By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Experience and defense may have been key basketball pluses for the Webb City girls on Friday as they reached the championship game of the MSHSAA Class 4 Tournament.
The Cardinals, pulling away in the fourth quarter, beat Kansas City O’Hara 55-42 in Mizzou Arena.
The top ranked Cardinals, 29-1 with a 19-game winning streak, face Cape Girardeau Notre Dame (26-4) at 2:50 p.m. today for the title at the University of Missouri.
Notre Dame, ranked third, defeated O’Fallon St. Dominic 62-55 in the first semifinal.
St. Dominic (23-4) and O’Hara (23-7) decide third place at 11:30 a.m.
Webb City, leading 43-38 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, responded with seven straight points for a 50-38 lead.
A three-point play by all-stater Kaitlin Jaeger on an assist by Sharenda Campbell capped the flurry. Layups by Campbell and Kyndal Clark began the run.
Said Webb City coach Brad Shorter: “Experience was a huge factor. We knew what we wanted to do.”
Webb City finished runner-up to Platte County last season and returned four starters.
That experience, Shorter noted, helped Webb City finish off the Celtics by going to the foul line.
O’Hara coach Mary Haggerty pointed to her team’s 18 turnovers to only seven for Webb City.
“It was a tough game,” Haggerty said. “We knew going in we had to handle their press and intensity.
“They did a good job with the press,” Haggerty said. “We had several unforced turnovers too, but the press from their guards hurt. A lot of that good field goal percentage on their part in the second half came on layups off turnovers.”
Webb City hit 12 of 19 from the field in the second half to finish at 48.8 percent on 21 of 43 to nip O’Hara’s 48.7 on 19 of 39.
“That 7-0 run was a killer,” Haggerty said. “Webb City also ran its offensive sets with patience when necessary. Their defense took us out of our rhythm when we had the ball.”
The Cardinals received 17 points from Jaeger, 16 from Clark, who was 7 of 12 from the floor, and 10 from Campbell.
Breanna Baker added three steals for Webb City. Jaeger also had three assists.
O’Hara was led in scoring by Hailey Houser with 12 and Cameron Randle and Alex Smith with 11 apiece.
Houser added eight rebounds to key the Celtics’ 28-19 advantage on the boards.
Webb City, although it trailed 7-2 and 9-4 early, led 21-19 at the half behind Clark’s seven points.
Notre Dame had a terrific inside-outside combination against St. Dominic.
Allyson Bradshaw, a 5-foot-7 junior, scored 26 points and had five steals. She sank 9 of 11 free throws.
Jane Morrill, a 6-1 senior, added 17 points and blocked four shots.
The Bulldogs beat St. Dominic 28-19 on the boards behind Morrill (6 rebounds) and 5-8 senior Meghan Dohogne (10 points, 8 rebounds).
Jennifer Rocha, a 5-3 junior, had 23 points, five assists and four steals in 32 minutes for the Crusaders.
St. Louis Class 5 power Incarnate Word beat Notre Dame twice during the regular season. The Webb City loss was to Class 5 Springfield Kickapoo.
