 | ||||||
| ||||||
2007 Main Page Team Picture Schedule Roster Results Records Schedule (Fr) Roster (Fr) | ||||||
The Storm placed 2nd in the MSHSAA Tournament after an exciting overtime game with Bolivar. Teresa Turner was selected to MBCA All-State team while Kelley Murphy was selected to the sportswriters All-State team. Mike Dunn was selected by the sportswriters as Coach of the Year.
Sion falls short in Class 4 title game Source: The Star
COLUMBIA | For the longest time Saturday afternoon, the Notre Dame de Sion girls had their way with Bolivar. The Storm used its defense to fluster Liberators shooters, including star wing-player Casey Garrison, and turn the Missouri Class 4 girls championship game into a low-scoring defensive struggle. It was just what Sion wanted. But in the end, Bolivar had one thing Sion didn’t. Namely, Garrison, who averaged nearly 26 points per game this season and is signed to play next season at Missouri State. When the Liberators were most in need they turned to Garrison — and she delivered. Garrison led her team back from a five-point deficit with less than 2 minutes left in regulation and propelled Bolivar to a 47-43 overtime victory at Mizzou Arena that broke the hearts of the Storm. “Even with the great defensive plays we had, she was able to get some shots to fall, especially in overtime,” said Sion coach Mike Dunn, who led the Storm to its second state championship game in the last three seasons. Sion finished as runner-up in the Class 5 state tournament in 2006. Bolivar found itself trailing solely because of Sion’s defense. The Liberators got off to a quick start behind six straight points from Garrison to start the game and led 13-5 at the end of the first quarter. But the Sion defense tightened. The Storm surrendered just 13 more points over the next two quarters. And Sion started hitting some shots, taking a 31-26 lead after three quarters. Sion led 38-35 with 1 minute, 50 seconds remaining and appeared in control. But that was when Garrison made perhaps her biggest shot, a running right-handed leaner in the lane with Storm freshman Alexandra Keane tightly defending her. “She’s a great player,” Keane said. “It was tough guarding her. I didn’t do it alone. My teammates helped contest every shot she took.” The bucket ignited a run that gave Bolivar a 41-38 lead with 27 seconds left. Sion wasn’t finished, however. Teresa Turner’s desperation shot from the left baseline with two ticks left found nothing but net and forced overtime. It turned out to be Garrison time. She scored the first four points, pulled down every rebound at the Storm’s end and led her team to the title. She finished with a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. Sion, 22-9, was led by Turner’s 13 points.
Sion girls thrash Notre Dame of St. Louis Source: The Star
COLUMBIA | Notre Dame de Sion is a basketball team that has lived on its defense most of the season. If there was any mystery in that heading into the Show-Me Showdown on Friday morning at Mizzou Arena, it’s crystal clear now. The Storm, applying swarming, man-to-man, full-court defensive pressure most of the way, hounded Notre Dame of St. Louis into committing 24 turnovers, held the Rebels to nine points over two quarters, and steamrolled to a 47-27 victory in the first Class 4 girls semifinal. The victory put Sion, 22-8, into its second state championship game in the last three years. The Storm, which played in the Class 5 final in 2006, will play Bolivar, a 71-54 winner over McCluer South-Berkeley, in the state championship game at 12:20 this afternoon. “Defensively, I thought we did an outstanding job on their best people,” said Sion coach Mike Dunn. “Probably over the last month, we’ve had quarters where we’ve had outstanding defensive stops.” Friday, the Storm had two of those quarters back to back, and it blew what was a close game early on wide open. Given the final result, it’s hard to believe Notre Dame led 9-7 after the first quarter. In fact, the game was deadlocked at 12-12 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. But at that point, Storm senior guard Erin Spangler hit a three-pointer, igniting a run of 12 straight Sion points that, just like that, doubled the Rebels’ score. Sophomore point guard Teresa Turner, who led all scorers with 17 points, said, “At first, we were just getting used to the court. I think we started getting more open looks once we wore them down.” Notre Dame (St. Louis) suffered a further blow late in the second quarter when starting point guard Jill Wilmas suffered a knee injury that ended her scoreless day.
Rebels look to weather Storm in semifinals By Scott Fitzgerald Tuesday, March 4, 2008 8:43 PM CST
Taking a cue from one of the more well-known universities in the country, Notre Dame has become an often used name in high school circles.
No less than three Notre Dame teams will be competing at the MSHSAA Basketball Championships this weekend at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. South County's Notre Dame is coached by Brad Sutterer, who can't wait to get there.
"I am a little tired, but very happy," Sutterer said on Sunday afternoon, almost a day after his team worked overtime to knock off host Farmington 43-38 in a Class 4 quarterfinal. "We missed some easy shots early, but stuck to our game plan and finally started controlling the boards."Notre Dame (21-7) will face another one, the Notre Dame de Sion Storm of Kansas City, in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday.
For the uninitiated, that is 9 in the morning "" a tipoff time predicated on the fact that eight girls and boys games must be squeezed into the first day. The Cape Girardeau Notre Dame boys team, also a Class 4 program, advanced to Columbia.
"That is the one thing that makes no sense to me," Sutterer said. "But we've had some tourney games early in the summer. We'll get up at 6 like any ordinary school day. But then we'll have a team meal and get ready for a game.
"We'll try to keep it as normal as we can. We've been traveling as much as anyone, and are used to being on the road."
The Rebels won their district title at Affton, and defeated Sullivan at Jefferson College in Hillsboro last Wednesday. They were underdogs on Saturday at Farmington, and will be once again when they take on de Sion (21-8).
Just two years ago, Notre Dame de Sion advanced to the Class 5 state championship game, where it fell to Incarnate Word 43-31. Since then, the Storm dropped from Class 5 to 4. Storm coach Mike Dunn, in his fourth year, said the school is the second largest in Class 4.
Of the Storm's 25 regular season games this season, 21 were against schools in larger classes. de Sion routed Metro 64-22 in the last game of the season. On a mid-season trip here, de Sion played at Incarnate Word and St. Joseph's. The Storm fell to St. Joe's 59-43, but played Incarnate close, losing just 47-40.
"I think that was a turning point in our season," said Storm coach Mike Dunn. "We had Incarnate beat at one point. Even though we lost, we played extremely well. We haven't lost since."
The Storm has just three seniors, two of whom are starters. Sophomore point guard Teresa Turner (5-5) runs the show. In the backcourt with her are 5-7 sophomore Courtney Cannon and freshman guard Alexandra Keane. Handling things closer to the basket are seniors Erin Spangler (5-10) and Kelley Murphy (6-0). Four other players provide help off the bench.
Unlike the Rebels, de Sion has no player averaging in double figures. In their sectional win over Marshall, Turner led the way with eight points, Keane scored 11 and Cannon had 10.
The Storm likes to put pressure on other teams, so the Rebels will have to handle the ball well to hang with their opponent.
Notre Dame did play a tough schedule, which included close losses to a strong McCluer South-Berkeley squad and a talented Class 5 program at Parkway South. But the Rebels did not face teams with the talent of Incarnate or St. Joe's, which each advanced to the Class 5 final four.
The Rebels are led by senior Renee Kertz, the team's top 3-point shooter, who averages 12 points per game. Senior Ashley Giffin is next at 9.8 ppg.
The winner of Friday's game meets either McCluer South-Berkeley (26-3) or Bolivar (27-2). Those teams tip off at 10:40, right after the battle of Notre Dames. The championship is set for Saturday at 12:40 p.m.
While de Sion probably is a more high-profile program, Sutterer likes that his team has been flying under the radar.
"We've been kind of the underdog all season," Sutterer said. "I think we can compete with them. Anything is possible now."
'Road' Rebels revel in first final four berth Notre Dame edges host Farmington in overtime thriller
By Bill Hester Tuesday, March 4, 2008 6:55 PM CST
FARMINGTON - The Farmington student section was letting Notre Dame guard Renee Kertz have it with their "air ball" chant every time she touched the ball following an early errant shot.
But Kertz and the Rebels had the last laugh Saturday night with a dramatic, 43-38 overtime victory over Farmington in the Class 4 quarterfinals here at Farmington Civic Center.
Notre Dame, which had never gotten past the sectional round in school history, goes to the final four for the first time ever. The Rebels (21-7) will play Notre Dame de Sion (25-4) Friday at 9 a.m. in the semifinals at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.Kertz quieted the Farmington students with a 3-pointer with three minutes left in regulation, which brought the Rebels back from a five-point, fourth-quarter deficit. She then opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer to give Notre Dame the lead for good. Kertz added a regulation field goal and two free throws in overtime as she scored half of her game-high 14 points in the extra session.
Kertz is winding down a stellar high school career. Her play at shortstop on the softball diamond helped her earn a Division I scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University. She was also the starting goalie on the Rebels' final four soccer team. But there was no feeling quite like the one she had Saturday in front of a packed house of about 3,000 fans.
"Soccer was great but as a goalie you are watching a lot of the action," Kertz said. "With basketball it is constantly moving and the crowd was really into it. This feels especially good because no one expected us to do it."
It didn't look like Notre Dame would do it in the first half, as the Rebels were getting killed on the boards and trailed 21-13 at halftime.
"We have been down in different games at halftime this year and have found someway to come back," Kertz said. "Rebounding was the key."
Notre Dame had 18 defensive rebounds in the game. Fourteen of them came in the second half.
"I felt at the beginning of the game that rebounding was going to be a key," said Rebels coach Brad Sutterer. "We really struggled giving them second and third chances in the first half. I told them at halftime that when they got a shot to make sure it was just one shot. We also had to do a better job of controlling their ballhandlers in the paint."
The halftime adjustments worked as Notre Dame came out on fire to start the second half. It took the Rebels less than five minutes to tie the game and they had a third quarter lead before a couple of late mental errors in the quarter gave Farmington some momentum and a 28-25 advantage.
The Knightettes led by five points twice in the fourth quarter but were held to just two points in the final four minutes. Kertz's big 3-pointer tied it, and Notre Dame took a 34-32 lead with 2:15 to play on a field goal by Robyn Meesey.
Farmington freshman Erin Littrell tied the game and Notre Dame turned the ball over with 1:10 to play. The Knightettes held the ball for almost a minute and called a timeout with 11 seconds left. But Taylor Jensen, who was the lone returning starter on the Farmington final four team last year, missed a contested shot at the buzzer.
Kertz hit her 3-pointer from the corner to open overtime and the Rebels stamped their ticket to Columbia with six free throws in the extra session.
"We had a lot of experience coming back this year," Sutterer said, "and I felt that we could still be playing at this time of year."
And the Rebels will be playing some more basketball in March as they take on Notre Dame de Sion, which defeated Platte County 60-41 in a quarterfinal game. McCluer South-Berkeley, an overtime winner over St. Dominic Saturday, faces Bolivar in the other semifinal. Notre Dame lost to Berkeley in the championship game of the Queen of Hearts Tournament at Villa Duchesne in January.
Posted on Fri, Feb. 29, 2008 10:15 PM Quarterfinals are new experience for Sion, Platte County By COLE YOUNG The Kansas City Star
Coach Mike Dunn wants to make one thing clear: This Notre Dame de Sion girls basketball team isn’t the same squad that was Missouri Class 5 runner-up in 2006. He’s not saying this year’s Storm team is any less talented, but its makeup is quite different. “Making the quarterfinals two of three years sounds good, but none of the girls who were on that team two years ago that are on this team played,” Dunn said. “For this group to be whole new and to get to the quarterfinals in two years is impressive. The only thing these two teams have in common is they both wear the same uniforms.” Notre Dame de Sion, 20-8, faces Platte County, 25-3, in a Missouri Class 4 state quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. today at Lee’s Summit High School. Only Kelley Murphy and Jill McCaffrey are back from the Sion team that made a run to the title game two years ago. The two seniors spent most of their time at the end of the bench during their sophomore season. At Platte County, just playing in a quarterfinal is more than anyone can say. In addition to not having a senior on their roster, the Pirates haven’t been past the sectional round in the school’s history. “I think they are a little bit nervous,” Platte County coach Chris Stubbs said. “We told them to just focus on their fundamentals. Once the ball gets tipped, they are fine. This group has proved they can hang with just about anybody.” While both teams enter today’s quarterfinal game with relatively little experience at this level, both coaches think they have good plans to get their young squads ready. Platte County has been going through the same ball-handling drills and warmups it has been doing since practices began in October. “We did the same fundamental things we did all year,” Stubbs said. “We are just trying to keep it familiar.” Dunn has shortened the Storm’s practices a bit over the last couple of days, going over game plans and figuring out how to stop Platte County’s 6-foot-4 center Morgan Johnson. “You just try to tell them the importance of (the game),” Dunn said. “Basically at practice, we try to go over some key things. This time of year you have to go with what you have been doing. You don’t make a whole lot of adjustments.” Platte County will have to try to find a way to get past Sion’s high-pressure defense. Against Marshall in its sectional game, Sion forced 22 turnovers, with the majority of those coming in the back court as a result of its press. Platte County will try to get the ball inside to Johnson on a regular basis. She scored 16 points in a sectional victory over Central, despite being in foul trouble. Stubbs had perhaps the best theory when it comes to dealing with the buzz that has filled both schools over the last few days. “You just can’t get caught up in all the extra stuff,” Stubbs said. “We have to do what we have done for the other 25 games. As a coach, you focus on what will help girls do the best they can.”
Storm swarms Lady Owls Thursday, February 28, 2008 By CHRIS ALLEN/Sports Editor
ST. JOSEPH -- The relentless defensive pressure exerted by Notre Dame de Sion of Kansas City proved too much for the Marshall girls' basketball team to handle Wednesday during a 56-43 loss in the MSHSAA Class 4 Sectional at St. Joseph. That came as no surprise to Lady Owls head coach Tom Hayob. "I was expecting them to pressure us like they did," he remarked. "I thought we could get it inside, and they did the one thing they could do to prevent it: pressure us on the perimeter." It was a good thing for the Storm that they didn't allow easy access to the low post, because when the ball got in there, Marshall junior Jessica Harriman tore them up. However, her opportunities -- at least early in the game -- were limited by the Lady Owls' 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes, more than double their typical rate. That allowed Sion to open an 18-7 lead. "We've struggled with half-court pressure, but not so much with full court," Hayob said. A stick-back by senior Courtney Henley ended a five-minute drought. Harriman posted up in the blocks and Henley sank two free throws, those two accounting for all 17 of Marshall's first-half points. Yet, the Lady Owls only trailed by six points at the break. The spread remained the same when the third period ended. By this time, Marshall was becoming accustomed to the constant contact produced by the Storm's in-your-face defense and motion offense, which featured multiple screens -- usually well set, although there was likely more than the single illegal pick whistled. "They wear you down," Hayob explained. "They don't stop moving." Finally, Harriman had had enough of being climbed upon while rebounding, displaying uncharacteristic feistiness. She threw one Sion girl to the floor while being fouled, that player not returning, and swung a vicious elbow to get another off of her back -- a warning Sion mostly heeded the remainder of the game. Yet, Harriman's eight points during the frame kept the Lady Owls in contention. "We worked hard and battled," Hayob said. "We had chances and hung around." But not for long once the fourth quarter began. Sophomore Courtney Cannon stole the ball and took it to the rack and sophomore Teresa Turner buried a three-pointer during the opening minute. Four Cannon free throws, the second following an offensive rebound, stretched the margin to 13 points with 3:26 left in the game. "A turnover here, give them a second shot there, can make a difference," Hayob noted. "How many little things like that were there?" Harriman converted a conventional three-point play to reduce the deficit to 10 with 2:27 remaining, but Cannon answered with a lay-up and Turner hit four straight from the charity stripe to seal the victory. Notre Dame de Sion (20-8) was as balanced as advertised in its attack, three players scoring in double figures: Turner (12 points), freshman Alexandra Keane (11) and Cannon (10). The Storm will meet Platte County, which blew out Kansas City-Central later on the Civic Arena court, 72-38, in Saturday's quarterfinal round at Lee's Summit. Harriman had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, ensuring Marshall (16-9) will have an impact player when Henley -- who scored 11 points -- and the three other senior starters depart. That group has left its mark, claiming a share of the NCMC title a year ago and ending the Lady Owls' seven-year playoff drought. "We've had our ups and downs, had to battle through a lot of adversity," Hayob said. "They had chances to pack it in, but they stuck with it. "Winning a district championship is something you can't take away from them."
Notre Dame de Sion, Platte County advance in Missouri Class 4 girls sectionals By COLE YOUNG The Kansas City Star Posted on Wed, Feb. 27, 2008 10:15 PM
ST. JOSEPH | Notre Dame de Sion had no answer for Marshall center Jessica Harriman. But fortunately for the Storm, it was able to shut down everyone else. Harriman scored 27 points, but the Storm still never trailed and took a 56-43 victory Wednesday in a Missouri Class 4 sectional at St. Joseph Civic Arena. The biggest key for the Storm, which advanced to a Class 4 quarterfinal against Platte County at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lee’s Summit, was its defense. Aside from Harriman, who led all scorers, Marshall was held in check by a pesky pressing defense that forced 22 turnovers. “We did a poor job stopping their post player,” Sion coach Mike Dunn said. “Luckily we were able to hold the rest of the team.” Sion, 20-8, allowed just four Marshall players to score. The Storm, meanwhile used a balanced attack in reaching its second quarterfinal appearance in three seasons. Four players scored in double figures for the Storm, led by guard Teresa Turner who had 12 points. That balance was necessary for Sion, especially early when it had 10 team fouls. At halftime, Sion led just 23-17. “Out depth really paid off when we had three girls get three fouls in the first half,” said Dunn, whose team has only three seniors. “We were able to go to some players on the bench that play a lot and didn’t have to use anyone inexperienced.” Dunn said he thought their inexperience showed in the first quarter when they missed several shots inside the lane. Sion overcame its jitters though, hitting the first three shots of the second quarter.
Lady Owls face metro power Wednesday, February 27, 2008 By CHRIS ALLEN/Sports Editor
Junior Jessica Harriman has come up with big plays during the Lady Owls' post-season run. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]Notre Dame de Sion begins its post-season today against the Marshall girls' basketball team with vivid memories of past successes among its handful of upperclassmen. While the Lady Owls were still in grade school the last time their home town team reached the playoffs, the Kansas City Catholic institution reached the Class 5 state championship game -- losing to Incarnate Word of St. Louis, 43-31. None of the current Crusaders (19-8), though, were regulars that season. "After our seniors finished, we had a whole new team, a young team. This is a new experience," noted fourth-year head coach Mike Dunn, whose teams have commendable 83-27 record since he succeeded Kristy Guffey -- the former Missouri Valley College player who guided Notre Dame de Sion to the state title in 2001. Having only one senior starter might be a handicap against the Marshall's veterans, except -- as Dunn rightfully boasts -- the Crusaders' "schedule's probably the toughest in 4A." They've taken on eight teams ranked or playoff-bound in Missouri Class 5, losing five of them -- two to No. 2 Blue Springs -- and beating mid-Mo powers Hickman and Jefferson City. "They've been tested," Dunn said. "All of them, except the one freshman, have played quality minutes since last season." There are two common opponents, both with losses to Helias and easy wins over O'Hara, although Notre Dame's second victory over the Lady Celtics for the District 13 title was closer, 41-35. While junior Stacey Schultz and sophomore Teresa Turner combined for 23 points in that game, none of the Crusaders averages in double figures -- a balance Lady Owls head coach Tom Hayob observed. "They rely a lot on their three-pointers," Hayob said. "We have to stay close enough on the perimeter and handle their posts." "We all share the ball," Dunn explained. "Any person on the court is capable of hitting the open shot." Marshall is much the same, but is most effective going inside-out -- looking to attack the bucket before kicking it out for jumpers. Senior forward Courtney Henley has been the go-to player down the stretch recently, but junior post Jessica Harriman is impressive and senior point guard Amy Durham remained reliable even while battling the flu bug during districts. "They've got four seniors who start, that can do a lot of good things for a team at this point in the year," Dunn remarked. "That concerns me a lot." The Lady Owls' lack of depth hasn't hurt them in the end-game, although ninth-ranked Grain Valley's press had an effect when starters sat during the District 15 championship tilt. Notre Dame "defensively is what worries me," Hayob admitted. "I expect to see a lot of pressure. We're going to have to handle it, especially in the half-court." Marshall has handled a lot, especially this season -- losing Hayob for two weeks foe heart surgery, assistant Joey Rainey leading them for nine games, and having two senior forwards during that period. The Lady Owls are resilient, a trait which they hope will serve them well now that they've reached the playoffs.
Area hoopsters head to post-season By: Kurt Kloeblen, Staff Writer Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:16 AM CST
Notre Dame de Sion girls. Record: 18-6
The Storm always presents a threat in post-season play and this season is no different.
Coach Mike Dunn set up the regular-season schedule so that 21 of the team’s 25 games were against schools that compete in higher classes than Sion.
“You hope the teams you play during the season prepare you for the post-season,” Dunn said. “That’s the idea when you set the schedule.”
Sion is also the No. 1 seed in its district, which includes Center. The Storm will play the winner of Center and Southeast tonight.
Dunn said his team is playing well of late.
“We’re playing a lot better as a team,” Dunn said. “We have nine girls that can play and we’re sharing the ball. We’re doing a better job of playing man-to-man defense. We were so young last year we didn’t get to play much man.”
Dunn said he reminds his team its record is 0-0 heading into post-season.
“On our scouting report for each game we show our record and the opposing team’s record,” Dunn said. “When we get to the post-season, we always put 0-0 for our record.”
Notre Dame de Sion girls hand Bishop Miege blowout loss, 58-24 1-18-08 Ryan Young Kansas City Star
The Bishop Miege gym hasn’t seen many games like this lately — not from the home team’s vantage, at least.
The visitors from Notre Dame de Sion surged to a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter, while shutting down the defending Kansas 5A state champion girls from Miege in every way possible.
When it was over, Sion had defeated the Stags 58-24 at the Bishop Miege girls tournament and improved its record to 11-4.
“Most teams haven’t beaten Miege by 30 — ever,” Sion’s Alexandra Keane said. “We’re such a young team, and they’re such a young team. I think we just came in and gave them a run for their money.”
Stacey Schultz came off the bench and scored a game-high 14 points for Sion, which is ranked No. 4 in The Star’s small-class poll. Keane and Erin Murphy added 12 points each.
The final 4 1/2 of the first quarter became a blur of Miege turnovers on one end and Sion points on the other. The Storm forced eight steals in the opening period, attacking the ball at every opportunity.
Equally impressive, though, was how Sion finished on the offensive end. The Storm converted nine of 11 field-goal attempts in the period and seized a 23-3 lead.
“I was just really shocked,” Schultz said. “I knew we’d come out strong, but I didn’t know we’d come out that strong.”
Granted, this Miege girls team isn’t the same one that won the state title last year. With only one player who had significant minutes last season, the Stags are still a work in progress despite a respectable 8-4 record.
“We’re doing things we weren’t doing at the beginning of the year, and we just need to turn it around somehow,” Stags coach Terry English said. “That’s going to take a leader, and right now we don’t have anybody stepping up.”
Shandelyn Stewart led Miege with 13 points.
Sion storms past girls By Bill Knust Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Turnovers, foul trouble and a relentless defense plagued Smithville in a 51-35 loss to Notre Dame de Sion on Thursday, Jan. 10.
Smithville coach Trevor Mosby Said he thought his girls played hard but said Sion’s defense really gave his girls fits.
“They played really, really aggressive defense,” he said. “It was the best help-defense I have seen from another team all year.”
That caused turnovers from the Warriors, and they came in bunches.
“We had a large amount of turnovers,” Mosby said. “We probably had about 30 turnovers. I would say this game was different than others because these turnovers were forced turnovers, as opposed to other games, where I think we get sloppy.”
The Warriors were in foul trouble from the start of the game.
Junior forward Mallory Craig sat much of the first half, just like in Smithville’s loss to St. Joseph Benton on Friday, Jan. 4, and the Warriors allowed a lot of easy buckets for Sion.
“I didn’t think our helpside defense was good at all,” Mosby said. “They would penetrate on us, they would beat us off the dribble every time, and our kids wouldn’t get there at all or they would get there late and foul them.”
The Warriors kept the game close most of the way. Smithville only trailed 28-23 at halftime and made the first basket of the second half to cut the lead to three.
They got no closer.
Mosby said the score was closer than the game actually played out because Smithville was forced to gamble in the fourth quarter to make up some ground.
To its credit, Sion hit all its shots down the stretch.
“We definitely weren’t on and playing our best basketball, but they caused a lot of that,” Mosby said.
On the strength of a solid first half, senior center Vanessa VanBleisem led the Warriors with 14 points. Sophomore guard Alex Olson chipped in 11 in the loss.
Mosby said Olson finally started taking the ball to the basket in the second half, and it started paying off.
Posted: Sunday, Jan 06, 2008 Lady Crusaders post second straight win over tough team By Tom Rackers
It was a topic of discussion among the Helias Lady Crusaders.
“We've been having good games against the better teams, but we needed to come out and start winning those games,” Helias coach Leslie Verslues said. “We would play two good quarters, three good quarters, then we'd have a downfall.”
That discussion is now closed.
“It's amazing,” Verslues said after the Lady Crusaders finished off a weekend sweep of Kansas City schools with a 46-39 win Saturday afternoon over the Notre Dame de Sion Storm at Rackers Fieldhouse.
“It's a great compliment for us because we played two very good teams.”
On Friday, the Lady Crusaders used a 14-0 edge in the third quarter to take a 42-34 win over St. Teresa's Academy. On Saturday, they owned the fourth.
Trailing 30-29 after three quarters, the Lady Crusaders opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to take the lead for good.
Melissa Young opened the period with a 3-pointer, then followed it up with a steal and a layup on the next possession to give Helias the lead for good.
“That was the big momentum change,” Verslues said.
Young finished with a team-high 13 points, seven of which came in the final period. It was the latest in a series of strong offensive games for the senior.
“She has a ton of talent, she's just starting to realize how much she has,” Verslues said. “She's always been a great jump and drive shooter, but now she's shooting the outside shot with more confidence and that's making a big difference in her game.”
The Storm were down 44-39 after a steal and layup by Alexandra Keane with 1:43 left. The Lady Crusaders turned the ball over on their next possession, but a strong defensive effort resulted in a held ball going to Helias with :35.1 remaining.
“Our defense was making them throw a lot of passes and run some time off the clock,” Verslues said. “They were using so much time passing the ball back and forth.”
Abby Stone hit a pair of free throws with :09.7 left to make the final 46-39.
Helias scored the first five points of the game, only to see Sion storm back with a 12-0 run to close the first quarter to take a seven-point lead.
In a game of runs, Helias had a 10-0 spurt to close the half to take a 21-18 lead into intermission. The two teams traded points in the third quarter, which ended with the Storm holding the one-point lead.
“We haven't been maintaining our composure a lot of times under pressure this season, but today, we did a better job of it,” Verslues said.
Erica Groose added 11 points while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds for Helias (6-4).
The Lady Crusaders will play in this week's California Tournament. Helias is the No. 1 seed and after a first-round bye, will play Fulton or Mexico in the winner's bracket semifinals on Thursday.
“Either one of them should push us,” Verslues said. “They're going to make us run the floor, which is something we need to work on.”
Erin Spangler scored 14 points for the Storm (7-3).
In the JV game, Helias dropped a 27-22 decision to Sion. Kandis Wagner and Carol Kehoe had five points each for the Lady Crusaders (3-4).
Posted: Saturday, Jan 05, 2008 After getting blanked in first quarter, rally by Lady Jays comes up short By Tony Hawley
In the first quarter of Friday night's game, the Jefferson City Lady Jays had 15 possessions that resulted in 11 turnovers, four missed shots and zero points.
And they were still in it.
Thanks to a top-notch defense, the Lady Jays were able to roar all the way back before falling just short in a 44-41 loss to Notre Dame de Sion at Fleming Fieldhouse.
“Our defense was keeping us in there,” Jefferson City coach Doug Light said. “When it was 9-0, I asked (JV) coach Grant Berendt, ‘Are we going to score in this game?' Nothing was going for us.”
Only slightly more was going for the Lady Storm. Sion hit just 3-of-13 in the frame with five turnovers to lead just 9-0 after the opening period.
And turning the tide was an unlikely weapon - free-throw shooting. The Lady Jays entered the bonus just one minute into the second quarter, and promptly got their first two points of the game from Jayme Chapman.
“We finally hit a couple free throws and a 3 (by Kelsey Sanders) and it breathed some life into us,” Light said.
Jefferson City outscored Sion 13-7 in the frame, holding the Lady Storm to 2-of-9 from the field, to pull to within 16-13 at halftime.
The Lady Jays used a 12-11 edge in the third quarter to pull to within 27-25.
“The girls played really hard, they played their guts out,” Light said. “They kept getting behind and fighting back, getting behind and fighting back, getting behind and fighting back.”
And it wasn't like they were playing just any old team.
“(Sion) has been on a roll,” Light said. “They've beaten Liberty and Hickman, the two teams that played for a state championship last year. I told people, ‘This is going to be the best team we've played yet.'
“They were good, but our kids were up to the task.”
Two things were huge in the comeback - foul trouble for the Lady Storm and the defense of Jefferson City's Stephany Johnson against Sion point guard Teresa Turner.
“A kid who's been an unsung hero for us the past few games is Stephany Johnson,” Light said. “She defended Turner really well, which is a huge key because she's the straw that stirs the drink. ... (Johnson) was keeping them out of what they were comfortable doing.”
The Lady Jays finally took their first lead of the game when Sydney Crafton scored on a layup that made it 32-31 with 6:08 remaining in the game.
But they turned it over on their next three possessions and never led again.
“Valuing each possession is so important, both offensively and defensively,” Light said.
Jefferson City did come back to tie the game on three possessions, and the Lady Jays trailed just 42-41 when they came up empty on two free throws with 31.7 seconds left.
The Lady Storm then ran the clock down to :07 before the Lady Jays could foul to send them to the free-throw line. Sion made just 1-of-2 free throws, but a huge offensive rebound resulted in another foul that sent them back to the line.
“That was obviously big,” Light said. “If we get that possession, we've got a pretty good opportunity.”
Sion then made just 1-of-2 again to put the lead at three, and a 3-pointer by the Lady Jays at the buzzer came up short.
“That was two pretty good basketball teams trading punches,” Light said.
Crafton scored a game-high 13 points to pace the Lady Jays. Chapman added 11 points and tied for game-high honors with nine rebounds.
Jefferson City (5-6) will play Warrenton at 6 p.m. Monday in the opening round of the Union Tournament.
In Friday night's JV game, Marli Hayes scored 10 points as the Lady Jays posted a 40-24 victory to improve to 7-3.Athletes will depart at noon on Friday, January 4, 2008. They will need to eat lunch at school before departure. Following are the addresses of Jefferson City HS and Helias HS, directions are on the directions page as well.
Hickman stumbles late vs. Notre Dame de Sion By the Tribune’s staff Published Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Hickman girls basketball team stumbled down the stretch in a 48-47 overtime loss at Notre Dame de Sion last night. The Kewpies led 23-18 at halftime and built that into a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but Notre Dame de Sion stormed back to force overtime. In the extra period, the Kewpies (7-4) trailed throughout until 15 seconds remained, when Alexa Fox was fouled in the act of shooting. The foul sent Fox to the sideline and Nicole Schulz stepped off the bench and knocked down both free throws to give Hickman a 47-46 lead. With five seconds left, Kelly Murphy scored the game-winner on Notre Dame de Sion’s second put-back attempt. Yvonne Anderson’s 19 points led the Kewpies, while Chasity Prince had 18. Teresa Turner’s 14 points led Notre Dame de Sion. | ||||||
 | | | | | ||