By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Nixa, Mo. — Carl Junction won its third consecutive COC-Large game and seventh consecutive game overall on Monday in Nixa, putting its devastating defense on display in its sixth double-digit victory over that seven-game win streak.
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Nixa led 9-8 early and was tied with Carl Junction 10-10 after one quarter, but the Bulldogs (16-2) limited the Eagles (8-12) to eight points or fewer over the game’s final three quarters, winning 45-31.
Carl Junction’s tri-towers—6’1” Alex Vogt, 6’2” Katie Scott, 6’2” Megan Scott—forced Nixa into a perimeter game, but the Eagles finished just 1-20 from 3.
“We got some of the shots we wanted, they just didn’t fall,” Nixa head coach Jennifer Perryman said.
“We knew we were going to have to rely on our perimeter game a little bit, which has been so good the last couple games, but they’re just very long and athletic and [Carl Junction head coach Brad Shorter] does an incredible job of putting them in the position they need to be.”
Carl Junction was able to consistently attack Nixa inside despite leading scorer Alex Vogt sitting for much of the first half with foul trouble.
“That’s tough when that happens. But our kids fought back and kept a lead going into halftime and were able to pull away there in the second half,” Shorter said. “They started to do a good job defensively and limiting their 3-point opportunities and shots.”
Vogt finished with a game-high 14 points despite limited action. She had six points in both the first and third quarters.
Nixa closed the second quarter on a 6-1 run after falling behind 19-10 and being held scoreless for over five full minutes to open the quarter.
“We were trying to score inside in transition other than just pound it in the post because they’ve got a lot of size,” Perryman said.
“We tried to speed them up and a lot of teams have tried that and some have been successful. We weren’t.”
Carl Junction outscored Nixa 25-15 in the second half, with much of that run being built off Nixa turnovers in the paint.
“We talked about not making skip passes, and we made a lot of skip passes. With their length, it’s just going to get picked off,” Perryman said. “It’s just kind of frustrating to talk about it and go over it and still make those passes. It’s part of our youth and inexperience.”
Emma Frack got to the free-throw line three times for Carl Junction in the decisive fourth quarter, hitting all six of her attempts on the way to an 11-point night.
Nixa became just the ninth team to surpass 30 points against a Carl Junction defense that has held eight opponents under 20 points this season.
“Nixa is always well-coached,” Shorter said. “Coach Perryman does a great job, and this is a tough place to play because their kids play hard.”
Nixa hasn’t had the luxury of playing at home too often this season, with Monday’s game being just the fifth played on its home court. The Lady Eagles are 2-3 in those games, dropping their last three at home.
MBCA Class 4 No. 4 Carl Junction moved to 4-1 in the COC-Large with the win. Its one loss came against Class 5 Republic, 43-31, on Jan. 9.
With Republic’s 53-45 loss to Branson on Monday, the Tigers also stand at 4-1 in-conference.
“I’ve been part of this conference when teams that won it were 5-2 or 4-3,” Shorter said. “It’s just such a tough conference. There are a lot of good teams throughout this conference and every night when you go on the road or even at home, you’ve got to be ready to play your best game.”
Carl Junction travels to C5 Ozark (13-6) on Jan. 9 for another tough road test.
Nixa visits Carthage (9-9) on Jan. 9.
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FINAL: Carl Junction 45, Nixa 31
Carl Junction 10 10 11 14- 45
Nixa 10 6 7 8- 31
Carl Junction- Alex Vogt 14, Emma Frack 11, Megan Scott 8, Lauren Walker 6, Katie Scott 5, Kate Dreiling 1
Nixa- Emily Edwards 8, Halley Wiggins 7, Taylor Arnold 6, Bissett Michaelson 5, Lakyn Wools 3, Kelsey Biro 2
