By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Webb City High School won its first MSHSAA girls basketball on Saturday.
There were a few anxious moments in the fourth quarter before the Cardinals nailed down a solid 60-53 Class 4 win over Cape Girardeau Notre Dame in Mizzou Arena at the University of Missouri.
Top-ranked Webb City finished 30-1 with a 20-game winning streak. Third-ranked Notre Dame (26-5), seeking a second title, was saddled with its fifth second place.
Said Cardinal all-stater Kaitlin Jaeger: “I don’t know what to say after last year (placing second to Platte County). It’s awesome ... being able to celebrate.”
Said Webb City coach Brad Shorter: “Our girls stepped up in the second half. We hit the boards hard and took care of the ball.
“Second was nice last year,” Shorter said. “We wanted to return and finish the journey this year. I’m so happy for the players.
“The experience factor again was huge. You could see it in the girls’ eyes. They wanted the championship.
“I’m more relaxed right now than I’ve been in a year,” Shorter said with a grin. “They (the players) handled the pressure from Day 1. They never quit working. You can’t say enough about how these kids worked.
“I may never have a chance to coach a team like this again ... until next year,” said Shorter with another smile in reference to the fact the team is dominated with juniors.
Webb City, which trailed most of the first half, was behind by only one point — 26-25 — at the intermission. But it could have been a deficit much worse.
Notre Dame, leading 26-21, had possession of the ball only to have it stolen twice for layups by Hailey Roderique and Summer Greek before the clock ran out.
The Cardinals took the lead for good at 4:44 of the third quarter on two free throws by Jaeger.
The Cardinals built leads of eight points in the fourth quarter on several occasions before a basket by Allyson Bradshaw lifted the Bulldogs within 49-46 at 2:57.
But the Cardinals responded with two layups by Roderique on passes from Kyndal Clark. The second came at 1:48 for a 53-46 lead.
Said Notre Dame coach Renee Peters: “Webb City did a nice job of breaking the press after we’d cut the lead to three. Playing catchup always is difficult to do.
“We were competitive with them,” Peters said. “Webb City is a very good team. Their players stepped up at the end. It was a good game.”
Added Shorter: “What a game! Notre Dame was an exceptional team.”
Added Peters: “The ankle injury to (6-foot-1 senior center) Jane Morrill and her foul trouble took us out of our rhythm a bit in the first half.”
The one glaring statistic had Webb City with only eight turnovers and Notre Dame with 19.
Notre Dame was superior on the boards — 30-21 — and shot better from the field. The Bulldogs sank 22-of-43 for 51.2 percent and Webb City meshed 21-of-46 for 45.7 percent.
Webb City hit only 5-of-10 free throws in the first half but sank 10-of-14 in the second for 62.5 percent. Notre Dame shot only seven for the game but hit five.
Roderique, 5-10 junior, scored 18 points for Webb City. She added five rebounds and four steals.
Breanna Baker, a 5-5 junior, scored 14 points for the Cardinals on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor. Jaeger, 6-1 junior, and 5-9 classmate Clark tallied 13 and 11, respectively.
Sharenda Campbell, a 5-6 junior, had six assists for the Cardinals. Clark, who had three treys, added three steals.
Notre Dame received 18 points from 5-7 junior Bradshaw and 16 from Morrill. Meghan Dohogne, a 5-9 senior, grabbed 11 rebounds.
