By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Callan Taylor’s final high school basketball season ended on a sour note. So she took it out on the Missouri All-Stars during the Kansas vs. Missouri Hyvee/Pepsi All-Star Challenge Saturday night at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas City.
Taylor and her Blue Valley North teammates saw their 2007-08 season fall short of the Kansas 6A state tournament at the hands of district rival Blue Valley, the same opponent that defeated the Mustangs twice before during the regular season. Saturday, Taylor took the court as a teammate of Tiger rivals Brianna Eldridge and Taylor Hanson.
Sure, there was the typical ribbing, but the trio ultimately worked together to help Kansas snap a five-game skid against Missouri in Kansas City’s 12th annual high school version of the Border War.
Taylor connected on all three of her 3-point attempts, while making 6-of-8 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws to score a game-high 18 points in the 83-71 triumph. As a team, Kansas made 8-of-14 shots from beyond the arc.
“It was a good way to end my high school career,” Taylor said of her outstanding performance during the 83-71 triumph over her Show Me counterparts. “Our season didn’t go as well as we (Blue Valley North) had hoped. So I guess I took it out on them (Missouri). I guess it was a good way for me to leave my mark.”
Olathe South standout Jadhken Kerr scored four of Kansas’ first six points – after blocking a shot and pulling down a defensive rebound on Missouri’s first possession – on a jumper and a pair of free throws. Then Taylor took over by scoring six-straight points in helping Kansas jump out to a 40-22 lead late in the first half, before the Sunflower State team settled for a 42-31 advantage at intermission.
Following a longer than usual halftime because of the game’s 3-point shooting contest, the Kansas squad lacked intensity to start the second half and the Hickman Mills duo of Jaleshia Roberson and LeAndrea Thomas caught fire to lead Missouri on a 19-6 rally to pull within 44-41.
But Kansas took off again. Olathe South’s Alyssa Rhodes scored on a wide open 3-pointer following an assist from Falcon teammate Kerr to put Kansas ahead 60-51. Basehor-Linwood’s Cassie Lombardino then scored four straight points to give her team a double-digit advantage at 70-57 and Kansas never looked back.
Joining Taylor in double figures were Kerr (14 points), Lombardino (10 points) and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Kristin Thorne (10 points). Roberson led Missouri with 13 points, while Lee’s Summit West’s Kierra Powell added 10 points.
Missouri overcame the outside shooting of Kansas with a taller, deeper and more athletic lineup to win the boys game 87-84. Six different players scored from beyond the 3-point line for Kansas, who led 37-34 at intermission.
Bishop Miege’s Jason Payton led the Kansas boys with 13 points. Leavenworth’s Caprest Rhone (12 points), Blue Valley West’s Robert Lewandowski (10 points) and Mike Besler (12 points) scored in double figures for Kansas as well.
Kansas was without the services of Bishop Miege’s Travis Releford who was held out due to a minor injury. Releford is set to compete for Kansas next season.
Missouri recruit Marcus Denmon led Missouri to the 3-point win by scoring a game-high 22 points. Smithville’s Andrew Jones added 10 points, while North Kansas City’s Garrett Stutz (16 points) and Raytown South's Dominique Newton (13 points) hit double digits as well.
Payton and Blue Valley’s Taylor Hanson teamed up to win the co-ed 3-point shooting contest over Missouri players Jackie Discher (North Kansas City) and Stutz. Denmon, who earlier in the evening won the DiRenna award, added the slamdunk championship to the fold with a win over St. Thomas Aquinas’ Clinton Mann in the finals.
The DiRenna Award is handed out annually to the top boys and girls basketball player in the Kansas City metro area. Taber Spani of Metro Academy won the award for the girls.
“I was kind of surprised,” Spani told the Kansas City Star. “Generally (it goes to seniors), especially on the girls? side.”
Spani, a junior, averaged 29.6 points and 11 rebounds during a season in which Metro Academy lost in the championship game of the National Christian Home school Basketball Championships last month.
Baseball: Rockhurst Ends Bishop Ward’s Record Run
Rockhurst (Mo.), the very team that handed Kansas City Bishop Ward its last loss before the Cyclones went on their state record 45-game winning streak, ended that run Saturday with an 8-2 victory.
The Hawklets defeated Bishop Ward 6-3 April 22, 2006 and then sat and watched with the rest of the teams in the Kansas City metro and the state of Kansas, as the Cyclones mowed down opponent-after-opponent over the course of the next two seasons. Bishop Ward has won five straight Kansas 4A state championships, including the last two during the unbelievable run.
“You’re going to lose in this sport sooner or later, and it happened,” Cyclone coach Dennis Hurla told the Kansas City Star.
“It’s not really a huge deal. I’m not sure I’m glad its over, but I don’t know. I would rather it happen now than at the end of the year in postseason play.”
Miscellaneous: Wichita Schools Play Multi-Sport Tripleheader
Administrators at Wichita’s two catholic high schools – Kapaun Mount Carmel and Bishop Carroll – found a creative way to give fans of the rival schools just what they want – a chance to watch a lot of sports action all at one venue (Newman University) at the same time.
With the arrival of the first Catholic High School Sports Fest last Saturday, Wichita fans can see multiple sporting events without the hassle of traveling to multiple sites. The inaugural event featured contests in baseball, softball and girls soccer.
“It’s important for the two Catholic high schools to work together. Sometimes we forget how similar we are because of the rivalry,” Bishop Carroll athletic director Larry Dostert told the Wichita Eagle. “Most of the time our games are so spread out. We were playing soccer out here once and I thought it would be nice if we could have everybody out here at once.”
The Sports Fest is the brainstorm of Newman University’s director of alumni relations Ann Fox and Dostert, a Newman graduate. Kapaun athletic director John Heise and Newman AD Randy Smith have also played critical roles in getting the ball rolling in the event.
“People are so busy nowadays that they don’t have a lot of time to do things,” Fox told the Eagle. “But they make time to go out to their kids’ games. With this event, they have a chance to come back and see the changes that have occurred at the school. You get a glimpse of the school riding down Kellogg (Avenue), but you can’t really see what we’ve got going on until you get off of Kellogg.”
Kapaun took the baseball game 5-2 and won the soccer match 2-0. Carroll took the softball game over Kapaun by a 2-0 margin.
