Girls basketball

Community R-6 comes up short on big moments vs Salisbury, lose Sturgeon title 47-39

The Community R-6 girls just took too many damaging blows on Saturday night.

Community R-6 Photo Gallery - Lady Trojans vs Salisbury, Trojans vs Paris

The Lady Trojans almost erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of the Sturgeon Tournament championship only for Salisbury to pull away to give the Lady Trojans a 47-39 loss, snapping a 10-game winning streak.

Tori Ricketts sustained some contact on a good layup before completing the 3-point play, pushing Salisbury’s lead to 42-37, which only grew after some free throws. It was also Ricketts that nailed a buzzer beater from half court to end the third quarter with a 32-25 Salisbury lead. Head coach Bob Curtis said too many of those types of moments happened for the Lady Panthers (13-6) and not enough of those shots went for the Lady Trojans (17-3).

“That was a crushing blow for sure. When she hit that sucker going into the fourth. I really felt like we had the momentum, then she dropped one from half court,” Curtis said. “I just kind of saw the girls’ body language change. I thought we were fighting up a hill all night, and the basket was much easier for them than us. They made some big plays. That’s what you got to do in big games to get a win.”

Salisbury had a 29-19 lead in the third quarter following a 3 -pointer from Emersyn Hammons, who led the Lady Panthers with 13 points along with Julia Sloan, but then Sarah Angel scored six of game-high 19 points — to go along with her three steals — in the eight minutes to cut into the deficit. Aaliyah Welch was Community’s second leading scorer with six points. 

Angel was a key contributor again in the fourth quarter as the Lady Trojans battled back down 39-28 after another Hammons 3-pointer. Olivia Kuda grabbed 12 rebounds but also took a charge when Community trailed 39-33, putting the Lady Trojans in the bonus.

“I think we had three charges in the semifinal (against Sturgeon on Wednesday). We have kids who are willing to put their body in position to draw a foul on their player,” Curtis said. “I thought we were there. Offensively, we couldn’t put a run together — three or four possessions to take the lead.”

Curtis said Community (5-0 CAC), who received votes in the latest Class 1 state poll, has to move on despite the streak ending as it has to face Central Activities Conference foe and Class 2 No. 3 Cairo (16-2, 4-0 CAC) on the road at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Trojans then have conference foe Pilot Grove (16-4, 4-1 CAC) at home at 6 p.m. Friday.

“We’re going to dust ourselves off and can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Curtis said.

Lady Coyotes look to diversify shots after 46-28 loss to New Bloomfield in Sturgeon Tournament

The Paris girls wish they could remove one quarter from their Saturday game against New Bloomfield.

Paris Photo Gallery - Lady Coyotes vs New Bloomfield, Coyotes vs Community R-6

The Lady Coyotes dropped the Sturgeon Tournament consolation final after losing 46-28, being outscored 21-9 in the third quarter and allowing 10 3-pointers throughout the game. New Bloomfield’s Ashlyn Peters accounted for six of the Lady Wildcats’ 3-pointers, finishing with a game-high 27 points along with three steals off the bench.

Head coach Garrett Thomas said Paris did lose Peters a lot, especially in the second half, but the Lady Coyotes’ offensive approach didn’t help them up to that point.

“We could offset their one lopsided quarter if we had been a little more efficient,” Thomas said. “I thought one of our biggest challenges today is we weren’t very versatile in the ways we looked to score. We shot really poorly from the outside, and we continued to look to shoot from the outside.”

Reese Sutton led Paris with 10 points and six rebounds, Arnett followed with seven points, Sophia Crusha finished with six points and four steals off the bench, and Alyssa Webb pulled down seven rebounds.

Paris (0-3 L&C) hosts Lewis and Clark Conference foe Harrisburg (10-9, 1-1 L&C) at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Linn 61 Mexico 39 in Harrisburg Tournament consolation game.

Centralia 52 Hallsville 42 in Harrisburg Tournament championship game. Annie Robinson, Raegan Anderson and Braylin Brunkhorst make all-tournament team.

Boys basketball

Paris boys effective at line, Trojans’ shots decline in Sturgeon consolation final

From the start of the game, the Paris boys didn’t think they would be in the position to seal the game with free throws.

After falling behind 24-8 to start Saturday’s Sturgeon Tournament consolation final, Paris overcame deficits to defeat Community R-6 51-42. The Coyotes knocked down 19-of-24 free throws – 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter after holding Community to 18 points in the second half.

Paris head coach Brad Skinner said the first quarter made it seem like it would be a long day after allowing 18 points in the first eight minutes, but his players clamped down on defense to initially cut Paris’ deficit to 24-21 at halftime and then take a 35-33 lead after the third quarter. He said it was nice to defeat the Trojans after they spoiled Paris’ Courtwarming on Jan. 20 with a 49-35 loss.

“Last Friday, we gave up 18 points in the first half, and this time, we gave up 18 points in the first quarter,” Skinner said. “We didn’t give up double digits in any quarter after that. We weren’t talking, we weren’t moving our feet, they were getting by us, and our help side wasn’t there. Once we picked it up defensively, we played like we should.”

Community (11-10) executed well in the first quarter, head coach Tad Shotten said, as Eli Johnson, Mason Carroll and Gavin Allen each hit a 3-pointer in that eight minutes. After the first few minutes of the second quarter, shots weren’t falling for the Trojans, allowing Paris to close the first half on a 13-0 run.

Shotten said he didn’t like the shot selection throughout the game as those along with turnovers gave Paris opportunities to score at the other end.

“We forced some bad shots. When you take bad shots, it’s a turnover,” Shotten said. “They ramped up the defensive pressure a little bit.”

Carroll led Community with 15 points, seven rebounds and two 3-pointers, Gavin Allen followed with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks, Tucker Robnett had seven points and six rebounds, and Eli Johnson finished with seven points and two 3-pointers.

Mason Edwards led Paris (9-9) with 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers, Evan Smothers followed with 13 points, Colton Poddany had eight points, and Alex Williams finished with six points and five rebounds.

Community (3-2 CAC) plays at Central Activities Conference foe Cairo (12-7, 4-0 CAC) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before hosting conference foe Pilot Grove (8-11, 1-4 CAC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Paris (2-1 L&C) hosts Missouri Military Academy (7-7) at 7:30 p.m. Monday before hosting Lewis and Clark Conference foe Harrisburg (13-5, 2-0 L&C) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Bowling Green 51 Van-far 47 in Bowling Green Tournametn third-place game. Nikos Connaway led the Indians with 15 points, and Pacey Reading followed with 13 points.

Centralia 61 Marshall 52 in Harrisburg Tournament consolation game. Boen Zimmerman was named to the all-tournament team.

Boys wresling

Missouri Military Academy results at the Warrenton Tournament:

Alexandre Snyder 2nd at 138 pounds, Deonte Kerns 3rd at 113 pounds, Trae Griffiths 4th at 144 pounds, Bryson Powell 5th at 150 pounds, and Ryan Miles 6th at 134 pounds.

Girls wrestling

Mexico freshman Alexus Johns placed second in the 235-pound weight class in Seckman Tournament.

Look for the full stories in the Wednesday, February, 1, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger or on the website on the same day.