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Four North County High Schools Fall Short At State Championships
BY JIM WIENERS
For the previous two weekends four North St. Louis County high schools sent basketball teams to the University of Missouri, in Columbia, and Mizzou Arena, for the Missouri State High School Championships. None of them won state.
Two weekends ago McCluer North was unable to repeat as state champions and had to settle for second place in Class Five Boys. In that same weekend Incarnate Word Academy, who won state two years ago, had to settle for second this year in Class Five Girls. And, also that weekend, McCluer South-Berkeley, in their first trip to state, took third place in Class Four Girls.
Last weekend, Lutheran North returned to state for the first time since winning the 2005 Class Three Boys title, with a little help from five technical fouls against Charleston. However Lutheran North had to settle for second place with a 56-55 loss last Saturday to Maplewood-Richmond Heights. Bryant Allen, who scored a game-high 25 points, hit the game-winner with four seconds left giving Maplewood their first state Boys Basketball championship.
McCluer North’s hopes of winning state faded March 8 in the Class Five Boys Championship game. Webster Groves defeated the Stars, 71-62 to not only avenged McCluer North’s overtime quarterfinal win a year ago but it was the Statesmen’s second Boys Basketball Championship While McCluer North’s Anthony Booker scored a game high 23 points it was Webster Groves’ Drew Hanlen who scored 19 points and dished out 5 assists while Zach Redel added 16 points and made 14 rebounds.
McCluer North won the Semifinal game March 7, defeating Fort Zumwalt South, 50-38. Booker and Femi John each scored 16.
Incarnate Word was crushed March 8 by Columbia-Rock Bridge, 50-35, as the game was a lot more lopsided than the final score. Three Rock Bridge players scored in double figures, led by Katherine Harry, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Incarnate was led by Britteni Williams with 10 points.
IWA won the semifinal game March 8 with a 60-48 win over top-ranked Hickman Mills.
Kayla Person scored 17 points while Danielle Hellickson pulled down 10 rebounds.
Lutheran North’s road to state, after winning Class Three, District Five, continued in the sectionals on March 5 at St. Charles West and the Crusaders defeated previously unbeaten and top-ranked Bowling Green, 59-52, as three players scored in double figures, led by Charles Dunbar, who had 22 points. On March 8 in Hannibal Lutheran North defeated Highland, Mo., 62-47, in the quarterfinals and once again three Crusaders had double-figure scoring, led by Dunbar, with 17 points, while Joshua Armstrong pulled down 11 rebounds. On March 13 in Columbia Lutheran North won the Class Three Boys Semifinals by defeating Linn, 52-39, and the Crusaders, again, had three players scored in double figures, led by Tyler Shaw, who had 17 points.
McCluer South-Berkeley’s first trip to the state semifinals, March 7, resulted in a 71-54 loss to top-ranked and eventual state champion Bolivar, despite a game-high 24 point from MS-Berkeley’s Meghan Lewis. The Bulldogs, on March 8, took home the third-place trophy after defeating St. Louis-Notre Dame, 63-45, as Chiara Robinson scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, of which seven were on the offensive end.
