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Incarnate Wins Visitation Basketball Tournament; 2-0 Versus Haz. Central
BY JIM WIENERS
Incarnate Word Academy has two things going into 2009 in Girls Basketball, winning the Academy of the Visitation Christmas Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years — five overall — and defeating Hazelwood Central twice in December.
With 2007 Visitation Tournament champion St. Joseph’s Academy playing elsewhere — Phoenix, Ariz. — Incarnate was not able to avenge the 2007 Visitation Tourney title game loss. The Red Knights won the 2008 tourney nearly two weeks ago by beating four public high schools — Beaumont, 57-25, Francis Howell Central, 54-37, Parkway South, 59-55, and Hazelwood Central, 62-44. Prior to Jan. 5 IWA is 10-1 — losing only to Marian Catholic, a team that St. Joe’s defeated 70-61 last Saturday — and was the only team to defeat Hazelwood Central, doing it twice including a 49-46 nail-biter Dec. 11, and Parkway South.
The difference between the Dec. 11 contest won by IWA on a three-point buzzer-beater by Chloe Nelson and the more dominating win in the Dec. 27 championship game was effort. IWA head coach Dan Rolfes, who has guided the Red Knights to their fourth title in the last five years, said “we did a lot of little things that make the difference. The effort is always there, it’s just the little things.”
Hazelwood Central played four private, all-girls schools from the Metro Women’s Athletic Association White Division in the Visitation Tournament. The 7-2 Hawks defeated Villa Duchesne, 66-17, Visitation, 56-41, and Nerinx Hall, 69-52 before losing to IWA.
The difference between the three point loss on Dec. 11 and the 18-point loss on Dec. 27 was aggressive play by IWA and the lack of the same by the Hawks. “They (IWA) were really aggressive but we were a half step slow,” said Hazelwood Central head coach Wendy Reeves.
“Overall it was a great tourney, They wanted it more than we did” even though Reeves said “the girls wanted the rematch with Incarnate” but the rematch was more one-sided.
McCluer South-Berkeley took consolation seventh place at Visitation, alternating two losses and wins.
OTHER GIRLS TOURNAMENTS — At the Duchesne Invitational Hazelwood West took the third place contest over Hazelwood East, 66-53 on Dec. 29. Prior to that Hazelwood West defeated St. Charles High, 46-42, but lost to tourney champ Fort Zumwalt West, 60-37, while Hazelwood East defeated Fort Zumwalt East, 74-29, but lost to Duchesne 58-55.
At the John F. Kennedy Christmas Tournament Riverview Gardens took second place to Eureka, losing 61-49 on Dec. 30. Riverview defeated Ladue, 48-38 and Westminster Christian Academy, 55-52. Lutheran North won Consolation honors losing to Eureka, 65-29 then defeated Kennedy, 49-43 and Ladue, 49-36.
