The Missouri Class 4, District 5 girls championship game between Vashon and host Cardinal Ritter was a battle of size vs speed.
In the end, it was the speed and quickness of Vashon that overcame Cardinal Ritter’s height advantage to take a 62-50 victory in front of a capacity crowd and electric atmosphere at Ritter. It was the Wolverines second district championship in the past three seasons.
Vashon (23-5) advances to the sectionals on Tuesday where it will face District 6 champion MICDS at Maryville University at 6 p.m. Cardinal Ritter closes its season at 14-11.
The host Lions took an early 11-9 lead in the first quarter, but Vashon took control of the game with three consecutive 3-pointers to take an 18-11 lead. Junior Chantrel “Tutu” Clayton hit the first triple to give the Wolverines a 12-11 lead. Junior backcourt-mate JaNyla Bush followed with another 3-pointer and Clayton hit the third one in succession. Senior Rayvin Jones added another bucket to complete an 11-0 run for the Wolverines, who never trailed again.
The Wolverines led by as much as 16 points in the second half as their speed and full court pressure forced numerous turnovers. However, the Lions battled back behind the play of 6’1″ junior Ai’Naya Williams and 6’3″ junior Dathy Botuna. The tall duo asserted themselves inside and scored repeatedly as the Lions cut the lead to seven points. Williams finished with a game-high 25 points while Botuna scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
Vashon managed to keep the Lions at bay in the fourth quarter as 5’10” senior guard Raychel Jones scored on several drives and layups. The UMKC recruit scored a team-high 20 points while Clayton scored 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Bush, a Missouri State commit, added 12 points.
