The Skyline Lady Tigers dynamic duo of junior guard Miranda Quennoz and junior forward Justine Barb proved to be too prolific for Milan on Saturday afternoon, as the host Lady Wildcats fell to the 3rd ranked Tigers, 70-64 in a Class 3 quarterfinal broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Quennoz had 31 points, hitting five three pointers and 14 of 17 free throws in pacing Skyline (26-4) to the victory. Barb overcame a slow start to add 25 points, with 14 of those after the half. Offensive rebounding and free throw opportunities and accuracy proved to be key for Skyline, as the Tigers scored 30 points from the charity line compared to Milan’s 10.
The Lady Wildcats, finishing the season at 22-4, were led by a superlative scoring effort from junior forward Cady Pauley, who hit big shot after big shot to keep Milan within striking distance throughout the contest. The future Missouri State Lady Bear had 39 points, including seven three point field goals. A pair of ‘triples’ late in the third quarter gave the Lady ‘Cats fans in attendance hope of a dramatic Milan win, pulling the home team to within two points at the time. Tom Johnson had the call on KGOZ:
Forward Jordyn Gray, one of only two seniors on the Milan roster, finished her career with a 15 point afternoon. Gray is a signee for the program at North Central Missouri College basketball team in Trenton.
The win sends Skyline into a Class 3 semifinal on Friday night at 8 o’clock in Springfield, against Tipton, a 60-46 quarterfinal winner over Milan’s former rival in the Tri-Rivers Conference, the Clark County Lady Indians.
Other Class 3 girls quarterfinal scores were Lift for Life Academy over Twin Rivers 64-58 and Steelville downing Miller 62-54.
Milan reached the state quarterfinal with a sectional win at Lawson on Wednesday, March 3rd, 54-42. Pauley had 30 points in what ended up being the Lady ‘Cats final victory of the 2020-2021 season.
In Class 3 boys playoff action, South Harrison lost at St. Pius X of Kansas City on Tuesday night, 82-50, with Summit Christian Academy edging the Warriors on Friday night, 60-55. Other quarterfinal results were Monroe City 51, Christian 49; Hartville 36, Greenwood 33; and Lift for Life 62, Thayer 54.
The Class 2 boys semifinals are set for Thursday afternoon in Springfield, with Campbell and Norwood dueling at 1 o’clock, followed by North Andrew and Salisbury at 3. The Class 2 girls semifinals will be Thursday night (3/11) with Ellington battling Blue Eye at 5, followed by Scotland County and Wellington-Napoleon at 7.
In Class 1, both the Grundy R-V boys and North Mercer girls reached the state playoffs, but lost first-round road games. In action heard on Tuesday, March 2nd on KTTN, the Panthers lost at Orrick 61-50. Orrick went on to fall to Mound City on Friday night, 61-30. The Green City boys beat Meadville 70-52 before the Gophers bowed out in the quarterfinals 45-38 against Higbee.
The Mercer girls fell six points short at Santa Fe, losing 47-41, with Santa Fe losing to Platte Valley in Saturday’s quarterfinals 52-38. Platte Valley, matching up with Walnut Grove in the semifinal round on Friday night, beat Stanberry in the sectionals, 58-34. The Meadville girls ran into a North Shelby buzzsaw on Wednesday night, with the Lady Raiders ending the Eagles season 73-44.
