By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
Webb City and Neosho prep basketball teams impressively moved into the championship game of the Freeman/Lady Eagle Classic on Friday night.
Webb City raced past Miller 82-57 before Neosho stymied defending champion Marshfield 53-25 in the semifinals.
Class 5 Neosho and Class 4 Webb City put respective records of 5-0 and 5-1 on the line at 5:30 p.m. today in Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Neosho, which recently won 40-33 at Marshfield, used a 2-3 zone defense to shut down the Blue Jays. Neosho limited Marshfield to only one field goal in the first half in building a 32-13 halftime bulge.
“They didn’t shoot well against the zone,” Neosho coach Grant Young said of Gary Murphy’s Blue Jays. “Normally, we try defensively to mix up things.”
The crisp shooting of Savannah Snow keyed a Neosho offense that frequently pushed the ball up the floor for good shots. She joined with 5-foot-7 senior twin sister Lorelei and 6-2 sophomore Kayln Vlasin to pour in a combined 42 points.
Jessie Bruton, a 5-3 sophomore, had two treys, including the field goal in the first half, to score eight points for Marshfield.
Class 2 Miller stayed with Class 4 Webb City, a quarterfinalist in the playoffs last season, a half before Kaitlin Jaeger keyed a 22-11 advantage in the third quarter.
Jaeger, a 6-0 sophomore, scored 15 in the third and finished with 30.
“All-in-all, we played a pretty good game,” Webb City coach Brad Shorter said. “Miller is a very good team. I’ll be surprised if they aren’t in the semifinals of Class 2.
“Jaeger is a tremendous player,” Shorter said. “She works hard. She doesn’t quit in there (on the inside). The other players contribute to her success. Her teammates got her the ball inside.”
The relentless Jaeger was backed by 5-8 senior Nicole Hudson (13 points), 5-9 sophomore Hailey Roderique (11) and 5-5 sophomore Breanna Baker (10).
Miller received 24 points from junior all-stater Hannah Wilkerson. She had 13 in the opening half as Miller trailed 37-31. Sam Hendrickson added 12 for Miller.
Said Miller coach Brandon Weiss: “Webb City is a great team that is coached very well. They play so well together.
“We tip our hats to Webb City. They are the type of team that will make us better.
“We made a lot of mistakes in this game that we didn’t make in our first-round game,” Weiss said. “We didn’t adjust very well.
“Webb City defensively took us out of the game several times,” Weiss said. “We became frustrated at times.”
Sports
Webb City, Neosho reach final
League rivals cruise in semifinal round of Lady Eagle meet
- Sports
-
-
Kickapoo girls race past Joplin
Annie Armstrong poured in 21 points to lead the Kickapoo girls to a 65-28 victory over Joplin on Thursday night in an Ozark Conference basketball game at Missouri Southern’s Young Gymnasium.
-
Cheever is ultimate blue-collar snowboarder
As a World Cup snowboardcross racer, Jonathan Cheever has taken his share of spills over the years.
-
District wrestling tournaments begin tonight
Neosho’s wrestling lineup will have a different look when the Class 3 district wrestling tournament begins at 6 p.m. today at Carthage.
-
Late board work carries Lions past Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State displayed its offensive rebounding muscle during Wednesday night’s game at Missouri Southern.
-
Pitching holds key for softball Lions
Pitching is the main question Missouri Southern must answer as the Lions open their softball season today in Abilene, Texas.
-
Quapaw completes 12-0 run through Lucky '7' Conference
Quapaw High School girls basketball coach Rod Graves expected the 2011-12 Wildcats to compile another successful season.
They haven’t been a disappointment. -
Hillsdale women stop OCC
Visiting Hillsdale Free Will Baptist handed Ozark Christian a 68-47 loss in women’s college basketball on Thursday night.
-
Tomlin, Steelers welcome Haley as new coordinator
Throughout the 16 minutes that followed him glowingly introducing former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley as his new offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stood proudly in the corner of the second-floor media room at the team’s facility.
-
Rangers, Cruz strike $16M, 2-year deal
Two-time defending AL champion Texas has avoided arbitration with another of its core players, agreeing Thursday to a $16 million, two-year contract with AL championship series MVP Nelson Cruz.
-
Auburn’s Ward adapts game after injury at Texas
Auburn’s Varez Ward can’t take to the air quite like he used to. The onetime Texas starter is still trying to regain strength and explosiveness more than two years after rupturing his right quadriceps tendon while dunking during pre-game warmups.
- More Sports Headlines
-






