The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Top Stories

Related Photos

  • Webb City's Kaitlni Beason battles Carl Junction's Bryce Boyd for the ball during their district tournament game on Feb. 28 in Carthage. Webb City plays Smithville today in a Class 4 semifinal game in Columbia.

    022813-CJ-v-WC-gbkb2CMYK.jpg

  • Webb City's Casey Heger hooks a pass over Carl Junction's Brenlee McPherson during the district tournament at Carthage.

    022813-CJ-v-WC-gbkb3CMYK.jpg

Discussion

March 13, 2013

Webb City battles Smithville in Class 4 semifinals

By Mark Schremmer Globe Sports Writer

Don’t get them wrong. The Webb City Cardinals are certainly excited about making it to the MSHSAA Class 4 semifinals and playing at Mizzou Arena.

However, they still want more. After all, the Cardinals are two wins away from a state championship.

“This is where we wanted to be, but we’re by no means done,” Webb City junior point guard Mikaela Burgess said. “We have two games left, and we’re ready.”

The Webb City girls basketball team (24-5) will face Smithville (25-4) at 8:30 p.m. today in Columbia, Mo., with a berth in Saturday’s finals on the line. Dexter (26-3) faces Incarnate Word Academy (29-0) in the other semifinal game at 6:50 p.m.

“They’ve really come a long way and have shown what you can do when you believe,” Webb City coach Brad Shorter said. “It’s been a tough, challenging season for all of us, but we’ve put ourselves in a good position. Hopefully, we can get up there and get the job done. We’re certainly going in to it to win the thing, not just being happy to be there.”

Webb City is on a five-game winning streak since losing 35-32 to Nixa on Feb. 14.

Burgess leads the Cardinals with 16.2 points per game, while 6-foot sophomore Desirea Buerge (13.7) and 6-2 junior Casey Heger (12.0) also average double figures. Those three, along with junior Kaitlin Beason, have all scored 20 points in a game.

Heger (7.7), Buerge (6.7) and Beason (5.1) lead the team in rebounds. Burgess (2.8), Beason (2.7) and junior Megan Heman (2.0) pace the squad in assists.

Webb City is faced with a Smithville team which has advanced to the semifinals three years in a row. The Warriors fell 53-51 to Republic in last year’s Class 4 state finals.

“We got to play our defense, hustle and make sure we rebound,” Heman said. “We have to keep doing everything we’ve done to get here.”

Smithville is coming off a dramatic 44-43 win against Notre Dame de Sion in the quarterfinals. Trailing by one with five seconds left, Smithville’s Maddie Nelson made a driving bucket to win the game at the buzzer.

Nelson, the Warriors’ point guard, is a player to watch, Shorter said.

“The person that makes them go is Maddie Nelson,” Shorter said. “She handles the ball real well, passes well and shoots well.”

Paige Imhoff is another player who was crucial in Smithville’s runner-up finish last season.

“She’s quite a player,” Shorter said. “She moves the floor extremely well for her size and her position.

“Those two are going to be keys for us. We need to stop those two and make sure some others don’t go off and have big nights.”

If Webb City wins, it will play the Incarnate and Dexter winner at 4:50 p.m. Saturday. If the Cardinals lose, they will be in the third-place game at 1:40 p.m. Friday.

The other side of the bracket appears difficult as Incarnate is unbeaten and is coming off a 78-26 win over Kirksville in the quarterfinals.

Tonight’s Webb City game is scheduled to be webcast on FOXSportsMidwest.com.

Text Only
Top Stories
  • 052213 Jop tor an4_72.jpg Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery

    A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.

    May 22, 2013 4 Photos

  • 052313 Turner1_72.jpg Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher

    A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Demonstrators show support for suspended teacher

    Most were carrying blue-and-white signs that said “Support Turner,” a reference to Randy Turner, a middle school teacher who was removed from his classroom and placed on administrative leave last month after an investigation by school district officials.

    May 23, 2013

  • Southeast Kansas foundation accepts donations for Moore

    The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is accepting donations to assist the victims of the Moore, Okla., tornado.

    May 23, 2013

  • 052213 Jop tor an1_72.jpg Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents

    A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • r052213moorejoplin.jpg Families in Moore, Joplin linked by disasters

    Zach Woodcock knew the storms were going to be bad on May 22, 2011, so turning on the Weather Channel was a natural. What he saw filled him with fear. The Moore resident’s family lived in Joplin, Mo.

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • Nixon: Joplin offers 'a beacon of hope'

    Two days ago, after seeing the devastating destruction in Oklahoma, Nixon said, "I believe that you are something else too, something the people of Moore need right now. A word we all remember seeing, in front of the old high school, made from duct tape: Hope.

    May 22, 2013

  • Awards mark Joplin observance of tornado anniversary

    Joplin will serve as the beacon for resilient recovery from a disaster to communities across the United States, including recently hit Moore, Okla., said the nation’s secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

    May 22, 2013

  • Grant enables 20th Street Project to move forward

    A $20 million grant from the Economic Development Administration, announced at Joplin's tornado anniversary event today, will enable the 20th Street Project and the building of a new Joplin Public Library to move forward.

    May 22, 2013

  • Rick Rescorla.jpg Rick Rescorla award named for hero of Vietnam War, 9-11 terror attacks

    The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is named for a 62-year-old vice president of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. who directed an evacuation of the company’s 2,700-person workforce in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo