CARL JUNCTION — Though it wasn't pretty offensively at times, Carl Junction earned a wire-to-wire 55-34 win over Carthage to open Central Ozark Conference play on Monday.
The Bulldogs' length on defense gave the offense time to get going, which started in the second quarter before hitting its stride in the second half. Carl Junction (7-4, 1-0 COC) built a seven-point lead by halftime before pushing it to double digits early in the second half. The Bulldogs' extended the lead to a game-high 22 points in the fourth on the way to the conference win.
"Our defense showed up for us tonight," Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. "We showed that we can guard the perimeter. Carthage is a really good team that can shoot the ball well. I thought we did a nice job of covering up the outside without sacrificing our inside defense."
Carl Junction's defense made life difficult for Carthage (7-5, 0-1 COC) in the first half, holding the Tigers to three field goals.
"The length of their zone made it difficult for us," Carthage coach Chad Jones said. "It's tough for our guards to shoot over that. We tried moving it from the inside out to get some shots, but Katie (Scott) did a good job defending the inside, allowing their perimeter defenders to stay with our shooters."
The Bulldogs built a double-digit lead early in the third, but a pair of driving scores by Carthage's Mia Duncan sandwiched around a 3-pointer from the corner by Lexi Black cut the deficit to 27-21 with three minutes to play. Carl Junction responded with a 9-2 run to close the period with a 13-point advantage.
"That was big," Shorter said. "When (Carthage's Hailey) Fullerton went out, that was when we needed to take advantage and push the lead. ... To the kids credit, they kept playing hard and did just that."
Hailey Fullerton led the Tigers with 11 points and seven rebounds.
"The thing about her is she is full effort all the time," Jones said. "No matter the quarter, the competition she is going up against or whether the scoreboard is in her favor or not, Hailey is attacking and playing hard the entire time. Her effort is propelling us right now, we just need to get a couple more to follow her lead to keep this going."
Duncan finished with six points and five rebounds, while Riley Kabance scored six and added three boards.
The Lady Tigers are back in action on Thursday at Nixa.

-Lucas Davis, Joplin Globe Sports

Carl Junction 55, Carthage 34
Carthage          6    8    9    11 - 34
Carl Junction    9  12  15    19 - 55

Individual Scoring
Carthage: Fullerton 11, Duncan 6, R. Kabance 6, Black 3, Negrette 3, Brunnert 2, Peters 2, Anderson 1. 
Carl Junction: Scott 22, Wrensch 10, Hughes 7, H. Lee 5, Hylton 4, Shanks 3, Stokes 2, Storm 2. 
3PFG: R. Kabance 2, Black, Wrensch.