The St. James High School girls’ basketball team was able to survive a 12-point halftime deficit and rally past West Plains in Missouri Class 4 Sectional action earlier in the week.
However, falling behind the Webb City Cardinals can be deadly.
As a result, the Lady Tigers’ season is over.
A 13-0 run in the final 2:41 of the first period gave Webb City control of the game it would not relinquish Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Cardinals went on to stop St. James 57-36 in Class 4 Quarterfinal play at the Hammons Student Center on the campus of Missouri State University.
Webb City, 28-1, ranked No. 1 in the latest state poll and also ranked No. 26 in the ESPN Fab 50 national rankings, advances to the Class 4 Final Four for the second straight season.
The Lady Cardinals will play Kansas City O’Hara (23-6) at 5 p.m. Friday at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia in Class 4 Semifinal Play. In the other Class 4 Semifinal girls’ game Cape Girardeau Notre Dame (25-4) faces St. Dominic (25-3) at 3:20 p.m. on Friday. The girls’ Class 4 Championship Game is set for 2:50 p.m. Saturday. Webb City was Class 4 runner-up last year.
It’s the second straight year that Webb City kept the Lady Tigers from qualifying for the fifth Final Four in program history. St. James, ranked third in the final Class 4 regular-season state poll, ends at 25-4.
