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North Tech Dream Season Ends In Class 3 Quarters, IWA Wins Class 5
By Jim Wieners
North County Tech, with not much success in athletics, made history two weeks ago as the Girls Basketball team won their first district title and last week became the first team to win 20 games in a season.
Their hopes for state trophy were dashed last Saturday in the Class Three Quarterfinals at Hannibal High School. After having to endure their longest road trip, 109 miles or 2:03 by bus one way, the Golden Eagles were wiped out by 10th-ranked Macon, 59-28. It was the first ever State Quarterfinal game for North Tech in any sport.
Macon, a team that has experienced road trips so the nearly 62-mile trip from Macon did not bother them. What helped was that Macon Tigerette fans outnumbered North Tech fans 12-1 at Hannibal’s C. Allen Korf Memorial Gymnasium. Only four players scored for the 20-6 Golden Eagles led by junior Brittany McNutt with 10 points.
“It played a major role,” said North Tech head Coach George Merritt on the long trip and being routed by Macon. “It took a while and that affects us.” With four seniors leaving and 11 juniors on the team “the girls would like to go back (to North Tech) and get ready for next year. We finished as far as we could go and did the best we could.”
North Tech reached 20 wins on March 10 at St. Charles West in a 64-61 Class Three Sectional win over fifth-ranked Bowling Green, thanks to a 21-9 fourth quarter performance after trailing 52-43. North Tech was helped when McDonald’s All-American Anne Marie Hartung, a University of Texas signee, and Talia Brown, the top two scorers fouled out. Junior Yelena Rosado scored 21 points while junior Angie Randall scored 19.
Two weeks ago at Whitfield North Tech won Class Three, District Five becoming the second team in school history to win a district title after the boys won a Class Two, District Two Track and Field title two years ago at Orchard Farm. North Tech defeated Northwest Academy of Transportation and Law with Big Picture Alt., 44-30 (March 2), Lutheran-St. Charles County, 51-44 (March 4) and Whitfield, 58-50 (March 5). Rosado scored 33 against Whitfield and 12 against Northwest Academy while Rosado scored 16 against Lutheran-SC.
INCARNATE WORD ACADEMY won the Class Five State Girls title last week, their third Basketball title and their 23rd overall in all sports. At Mizzou Arena, University of Missouri, Columbia, IWA defeated Fort Zumwalt West, 55-36, on March 11 in the semifinals and Blue Springs, 52-43 March 13 in the title game. At the University of Missouri-St. Louis IWA defeated Parkway South, 62-28 in the March 3 Sectionals and Poplar Bluff, 67-33 in the March 6 Quarterfinals. IWA finished at 30-1 losing only to Illinois Class 4A Runner-Up Chicago Whitney Young in a Jan. 15 game played at North County Tech.
