It took Webb City less than half a quarter to shake off the holiday rust.
Playing in their first game in 21 days, the Cardinals were put in a 7-0 hole by Joplin early in the first quarter of Monday night's girls basketball contest at the Cardinal Dome. However, a dominant second quarter and a 30-point showing by senior Jaydee Duda ended up being more than enough for Webb City to take control down the stretch as the Cardinals claimed a 56-29 win over the Eagles in their Central Ozark Conference opener.
"We talked to the girls at halftime about that first three minutes of the game. It was a little bit rusty for us," Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. "We didn't look real effective that (quarter) because we hadn't played a game for 21 days. But after that, we played pretty good basketball."
The Cardinals (4-5, 1-0 COC) registered their first point of the game at the 4:18 mark of the first quarter when Duda was fouled on a layup attempt and knocked down one of her two ensuing free throws.
Webb City continued to claw its way back in the period and eventually made it a one-point game once Duda ended the quarter with a 2-point make on a runner in the paint.
Duda, shooting 14 of 26 from the floor for the night, stayed hot in the second quarter as she opened the period with six straight points. In a span that started late in the first quarter and ended early in the second, Duda had scored 11 straight points for Webb City.
"Jaydee did a terrific job tonight," Robbins said. "It was her first game playing point. We moved her to the point instead of off the ball, and we moved Sierra (Kimbrough) off the ball so it would free Sierra up to shoot a little bit more. I thought Jaydee did a terrific job of moving the ball and still getting her shot opportunities and creating for other people."
The Cardinals eventually went on a 22-0 run in the second quarter as a turnover- hindered Joplin team shot 0 of 8 from the floor.
"Another scoreless quarter, and we've got to get past that," Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. "We can't be a team that goes an entire quarter without scoring a point. And that's been two or three times this year that that's happened. "I thought in the second quarter especially Webb City just out-toughed us. ... It's a credit to them, but it's something we have to step up as a program and improve on."
Ball security proved to be the Eagles' biggest crux as they amassed 20 turnovers. Webb City scored more than 20 points off of Joplin turnovers.
"They're very aggressive and do a great job in the press," Floyd said of the Webb City defense. "They're very physical. ... We just became more timid and tried to force some stuff that wasn't there, and we lost some confidence in our ability. That led to a 22-0 quarter."
After turning a seven- point deficit to a 34-13 halftime lead, Webb City pushed its advantage in the second half to as many as 32 points.
A running clock was enforced once Kimbrough made a 3-pointer that put the Cardinals up 53-22 with 6:45 remaining in the game.
Kimbrough finished with 10 points and nine steals for Webb City, while Raven Vaughn added six points, six rebounds and three assists. Peyton Hawkins grabbed a teamhigh eight rebounds.
For Joplin (5-7, 0-2), Emma Floyd paced the scoring with nine points while tallying seven rebounds.
Serafina Auberry chipped in six points and Brooke Nice five points.
Joplin Globe 01/12/2021 (Used by permission)