The regular season of high school basketball concludes this week with postseason action getting underway throughout the St. Louis area.
On the final day of the season on Friday, Vashon will be paying a visit to Ladue in a battle between two teams that have state championship aspirations. Both teams had an open date late in the season and decided to get together before one final postseason tune-up against a quality opponent. Vashon is currently ranked No. 1 in Class 4 while Ladue is ranked No. 2 in Class 5. Tip it off at 6 p.m.
Vashon will enter next week’s postseason in search of its four consecutive Class 4 state championship. The Wolverines have compiled a 17-6 record against another challenging national schedule. They are led by junior guard Trey Williams Jr., who is averaging 13 points a game while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. Junior forward Nicholas “Butta” Randall averages 10 points and 7.7 rebounds while 6’4” senior Nassir Binion averages 10.8 points. Junior guard Christian Williams averages eight points while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.
The Ladue Rams finished second in the Class 5 state tournament last season. They have followed up with another tremendous season with a 23-1 record, which includes victories over Webster Groves, John Burroughs and the championship of the MICDS Tournament.
The Rams are a team with excellent speed and defensive ability, and they know how to win close games. They are led by 6’3” senior guard Dwayne Foley, who averages 13 points and five rebounds a game. Sam Goellner is a 6’4” senior forward who averages 10 points and four rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the field.
Also making big contributions for Ladue are 6’1” senior Piersson Calvert, who averages eight points a game and 6’3” junior Haydan Arnold, who averages seven points a game. Also in the mix are junior point guard Trisiah Edwards, 6’1” senior Isadore Ba and 6’1” sophomore Ahmaad Ba.
*Alton Girls go back to back 30 wins
The Alton Redbirds accomplished something very special in girls basketball last weekend. The Redbirds defeated Edwardsville 63-38 to win the IHSA Class 4A regional championship at Collinsville. It was the second consecutive regional title for Alton.
In addition to winning back to back regional championships, the Redbirds also won their 30th game of the season, giving them back to back seasons of at last 30 victories. Alton finished with a 31-2 record last season. The Redbirds took a 30-2 record into Tuesday night’s sectional semifinal contest against O’Fallon.
Alton has been led by standout junior point guard Kyoko Proctor, who was a member of the St. Louis American “Fab Five” All-Star Team as a sophomore last season. Proctor is currently averaging 16 points, four assists and three steals a game while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range.
Senior guard Alyssa Lewis has been a consistent scoring threat throughout her career. She is averaging 10 points a game while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range. There is excellent talent on the front court with 6’0” junior Jarius Powers, who averages 14 points and six rebounds a game while shooting 57 percent from the field. Junior forward Talia Norman averages 7.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.
*Sincerely Yours
Junior guard Sincere Parker of Saint Louis University has been on a tremendous scoring roll during the past week. The 6’5” Parker was named the Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference after a pair of scoring outbursts on the Billikens’ two-game road swing in Philadelphia. Parker scored 33 points in the Billikens’ 102-80 victory over LaSalle, then followed up with 34 points in an 87-86 loss to St. Joseph’s. Parker kept up the scoring pace last weekend with 30 points against VCU, which is annually one of the top defensive teams in the A-10. Parker became the first Billiken player to score at least 30 points in three consecutive games since the great Larry Hughes accomplished the feat during the 1998 season.
