JOPLIN - The Lady Tigers and Tigers hoops season came to an end in the opening round of district play in Joplin. From SoMo Sports stories: 

Lady Tigers Falls To Ozark
No. 7 Ozark made five 3-pointers in the first quarter and built an insurmountable double-digit lead on the way to a 40-21 win over Carthage on Saturday in the opening round of the Class 6 District 5 tournament inside Kaminsky Gymnasium. 
Ozark (20-6) closed the first quarter with a 16-0 run and that number proved to be the difference as the lead remained the same through the second and third periods. Carthage had a chance to cut the lead to 10 early in the fourth, but Ozark was able to hold CHS at bay and push the lead back out by the final horn.
"We dug ourselves into a hole right from the beginning," Carthage coach Scott Moore said. "We didn't have game-ready energy. This is district-level play. You can't come out half speed or hesitant, and you can't play defense out of your area. … That was an execution problem defensively. Once we shored that up at the quarter break, it was an even game the rest of the way. I was proud of the girls for fixing that and playing better the rest of the game, but that first eight minutes dug us into a hole we couldn't get out of."
THAT'S A WRAP
Carthage ends the season with an 11-16 record and graduates seniors Presley Probert and Sophie Shannon.
"Record-wise, going into the season, we probably aren't too far off what we thought," Moore said about his team's season. "Kianna (Yates) and Sophie (Shannon) were our only returning varsity players with major experience. We knew the next six or seven kids in the rotation would be experiencing first-time situations. That is hard. … We played great at the Pink and White Tournament and we played really well at the Pittsburg tournament. But the last three weeks of the year, we kind of went out on a whimper. I am the type of person that wants to go out with a snarl, not a whimper. I did think we went out the last three quarters with a snarl on our face, so I am proud of them for that."
GAME ACTION
After both teams knocked down shots from the perimeter to open the scoring, Ozark used a 16-0 run to close the first quarter to steal the momentum early with a 19-3 lead. Ozark converted five times from long range, with Lyla Watson making a trio of 3-pointers in the first eight minutes. Jordyn Foley and Zeffie Kent each connected from long range as well.
Carthage improved remarkably on the defensive end in the second quarter, limiting Ozark to six points on just two field goals and a free throw. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't find its rhythm against Ozark as Carthage went into the intermission still trailing by 16, 25-9.
Ozark played with a 16-point lead through the third quarter, but Carthage used a score off the drive by Yates and a free throw from Shannon to trim the lead to 13 early in the fourth. CHS had an open look at a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to 10 with 4:30 on the clock, but the shot was no good and Ozark answered with a 6-0 run to essentially push the game out of reach.
SCORING LEADERS
Watson led Ozark with 12 points, while Moriah Putt had eight points. Alexis Solomon and Riley Boggs each finished with five.
Yates had 12 points to lead Carthage.

Tigers Succumb To Ozark
Third-seeded Ozark broke open a tie game with a big run to start the second quarter and held off a late surge from sixth-seeded Carthage to earn a 64-51 win in the Class 6 District 5 opening round on Monday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
"I have never been able to fault the effort of this group and that rang true again tonight," Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. "I do feel like our pace and tempo wasn't top notch in the first half as it was in the fourth quarter, but there were some bang-bang plays and bang-bang calls that didn't go our way and you could see it reeling away from our kids. But, credit to them for keeping on fighting all the way through the adversity to make it a game late."
SEASON'S END
Carthage closes the season with an 18-8 record and graduates seniors Joel Pugh, Caden Kabance, Sylas Browning and Logan Carmickle.
"Those four seniors mean more to Carthage basketball than they will ever know," Morris said. "Joel is the true basketball junky out of that group. Logan is a great baseball player and Caden and Sylas are both three-sport athletes. Their work ethic, moral character and integrity is why this team is where it is. We preach in our program that regardless of wins and losses, we want good human beings. There are not four better examples of that than those kids. I hope those juniors and sophomores take notice of why our program is where it is and it's because of those seniors."
GAME ACTION
The game entered the second period with both teams tied at 13 but a 16-4 run by Ozark to open the quarter swung the momentum pendulum, giving OHS a 29-17 lead with less than three minutes to play. Colton Ballard and Ethan Whatley knocked down back to back 3-pointers off Carthage turnovers to open the quarter, with Jace Whatley accounting for six points in the run.
"We made a couple of mistakes that were 100 percent on us as unforced turnovers that led to them taking 10 more field goals in the first half that we even attempted," Morris said. "That has been our Achilles heel over the last month and when you do that against a team like Ozark, they are going to make you pay. They made a ton of really tough mid-range, contest jumpers in the first half."
Ozark took a 33-22 lead into the intermission and held on to the double-digit cushion through the third quarter, entering the fourth on top 46-34. 
Ozark extended the lead to 60-41 with less than four minutes to play before Carthage used a 10-0 spurt to trim the lead to single digits, 60-51, with 1:15 to play. Pugh knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to fuel the run with Max Templeman and Browning contributing buckets.
"We told them at halftime that this could be their final 16 minutes of your sophomore, junior or senior year," Morris said of the late push by his Tigers. "We asked them how they wanted it to end. I think they showed the community, the town and this crowd what they are made of. There is a reason this group was 18-8 on the season with the best finish Carthage basketball has had in over 10 years." 
That would be as close to the lead as Carthage would get, as Ozark knocked down its free throws in the final minute of play to seal the win.
SCORING LEADERS
Ethan Whatley had 20 points to lead Ozark, while Tyler Harmon closed with 17 points. Jace Whatley added 11 and Ballard had 10.
Pugh finished with 20 points to lead Carthage, while Templeman finished in double figures with 11 points.