Willard Lady Tigers lose to Webb City, Carl Junction in tough week

The Willard High School boys and girls basketball teams both hosted Webb City and Carl Junction last week, with the girls dropping both games, while the boys split their two games.

         Girls
On Friday, Feb. 7, the Lady Tigers fell to the Lady Bulldogs of Carl Junction, 76-44. Willard hosted Webb City on Tuesday, Feb. 4, but fell to the Lady Cardinals in overtime, 63-60.
Willard held a 14-13 lead after the first quarter and increased that lead to 25-19 by the half. Both teams scored 19 points each in the third quarter but Willard still led 44-38. Webb City outscored Willard 16-10 in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 54-54 and force an overtime period. In overtime, the Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Tigers 9-6 to win the game 63-60.
“We let a win slip through our fingers tonight,” said head coach J.J. Adamson. “This one stings, we had plenty of chances to put this game away and did not.  I am proud of our kids for never quitting and they played hard throughout the game but we just did not make enough winning plays. We lacked a focus all night and you could see it play out during the game. We had too many careless turnovers, missed layups and missed free throws. We will have to put it behind us quickly.”
Megan Mahan led Willard with 25 points; Jada Holloman added 14 points and Addalyn Adamson ended the game with 12 points. Willard is now 12-8 on the season and was scheduled to host Republic Tuesday night before traveling to Carthage on Friday night.
    
          Boys
On the boys side, the Tigers hosted Carl Junction on Friday, Feb. 7 and came away with a 68-45 win.
Willard led 21-11 after the first quarter and 37-17 by halftime. Willard scored just nine points in the third quarter but Carl Junction only scored four points and still trailed 46-21 heading into the final quarter of play. Carl Junction outscored Willard 24-22 in the fourth quarter but it didn’t matter as the Tigers won the game by 23 points.
“I was very pleased with our performance against CJ in front of a nice crowd of fans for court warming,” said head coach Jeremy Draessler. “It is one of my favorite wins since I have been at Willard because we showed so much growth and maturity from where we were at midway through the season.” 
Willard hosted Webb City on Tuesday, Feb. 4 but got blown out the Cardinals, 82-54. The Tigers are now 11-9 on the season and were scheduled to host Republic on Tuesday night before heading to Carthage on Friday night.