The St. Louis Surge are the Midwest Regional champions of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League.
The Surge clinched their regional title with a 104-76 victory over the Kansas Nuggets last Saturday night at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
With the victory, the Surge (11-1) advance to this weekend’s WBCBL National Tournament in New Orleans. The league’s top eight teams will gather for a single elimination tournament to decide who will be the league champions. The Surge will open play against the Virginia Stallions on Saturday at noon. The semifinals will be held on Saturday at 4 p.m. with the championship game set for Sunday at noon.
In the regional championship game, the Surge broke open a close game to coast to the victory. They led 48-45 at halftime, but took control in the third quarter as they outscored the Nuggets 36-10.
The Surge had five players score in double figures, led by 6’1” forward Jaleesa Butler, who had 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Post player Leah Kassing had 17 points and seven assists. Guards Lucy Cramsey and Rebecca Harris had 16 points each, while forward Katie Yohn added 12 points.
Marvin Neals to be honored
Hall of Fame basketball coach Marvin Neals will be honored by the alumni of Soldan High and College Ritter College Prep with an alumni game and scholarship dinner on Saturday, August 23 at Ritter (701 N. Spring). There will be a combined men’s and women’s game at noon. The scholarship dinner will be held at 6:30 p.m.
The two schools are joining forces to honor Neals, who led both programs to state championships and statewide prominence during his stellar career. He coached at Soldan from 1974 to 1990, leading the Tigers to three Final Four appearances and the Class 4 state championship in 1981. He took over the Cardinal Ritter program in 2000 and led the Lions to four state championships, including the 2014 Class 3 state title.
Tickets for the events are: $10 for adults and $5 for children for the basketball game, $40 for the dinner and $45 for both the dinner and the game. For player registration and ticket information, contact Tonya Farr at (314) 446-5506 or via email at tfarr@cardinalritterprep.org, Ken Kaid at ken.kaid.j3nk@statefarm or Janice Tompkins at jatompkins_43@yahoo.com.
Tickets can be purchased at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. Please make checks/money orders payable to Cardinal Ritter. Mail payments to Cardinal Ritter College Prep H.S. 701 N. Spring, St. Louis, MO 63108. Attn: Neals Scholarship.
