first three quarters. We didn't play well as a team in the first three quarters. We challenged our girls to play with more intensity and effort and they started to play inspired basketball."
During the late surge, the Cardinals utilized a full-court press to force the Mustangs into a number of turnovers.
"We started to do some good things on the defensive end," Robbins said. "We got some easy buckets out of our press and I think that gave us some confidence."
A pair of junior guards led Webb City (3-4), as Jaydee Duda scored 16 points and Sierra Kimbrough had 15 points and three assists. Senior Keira Jackson added eight points and six rebounds, while sophomore Kenzie Robbins contributed nine rebounds and eight points.
The Cardinals, who were coming off three losses at the Bentonville Tournament, made 15-of-43 field goal attempts and 19-of-38 free throws.
McDonald County junior Kristin Penn scored 11 points and had seven rebounds, while senior Jaylie Sanny added 10 points. Rita Santillan and Ragan Wilson chipped in five points and five assists apiece.
The Mustangs (3-4), who connected on 20-of-45 field goal attempts and 2-of-5 free throws, finished the first half on an 8-3 run and led 27-21 at halftime.
The visitors scored six straight in the third period, with hoops from Penn, Sanny and Laney Wilson, to go up 35-25. With Kimbrough and Duda leading the charge, the Cardinals outscored the Mustangs 24-9 in the final frame.
"We were playing well despite foul trouble, but then about four possessions in a row didn't go our way," Mustangs coach Chris Kennedy said. "We got in a funk. We were trying to do too much instead of just playing the way we usually do. We didn't put four quarters together."
Webb City will host the Lady Cardinal Classic from Dec. 26-28, while Mc-Donald County hosts Carthage on Thursday.
Joplin Globe 12/18/2019 (Used by permission)