By Anvil Welch

awelch@joplinglobe.com

There was little that Joplin coach Ben Glasgow didn’t appreciate about the performance of his team on Saturday.

Joplin evened its record at 3-3 by beating Springdale Har-Ber 63-53 for fifth place in the 12th annual Freeman /Lady Eagle Classic in Kaminsky Gymnasium.

“It was sure good to do it in front of the home crowd, too,” Glasgow said Sunday.

There was no doubt about the numbers that Glasgow found most appealing.

“We had three turnovers in the first half and seven for the game,” Glasgow said. “We were much more under control.

“We also made our own breaks as opposed to getting some breaks,” Glasgow said. “We showed some mental toughness. We played eight people on Saturday. All eight made a contribution.”

Joplin received 24 points from 5-foot-10 senior Jessica Hill, 16 from 5-6 junior May Lee and 13 from 5-7 sophomore Jessie McMullen.

Said Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright: “That No. 30 (Hill) played a great game. No. 40 (Lee) played well.

“We’re having our struggles. We’ve been so inconsistent,” Wright said. “But Joplin played well.”

Joplin trailed the Wildcats 16-9 after one quarter and 28-25 at the half.

Hill grabbed a rebound and scored to put surging Joplin ahead for good at 30-28 in the third. McMullen rifled in a 3 before her layup gave Joplin its first six-point lead at 35-29. Lee’s follow garnered Joplin its first eight-point lead at 41-33.

Joplin, facing its fifth game in seven days, journeys to Rogers Heritage tonight before entertaining Webb City, the Freeman/Lady Eagle Classic champion by nipping Neosho 63-61, on Thursday night.

That seventh-place game