Overall, it doesn’t come anywhere close to Carl Junction’s best defensive performance of the season; there have been a lot of other worthy games for that distinction.
But, for a nearly 10-minute stretch of the second half in Tuesday night’s Class 4 girls’ sectional against West Plains, the Bulldogs were as good defensively as you can be in the game of basketball.
Carl Junction didn’t allow a point for over 10 minutes in a pivotal second-half stretch, expanding a two-point lead into a comfortable 14-point advantage by the final 1:30 to claim a 43-33 victory at Nixa High School.
Defensively, it was par for the course for Carl Junction. The Bulldogs defeated Carthage 51-6 in mid-February and held a St. Charles team – which was state-ranked at the time – to no field goals in the second half to overcome a four-point deficit in a late January game.
Tuesday night’s outcome marks the 22nd time this season that Carl Junction has held its opponent to 40 or fewer points.
“We’ve had some of those (great defensive) games, but none against a team quite this solid,” said Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter.
PHOTOS: CARL JUNCTION VS. WEST PLAINS
Senior Alex Vogt scored a team-high 13, with Katie Scott and Emma Frack scoring 12 and 10, respectively. Elle Williams led West Plains with 15 points.
Carl Junction (26-2 overall) meets Osage (22-6 overall) at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at SBU in Bolivar. It’s the same venue, and round, where Carl Junction suffered a heartbreaking 55-52 overtime loss to Owensville a year ago.
Point guard Emma Frack went out with an injury in the fourth quarter, where CJ lost a 10-point lead and eventually the game.
“The team that we had last year, it was so tough losing that game,” Vogt said. “I think we have a little fire in us because we want to win that next game since we weren’t able to do it last year.”
Carl Junction led 25-18 at halftime against West Plains, but the Zizzers got back into the game with perimeter shooting by Kendra Davidson and Williams.
The second of two Davidson treys brought West Plains within 30-28 at the 3:45 mark of the third quarter.
That would be West Plains’ last points for a while. Over 10 minutes of game time, in fact.
Frack responded with a 3-pointer on Carl Junction’s ensuing possession. The Bulldogs closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, pushing their lead up to nine at 37-28.
“You look up and it’s 30-28, you feel good about things,” said West Plains coach Scott Womack. “The Frack girl hits a big 3, we turn it over a couple of times. You look up again, and it’s 37-28. It’s just hard to overcome that when they’re so efficient on offense – they move the ball around – and shorten the game.”
Carl Junction only scored six points in the fourth quarter, but by the time West Plains ended its prolonged scoring drought – with a basket by senior Abee Shelton with 1:35 remaining – the Bulldogs still led 42-30 and had all but locked up the victory.
“It was a matter of getting out on their shooters,” Shorter said of his team’s zone defense. “They have so many shooters around the perimeter. They play so hard and Payton (Richards) is able to distribute.”
Six of West Plains’ 10 field goals in the game came on 3-pointers, as the Zizzers’ inside opportunities were limited against Carl Junction’s height. Davidson made three triples to lead the way.
“There’s so much length there,” Womack said of Carl Junction’s zone defense. “You get so few opportunities where you have an open shot. You hate to put pressure on your kids, but when you have the open shot, you have to make it. We just missed too many open looks.
“We’re a good 3-point shooting team. We’ve got three girls that shoot around 40 percent from 3. Instead of getting a 20-footer, tonight, you’re getting a 22-footer because of their length. Your percentages just go down when you have to shoot it that far out.”
Saturday’s Carl Junction-Osage meeting will mark history for one school. Neither has ever made a state final four.
“We’ve been talking about this quite a bit, just to get this opportunity again,” Shorter said. “We like our chances, but we know we have a lot of work to do.”
West Plains finishes 19-10 overall, a season highlighted by its second district title in five years.
Next season will mark a changing of the guard – literally – for the Zizzers.
West Plains graduates a four-player senior class of Williams (three-year starter), Shelton, Ashton Vonallmen and Payton Richards (four-year starter at point guard).
Richards and Williams both finished with over 1,200 career points. Richards has signed to play at Drury.
“They’ve been cornerstones for the last three-to-four years for us,” Womack said of Richards and Williams. “It’s going to be tough to sit on that bench next year and look out and (Richards and Williams) aren’t there. Hopefully, we’ll have some younger girls step up and fill their shoes a little bit. That’s what you do every year as a coach – you look to see who the next ones are to step up and be the players for you.”
Carl Junction 43, West Plains 33
CJ 15 10 12 6 — 43
WP 10 8 10 5 — 33
CJ – Alex Vogt 13, Katie Scott 12, Emma Frack 10, Megan Scott 6, Lauren Walker 2
WP – Elle Williams 15, Kendra Davidson 9, Payton Richards 5, Abee Shelton 4
