ELDORA — Stingy defensively in the first and fourth quarters, the Webster City girls’ basketball team dominated early and late to end the regular season on a high note here last night.

The Lynx held South Hardin scoreless in the first quarter and then limited the Tigers to a single field goal in the fourth en route to a 38-22 victory. WCHS outscored South Hardin 23-2 during those 16 minutes and ended the contest on an 11-0 spurt over the final 51⁄2 minutes to pull away.

“I think this was extremely important so that we could go (into the postseason) with some confidence,” WCHS head coach Nicole Muhlenbruch said.

Senior forward Jenna Miller led all scorers with 13 points, and she also registered eight rebounds, there steals and three assists. Her second 3-pointer of the contest — a rainbow from the right wing — upped the Lynx lead to double digits with 5:15 remaining and ignited the final flurry. Kelly Stoakes canned her own triple from the right corner just 45 seconds later to increase the cushion to 35-22.

Stoakes finished with four points and three steals. The Kasch sisters, Livia and Leah, dropped in six and five points, respectively, and Shelby Queen banked in a first-half trey for her three points. Leah Kasch added five rebounds.

Emma Speiker paced South Hardin (4-16) with nine points. Clara Below added four.

WCHS (3-15) struggled at the free throw line throughout the contest (8 of 22), particularly over the final 2:19 when it rattled in just 3 of 11 attempts.

Livia Kasch netted four of her points in the opening quarter, as WCHS seized the advantage from the opening tip. South Hardin (4-16) didn’t reach the scoring column until the 7:21 mark of the second quarter.

Webster City 38, South Hardin 22

Thursday at Eldora

Webster City (3-15) — Fallon Casey 1 0-0 2, Kelly Stoakes 1 1-2 4, Alley Odland 1 1-6 3, Leah Kasch 2 1-3 5, Shelby Queen 1 0-0 3, Livia Kasch 1 4-7 6, Jenna Miller 5 1-2 13, Reese Casey 1 0-2 2. Totals: 13 8-22 38.

South Hardin (4-16) — Kassidy Winter 1 0-0 2, Rylee Nelson 0 0-0 0, Josie Raska 1 0-0 2, Maddie Maifeld 1 0-0 2, Emma Speiker 2 4-4 9, Cora Frohwein 1 0-0 2, Ellie Anderson 0 0-0 0, Morgan Havens 0 1-2 1, Hailey Rosonke 0 0-0 0, Clara Below 2 0-0 4. Totals: 8 5-6 22.

Web City 12 9 6 11 — 38

S. Hardin 0 11 9 2 — 22

3-point field goals — WC 4 (Miller 2, Stoakes, Queen); SH 1 (Speiker). Rebounds — WC 19 (Miller 8, Le. Kasch 5). Steals — WC 13 (Stoakes 3, Odland 3, Miller 3). Assists — 11 (Miller 3). Turnovers — WC 15, SH 20. Team fouls — WC 5, SH 20. Fouled out — none.