Back-to-back three pointers midway through the fourth quarter by Webb City's Lexey Kneib erased a 36-31 McDonald County lead and put the Lady Cardinals ahead for good in Webb City's 45-44 win Tuesday night at McDonald County High School.
"We played pretty well, but it was disappointing that we didn't defensive rebound the way we needed to," said coach Blake Short. "If we defensive rebound we win that game by 10 points. It was one girl that was killing us on the glass (Desirea Buerge) and we had a super long scouting report and half of it was her. She is a good player and she works extremely hard."
Buerge followed Kneib's treys with a basket and two free throws to stretch Webb City's lead to 41-36 before McDonald County's Coley Ickes hit a three-pointer with 2:03 left to cut the margin to 41-39. Kneib countered with a short jumper, but Ickes answered with an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:22 left to get the Lady Mustangs to within 43-42.
Forced to foul on the the Lady Cardinals ensuing possession, McDonald County selected to send Katy Crane to the line. Crane was up to the challenge, hitting two free throws with 44.8 seconds left to extend the lead to 45-42.
Ickes then drove the length of the floor for a layup with 36.8 seconds to once again get McDonald County to within a single point. This time McDonald County chose to foul Cami Roy. The strategy worked as Roy missed two free throws with 30 seconds left, but Ickes' three-point attempt with about eight seconds missed the mark and Webb City controlled the rebound to seal the win.
Each team scored 11 points in the first quarter before Webb City took a 24-21 halftime advantage. McDonald County outscored the Lady Cardinals 13-3 in the third period to take a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter.
"We came out and did a great job in the third quarter," Short said. "We had a little stretch in the fourth quarter -- we are down a guard (Cendy Garcia is out due to an injury) -- and that hurt us and gave Kneib two good looks and she is a great shooter. But we fought back and had a chance to win it. It was a great game and great for us to build from and learn from. They are a real good team, but overall I think we are the better team."
Ickes finished with 15 points while Preslea Reece had 11 and Cheyenne Greenup 10 to lead McDonald County. Dakota Bunch added four points and Baili Nelson and Tricia Wattman two each to round out the scoring.
Buerge finished with 20 and Kneib 15 to lead Webb City.
McDonald County falls to 12-5 overall, 4-1 in the Big 8. The Lady Mustangs travel to Monett Jan. 30 for a Big 8 Conference contest and then heads to Neosho Jan. 31 for a non-conference tilt with the Lady Wildcats.
Junior Varsity
Caitlynn Sedillos seven points led a balanced scoring attack in McDonald County's 27-24 win in the junior varsity game. Wattman added six points and Madison Hall four while Isamar Lazalde, Madison Mitchell, Kat Sparnicht and Kenzie Stephens had two each.
Freshman
Webb City claimed a 24-10 win in the fresh game. Megan Mills and Aspen Bowman each scored four points for the Lady Mustangs while Kenzie Stephens had two.
Sports on 01/29/2015