Carl Junction girls edge Webb City in district championship

Mar. 5—CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Fans and followers of the Carl Junction girls basketball team know a game has reached a pivotal stage as soon as head coach Brad Shorter removes his suit jacket.

On Thursday, the jacket came off early. As expected.

"I told the girls the last few days at practice that this was going to be a one- or two-possession game," Shorter said. "I had a really strong feeling about that."

And he wasn't wrong.

In a back-and-forth game that featured 13 lead changes, the Bulldogs managed to take an advantage late and stave off a spirited Webb City team for a 55-52 win in the Class 5 District 12 championship game at Carl Junction High School.

The district title marked Carl Junction's sixth consecutive.

"That's a testament to the girls," Shorter said. "They're great players and we've got a lot of great kids here that worked hard. There was that point (tonight) where they could kind of waiver, but they stayed with it and kept fighting. I've just been fortunate to have them and a great coaching staff. And, gosh, it feels good."

The Bulldogs (17-8) will play McDonald County in the sectional round on Wednesday. The game is expected to be played at McDonald County High School.

Carl Junction was aided by a 35-point night by sophomore Destiny Buerge, who arguably saved her best 2-point basket for last.

With 1:07 remaining and the game tied at 47-47, Buerge grabbed an offensive rebound underneath the hoop and then drew contact as she converted a short fadeaway jumper. She made her ensuing free throw to give the Bulldogs a three-point advantage on the scoreboard, and CJ never relinquished its lead from there.

"She's a competitor," Shorter said. "And she did a good job of fighting through it. I know her arm is pretty sore right now. I think she hyperextended her elbow, but luckily it was her left elbow. But (she's) a great player, and we had some kids step up late."

The Bulldogs had three sophomores convert free throws in the final 56 seconds to help keep Webb City at bay. Buerge hit a pair to make it a 52-48 ballgame before Hali Shorter, who finished with 15 points, added two more freebies to make it 54-50. and after a transition layup by Webb City's Jaydee Duda, Klohe Burk split a pair of free throws to put CJ up by three points with three seconds remaining.

Duda grabbed the rebound off Burk's second free throw attempt but was immediately pressed by a pair of CJ defenders and failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

For Webb City (9-15), the performance was a drastic turnaround from its previous 26-point setback to the Bulldogs just a few weeks prior.

"I thought our girls played hard," Webb City coach Lance Robbins said. "I told them in the locker room that there's nothing to hang their heads about. I thought they competed very well tonight for four quarters. I was just proud of their effort overall.

"They never gave up and they never quit. We've faced a lot of adversity this year. I know people have probably been the same and faced adversity, but we've had several issues from the start to the end with injuries and different things off the court. ... It felt like our girls have stuck to competing hard every time they step on the court and playing hard night in and night out."

In their last game in a Webb City uniform, seniors Duda and Sierra Kimbrough led the Cardinals in scoring with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore Kathyn Brownfield also finished in double figures with 10 points.

"Our seniors weren't ready to be done tonight," Robbins said. "They played their tails off. But sometimes the other team just makes one or two more plays than you do."

A big first-half effort by Buerge was ultimately overshadowed by Webb City in the first half. Buerge scored 18 of Carl Junction's 20 points in the half, but Webb City went into the break with a 25-20 edge thanks to an 11-6 spurt in the final five minutes of the second quarter.

Just before intermission, Duda went coast-to-coast in 6.9 seconds to convert a buzzer-beating 2-point runner that gave the Cardinals their five-point lead. It was the largest lead either team had held in the first half.

Webb City took its largest lead, 30-22, when Duda swished a 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter. Duda also had a buzzer-beating triple at the end of the third quarter to put her team up 37-36.

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.