Games, meets to watch in the coming week

Dec. 12----Thomas Jefferson boys (6-1) vs. Lockwood (3-1), 7 p.m. Monday.

The Cavaliers were ranked 7th in Class 1 when the first state rankings came out Nov. 29. They're coming off two games against Everton and Miami they won by a combined 58 points. Lockwood won 18 games last season and is off to another good start. Thomas Jefferson features 6-foot-7 senior Jay Ball, who tallied 71 points and 60 rebounds in three games at the Gem City Classic. He set a school record with 23 boards against Galena.

—McAuley Catholic High School (boys, 2-4; girls, 0-6).

McAuley has a busy three-game schedule this week, with both boys and girls home games Monday night against Jasper, Tuesday night against Exeter, and an away game Friday night against Northeast Vernon County.

—Joplin wrestling at Carthage, 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Tigers are 3-0 in duals with lopsided wins against Cassville (64-6) and Berryville, Arkansas (75-6), while Joplin is off to a 1-4 start with a 54-24 win against Webb City.

—Carl Junction boys (3-2) at Seneca (2-2), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

It's been a nice start for the Bulldogs, who are one win shy of matching last season's win total. They lost by 6 to Hollister and by 4 to Pittsburg. Seneca's got two wins by a total of 68 points and two losses by a combined 6.

—Carthage girls (4-1) vs. Nevada (4-2), 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Tigers are off to their best start since 2020 and have outscored opponents by an average of 27 points in their four wins. Senior guard Kianna Yates is scoring 19.2 points per game, and sophomore guard/forward Maggie Boyd is averaging 14.4.

—Webb City boys (2-2) vs. Springfield Catholic (1-2), 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Cardinals had a tough weekend at the Carthage Invitational, falling by 22 to the hosts and by 31 to Raymore-Peculiar. Coach Jason Horn said he'd tweak a few things in practice this week. Catholic is coached by Jay Osborne, the longtime Nixa coach who retired from the public school after last season. He coached in the Class 6 championship game in March.

—Joplin girls (2-5) vs. Lee's Summit (4-1), 6 p.m. Friday.

The girls tip off a varsity doubleheader and are coming off a fourth-place finish in their home tournament. The Eagles have wins against Pittsburg (42-37) and Leavenworth (45-39).

—Joplin boys (4-1) vs. Lee's Summit (0-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday.

In the nightcap, the Eagles take the court after three nice wins and a championship in the Carthage Invitational. Joplin trailed in all three games but came back to win. All Wright was the tournament MVP after totaling 83 points, and Quin Renfro was named to the All-Tournament team.

—Carl Junction girls (3-0) vs Strafford (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday.

Two perennial powers in Southwest Missouri. The Bulldogs won the CJ Classic and beat Neosho, Springdale and Nevada to start the season. They'll take part in the Lady Mustang Classic at McDonald County early in the week. Carl Junction went 23-8 a year ago and lost in the Class 5 quarterfinals; Strafford finished third in Class 3 with a 25-6 record.