For the ninth year, the Sweet Hoops Girls Basketball Showcase will bring together some of the area’s top players and teams.
Event director Chandra Palmer of Sweet Hoops has done a great job of showcasing girls basketball with this event for nearly a decade. Palmer is also the athletic director at Lift for Life Academy.
The six-game event will take place Saturday at Harris-Stowe State University. The opening game will be a junior varsity contest between Lift for Life and St. Teresa’s Academy from the Kansas City area.
Here is a look at the five varsity games in the showcase.
Whitfield vs. St. Pius, 12:30 p.m. — Whitfield is off to a fast start this season behind its very talented freshman class. The top player is guard Addison Odom, who is averaging 14 points a game. Other top freshmen include guards Rylii Franklin, Kristina Margraf and Amarlii Hart along with 6’1” forward Ava Nicastro. St. Pius is led by a 6’1” senior forward, a four-year starter who has signed with SIU Edwardsville.
Jefferson City vs. STEAM Academy, 2 p.m. — STEAM Academy features a talented senior trio of 5’11” Kayden Day, 5’11” Tyesha Phillips and 5’5” point guard Bria Moore. All three players are currently averaging in double figures. Jefferson City comes in from Mid-Missouri with a quality team. The Jays have good size in 6’1” sophomore Izzy Miller and 6’1” junior K’Lee Dubois. Sophomore Jill Moseley and junior Zaria Jefferson are athletic guards.
Lift for Life vs. St. Teresa’s Academy, 3:30 p.m. — This is a battle between the two teams that played each other for the Class 5 state championship last season. Lift for Life won that game and the state title. The Hawks have been playing without top guards Amaya Manuel and Zha Harris, who are injured. They are led by 5’8” senior Diamond Polk and 5’7” junior Cara Manuel, along with 5’9” junior forward Rian Lenox. St. Teresa’s is led by 5’9” junior guard Jazlyn Rhodes, one of the top prospects in the state. STA also features 6’4” junior Mabel Bland in the post.
Belleville East vs. Lutheran St. Charles, 5 p.m. — Belleville East is the top team in the Metro East area. The Lancers are coming off an impressive third-place finish in the Visitation Christmas Tournament. They are led by talented sophomore point guard Hailey Gray, who is averaging 16 points a game. Lutheran St. Charles features a strong senior inside-outside duo in 6’2” forward Kennedy Stowers and 5’6” point guard Kyrii Franklin. Stowers, an Illinois State recruit, is averaging 14 points and nine rebounds a game while Franklin is averaging 15 points a game.
Cardinal Ritter vs. Legion Prep Academy (Texas), 6:45 p.m. — Cardinal Ritter is one of the area’s top teams and a prime contender in Class 4 this season. The Lions feature a group of talented guards led by junior Nylah Scales, sophomore Trinity Jackson and senior Alanah Howard. The frontcourt is led by 5’10” senior forward McKenzie McCann. Legion Prep comes in from the Dallas area with one of the top teams in Texas. The top player is 6’2” senior forward Jacy Abii, a four-star prospect who has signed with Notre Dame. They also feature 5’6” senior guard Rieyan DeSouze, another four-star recruit headed to Texas A&M.
Principia boys make national waves
The Principia Panthers made quite a statement last week when they traveled to Fort Myers, Florida, to participate in the prestigious City of Palms Classic, one of the top holiday tournaments in the country.
Principia entered the tournament unranked and relatively unknown nationally, but came back to Missouri with a third-place trophy after three victories over nationally ranked teams. In the opening game, Principia defeated ninth-ranked Columbus (Georgia) 74-62. The Panthers were led by senior guard Quentin Coleman with 30 points and junior guard Gassim Toure with 20.
In the quarterfinals, Principia defeated No. 4 ranked Marietta Wheeler 69-63 behind 34 points from Coleman, who is headed to Wake Forest. The Panthers appeared poised to take down national power Paul VI (Virginia) in the semifinals, but a 31-point performance by five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr. stopped the Panthers from reaching the championship game.
Principia bounced back in the third-place game to defeat another nationally ranked team, Bartlett (Tennessee). The Panthers had a balanced scoring attack in the last two games with 6’9” junior forward Sekou Cisse and 6’3” junior guard Wyatt Slay also contributing in a big way.
For their efforts, the Panthers went from unranked to No. 2 in the latest MaxPreps.com rankings. Principia traveled back to Missouri where it is competing in the Central Bank Great 8 Classic in Jefferson City.
Incarnate Word wins another Visitation championship
Incarnate Word Academy won another Visitation Christmas Tournament championship with three dominating performances. After defeating St. Joseph’s 80-35 in the quarterfinals, the Red Knights defeated Cardinal Ritter 72-49 in the semifinals Friday night and Principia 71-44 for the championship. It was the eighth consecutive Visitation Tournament title for Incarnate Word.
Belleville East defeated Cardinal Ritter in the third-place game and Cor Jesu defeated Lift for Life in the fifth-place game.
Seniors Peyton Olufson and Nevaeh Lucious of Incarnate Word led the All-Tournament First Team. Olufson scored a team-high 16 points and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Lucious scored her 1,000th career point in the championship game.
Olufson and Lucious were joined on the first team by sophomore Dasia Scott of Principia, senior Evelyn Shane of Ursuline, sophomore Hailey Gray of Belleville East, junior Nylah Scales of Cardinal Ritter, senior Lauren Ortwerth of Cor Jesu and junior Cara Manuel of Lift for Life.