Some of the top girls basketball talent in the St. Louis metro area was on hand at the Eighth Annual Sweet Hoops Girls Classic at Harris Stowe State University.
Despite the frigid temperatures outside, girls basketball fans filled the Emerson Center on Harris-Stowe’s campus to watch the shootout, which has grown into one of the area’s top basketball showcase events under the guidance of Lift for Life Academy Athletic Director Chandra Palmer.
In the main event, Incarnate Word Academy defeated Lutheran St. Charles 74-52 in a showdown of the Class 6 state champions (IWA) and Class 5 state champions (Lutheran) from last season. Junior guard Nevaeh Caffey of Incarnate Word scored 16 points to earn Most Valuable Player honors for the game.
The top individual performance of the event came from freshman sensation Dasia Scott of Principia. The talented 6’2” forward scored 37 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Panthers to a victory over East St. Louis in the opening game of the event.
One of the most competitive games of the event was Pattonville against Vashon, which had a great game at last year’s Sweet Hoops event. Vashon won the game last season, but Pattonville came away with the victory this season. Senior guard Zoe Newland scored a game-high 18 points to earn Most Valuable Player honors for the game.
Lift for Life Academy withstood a furious rally from Huntsville Lee (AL) to post a 65-62 victory. Sophomore guard Diamond Polk scored a team-high 17 points to lead Lift for Life. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. The Hawks also got 17 points from talented freshman guard Amaya Manuel.
*Area teams headed to Quincy Shootout
A group of top boys basketball teams from the St. Louis area will be headed to Quincy (IL) this weekend to participate in the Quincy Shootout, a two-day event that features several national-level schools and prep schools from around the county. Vashon, Chaminade and Principia will be playing in this prestigious event.
On Friday night, Principia will take on Quincy Notre Dame at 7 p.m. at Notre Dame. Vashon will host The Burlington School at 7:30 p.m. as part of the shootout. Chaminade will take on national power Imotep (PA) at Quincy High at 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Vashon will face Oak Cliff Faith Family at 6 p.m. while Principia will take on Winchester West Central at 9 p.m. Both of those games will be held at Quincy High.
*Vashon wins two games at Bass Pro TOC
Vashon spent last weekend in Springfield, MO to play at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, which was held at Missouri State University. The Wolverines won two of their three games at this national tournament to take home the consolation championship. After dropping its first game to national power McEachern (GA), the Wolverines came back to defeat Springfield Glendale and Rainier Beach (WA) to win fifth place.
Junior forward Nicholas “Butta” Randall was selected to the All-Tournament Team. The 6’8” forward averaged 11 points and nine rebounds in the tournament. Junior guard Trey Williams averaged 13 points a game while junior guard Christian Williams averaged 12 points in the tournament.
*Symon Says
One of the most improved players in the St. Louis area has been 7’3” sophomore center Symon Ghai. The tallest player in the area, Ghai has really been coming on strong in the past couple of weeks with a string of big performances. He helped the Golden Griffins to the championship of the Rotating 8 Tournament. He had 32 points and 15 rebounds in the semifinals against Clayton and 14 points and seven rebounds in the championship game against Principia. Ghai also had 20 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over Chicago Whitney Young at the Highland Shootout in Illinois.
