In one of the great shootouts of the 2009-10 basketball season, Ryan Yates’ fifth-seeded Verona girls basketball team took home the championship of the Lady Comet Classic in Marionville on Saturday by knocking off the tournament’s second seed, Miller, 96-84.
The 12-point title win, paired with a 73-67 triumph over Class 3’s sixth-ranked Mount Vernon, should also net the Wildcats plenty of respect.
"We’ve had a pretty good week," Yates said of the Wildcat run through the tournament. "We’ve kind of been going along unnoticed. This ought to give us a pretty good boost, beating two ranked teams like this. We’ve been fighting for this kind of recognition all season."
Verona led just 34-30 at halftime. But the Wildcats broke out of the gates in the third quarter and outscored Miller 32-13 to grab a 66-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.
"I thought maybe we were biting off more than we could chew going into the tournament," Yates said. "But the girls proved me wrong. They showed that they are ready to play.
"We executed very well offensively. I think we controlled the tempo and handled the ball very well. The girls seem to have gotten it and they’re working their tails off. If we can get the lead in a game, we can handle the ball."
Verona’s Jessica Smith ran her team-high point total to 46 after connecting on 27 of 36 free throws in the game’s final eight minutes. The 5-foot-6 sophomore, who was called on to bang inside, made 30 of 39 charity tosses in the contest, while attempting just 12 field goals.
"She is tough," Yates said of his rising star. "She’s long, and she has great post moves."
Smith was also credited with six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals in the title game. Fellow sophomore Tristan Carrasquillo kept the Miller defense honest by rattling in 22 points of her own.
Miller scoring wizard Hannah Wilkerson broke her own Miller single-game scoring mark of 50 points by scorching the nets for a game-high 54 points Saturday. With her latest offensive outburst, the 5-8 senior has pulled within 90 points of tying Morrisville-Marshfield star Melissa Grider’s (1998-2001) state record of 3,211 career points.
"She just has a knack for finding a way to score," Yates said of Wilkerson. "She’s a hoss. We knew coming in that she was probably going to get her points. We were just hoping to limit the damage done by her teammates.
"Going in I thought about using a box-and-one or a triangle-and-two, or something like that. But we decided to go straight man on her with some weak-side help."
The three-game sweep of Pleasant Hope (65-57), Mount Vernon (73-67) and Miller (96-84) pushed Verona’s season record to 14-3 through Tuesday’s action and lands the Wildcats in the Class 1 rankings for the first time this season at No. 6.
Miller (13-3) drops a spot to sixth in the Class 2 poll, while Mount Vernon (14-3) falls two rungs to sixth in Class 3.
Below is a look at the latest edition of the Missouri boys and girls basketball rankings. Team records, in parenthesis, include games played through Tuesday.
Last weekend’s scoring leaders
Boys
Bradley Beal of Chaminade scored 44 points in a 68-61 win over Vianney…Crane’s Levi Cook poured in 44 points in a 72-59 win over Billings…Gage Rosier of Mound City ripped the cords for 43 points in a 70-64 win over Doniphan West (KS)…North Tech’s Kevin Straughter scored 34 points in a 62-53 win over Bayless…Lavon Williams of Construction Careers Charter poured in 34 points in an 86-49 loss to Springfield-Glendale…Mount Vernon’s Zack Kleine ripped the cords for 34 points in a 74-70 win over Carthage…Daylen Robinson of Kansas City-Northeast scored 33 points in a 76-69 win over Shawnee-Mill Valley (KS)…John Burroughs’ Grant Wallace poured in 31 points in a 72-50 win over Priory…Gage Rosier of Mound City ripped the cords for 31 points in a 65-58 loss to Maur Hill-Mount Academy (KS)…Hurley’s Steven Jennings scored 30 points in a 66-55 win over Verona.
Girls
Hannah Wilkerson of Miller scored 54 points in a 96-84 loss to Verona…Verona’s Jessica Smith poured in 46 points in a 96-84 win over Miller…Hunter Yoakum of Dixon ripped the cords for 39 points in a 67-54 loss to Cole…Miller’s Hannah Wilkerson scored 38 points in an 82-70 win over Ash Grove…Molly O’Brien of Spokane poured in 33 points in a 50-40 loss to Marion C. Early…New Covenant Academy’s Cherith Campbell ripped the cords for 32 points in a 47-40 win over Wheaton…Shelby Winkelmann of Hermann scored 30 points in a 64-55 win over Sullivan…Platte County’s Taylor Johnson poured in 30 points in a 61-57 loss to Ottawa (KS)…Carissa Richardson of Sullivan ripped the cords for 28 points in a 64-55 loss to Hermann…Maplewood-Richmond Heights’ Antonia Lee scored 28 points in a 52-48 loss to Crossroads College Prepartory.
Missouri boys basketball rankings
Top 10
1. Webster Groves (18-0) 1
2. St. Francis Borgia (16-0) 2
3. Raymore-Peculiar (13-1) 8
4. Branson (18-2) 10
5. Sikeston (15-1) –
6. Hazelwood Central (13-3) 4
7. Kearney (14-1) 6
8. Nixa (17-1) –
9. O’Hara (14-3) 7
10. Truman (15-2) -
Class 5
1. Webster Groves (18-0) 1
2. Raymore-Peculiar (13-1) 5
3. Branson (18-2) 7
4. Hazelwood Central (13-3) 3
5. Nixa (17-1) 8
6. Truman (15-2) 10
7. McCluer (14-3) 6
8. Kansas City-Central (10-2) –
9. Rockhurst (14-3) 9
10. Columbia-Rock Bridge (12-4)
Class 4
1. St. Francis Borgia (16-0) 1
2. Sikeston (15-1) 4
3. Kearney (14-1) 2
4. O’Hara (14-3) 3
5. Notre Dame-Cape Girardeau (14-4) 6
6. Soldan (13-4) 5
7. MICDS (13-3) 10
8. Sullivan (12-5) –
9. Clayton (13-6) 8
10. Warrensburg (12-5) –
Class 3
1. Arcadia Valley (19-0) 2
2. Cardinal Ritter (12-4) 3
3. Whitfield (12-7) 5
4. Hogan Prep (10-5) 8
5. Schuyler County (13-0) 9
6. Strafford (13-2) 10
7. Maryville (11-2) 1
8. Macon (13-2) 4
9. Southwest-Washburn (14-2) –
10. Blair Oaks (11-3) 6
Class 2
1. Sturgeon (16-0) 1
2. Penney (13-0) 2
3. Wellington-Napoleon (13-0) 3
4. Spokane (15-2) 4
5. Mid-Buchanan (13-1) 7
6. Stoutland (12-1) 5
7. Adrian (12-0) 9
8. Bernie (13-2) 6
9. Oak Ridge (11-3) –
10. Wellston-Eskridge (9-7) 8
Class 1
1. Scott County Central (14-2) 1
2. Meadville (14-0) 2
3. Dadeville (12-0) 3
4. Glasgow (14-1) 4
5. Richland (13-2) 5
6. Pilot Grove (15-2) 7
7. Jefferson (12-2) 10
8. La Plata (12-1) 8
9. South Harrison (9-3) –
10. Leopold (12-4) 6
Missouri girls basketball rankings
Top 10
1. Incarnate Word Academy (17-1) 1
2. Nixa (16-2) 2
3. St. Joseph-Benton (16-1) 3
4. Fort Zumwalt West (15-1) 5
5. Columbia-Rock Bridge (16-2) 7
6. Blue Springs (13-2) –
7. Webb City (15-1) 6
8. St. Joseph’s Academy (15-5) 4
9. Pacific (16-1) –
10. Platte County (13-3) 10
Class 5
1. Incarnate Word Academy (17-1) 1
2. Nixa (16-2) 2
3. Fort Zumwalt West (15-1) 4
4. Columbia-Rock Bridge (16-2) 5
5. Blue Springs (13-2) 9
6. St. Joseph’s Academy (15-5) 3
7. Eureka (16-1) 6
8. Springfield-Kickapoo (13-5) 7
9. Hazelwood Central (10-4) –
10. Lee’s Summit North (13-3) 8
Class 4
1. St. Joseph-Benton (16-1) 1
2. Webb City (15-1) 2
3. Pacific (16-1) 5
4. Platte County (13-3) 4
5. Hickman Mills (14-5) 3
6. St. Francis Borgia (13-3) 8
7. St. James (14-2) –
8. St. Dominic (15-3) 9
9. St. Clair (16-2) 6
10. Notre Dame-Cape Girardeau (13-4) 7
Class 3
1. California (16-1) 2
2. Cardinal Ritter (13-2) 1
3. St. Pius X-Festus (14-0) 6
4. South Shelby (12-1) 3
5. Hermann (14-2) 5
6. Mount Vernon (14-3) 4
7. Maryville (11-2) 8
8. Conway (14-2) 9
9. Cuba (12-1) 7
10. Bowling Green (11-3) –
Class 2
1. Penney (13-0) 1
2. Harrisburg (14-0) 2
3. Sparta (14-2) 3
4. Neelyville (18-0) 4
5. Laquey (15-2) 7
6. Miller (13-3) 5
7. Salisbury (12-1) 8
8. Osceola (9-2) 10
9. Bismarck (14-1) –
10. Purdy (13-3) –
Class 1
1. Montrose (14-0) 1
2. Marion County (11-3) 2
3. Jefferson (12-1) 3
4. Mercer (12-0) 4
5. Meadville (14-0) 6
6. Verona (14-3) –
7. Walnut Grove (12-2) 5
8. Northeast Nodaway (14-1) 7
9. Southwest-Livingston (14-2) 9
10. Pilot Grove (13-3) –
