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March 13, 2010

Webb City revels in victory

By Emily Younker

eyounker@joplinglobe.com

COLUMBIA, Mo. — As he spoke to the Globe on Saturday afternoon, Jeff Montgomery was standing in the concourse of Mizzou Arena, waiting for the Webb City High School girls basketball team to come up from the locker room.

When they arrived, the sound of cheering and screaming in the background drowned out Montgomery’s words for a moment.

“There’s a crowd of a couple hundred, maybe 200 or 300 people that are congratulating them as they come up the stairs as state champions,” he said. “It’s a great feeling.”

The girls basketball team beat Cape Girardeau Notre Dame 60-53 on Saturday in the MSHSAA Class 4 Tournament, earning them the state title.

Montgomery, a member of the Webb City Athletics Boosters Club, said the turnout in Webb City’s designated seating area in the arena was good, with the bleachers swimming in the school’s signature red and blue colors.

The crowd included a group of high-school students who came to cheer on their classmates, he said.

“They were loud and got into it,” Montgomery said. “The other team had a pretty good crowd, so they got to cheer back and forth.”

Montgomery said the game was “intense,” with both teams giving it their all, particularly in the beginning.

“The game was close early on and stayed close throughout the game until the fourth quarter, when we kind of pulled away,” he said. “As that run continued in the fourth quarter, it got louder and louder (in the arena). It was definitely a good time. It was not just a typical basketball game because pretty much every point mattered.”

Board of Education President Dan McGrew said the game was “one of those lifetime experiences.”

“It was a good game,” he said. “The girls all just (had) tears in their eyes and were excited.”

He said several of the Webb City supporters had painted their faces or spiked their hair to get in the spirit.

“I got some wax or something in (my hair) and got it up into a spike,” said McGrew, who last weekend shaved his hair into a mohawk after promising the girls that he would do so if they made it into the final four.

Superintendent Ron Lankford, who also attended Saturday’s championship game, said he was proud of the team, for both their athletic and academic achievements.

“For me, it was just really, really exciting to see a group of kids who have worked so hard finally accomplish a dream that they’ve had,” he said. “To see them focused and work hard was just really exciting.”

Lankford said he thought the turnout at the game was significant, estimating close to 1,000 people attended to cheer Webb City on to victory.

“On that side of the gymnasium, our side was full, and that’s a big gym up there, so we had a lot of people,” he said. “The crowd really got into it.”

Lankford said he got to visit the team in the locker room immediately following the game.

“If you’d been in that locker room, you’d have thought they just won a (regular) ballgame,” he said. “There was not any arrogance. They were just spent; they were worn out. I don’t think it’s really hit them (that they’re state champions).”

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