Buerge, Scott power Carl Junction in win
Feb. 7—CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction seniors Destiny Buerge and Kylie Scott combined for 51 points and the Bulldogs continued their winning ways with a 71-48 defeat of Carthage at CJHS on Monday.
"Those two can score in bunches," Carl Junction Head Coach Brad Shorter said. "They're outstanding players."
Scott, who finished with 23 points, netted the first seven points of the game and the Bulldogs were off to a 7-0 start. Scott dominated the low post and ended the quarter with 10 points.
Carthage trailed 20-8 after the first quarter. Neither team could muster much offense in the second period, but Carthage managed to outscore Carl Junction 10-9 in the second stanza to tighten the game, 29-18 at the half.
"We shot poorly in the first half," Carthage Head Coach Scott Moore said. "Which put us at a deficit at halftime. Second half they picked us up with a little more pressure and we didn't attack the basket as well. Scott erased every layup attempt down low and if we missed a floater, she was getting every rebound and running down to the other end. The two big keys I thought tonight were our poor shooting and really, Scott owned us inside. Otherwise, I thought everything else went according to our game plan."
Buerge, who was held to 7 first-half points, lit up the Bulldogs' offense coming out of the locker room. She tallied 13 of her game-high 28 points in the third period and helped give Carl Junction a 50-35 cushion going into the final frame.
"I was a little frustrated with how long it took our team to take what we were telling them as coaches and apply it to the floor in the game, but we had good effort at times," Shorter said. "We just need to fight and continue to work on getting better."
Eight each by Buerge and Scott in the final quarter gave Carl Junction a lead that expanded throughout the final period, resulting in the win.
The Bulldogs hit six 3-pointers in the game — two from Buerge and four, including one in each quarter, from Klohe Burk, who finished the game with 12 points. Dezi Williams added six and Anna Burch tallied two to round out the scoring for Carl Junction.
Carthage was led by Lauren Choate's 18 points, which included three treys. Maggie Boyd added 11 while also netting three 3-pointers and Jaidyn Brunnert chipped in seven.
Shorter praised the Tigers after the game.
"They are quick footed and they move well," Shorter said. "Wherever you go, they are right there. You feel like you have a chance to put them away and they just hang around."
The win improved Carl Junction's record to 21-1, while Carthage fell to 9-12.
Next up for Carl Junction is a home date with Branson on Thursday, while Carthage will host Nixa.
