Missouri State University in Springfield hosted the Class 1, 2, and 3 state semifinals, finals, and third place games this past weekend, with a pair of familiar girls basketball teams returning to the “top of the mountain” in their respective classes.
Two years after winning the Class 1 state title with then-senior guard Kendey Eaton (now a sophomore at North Central Missouri College), the Mound City Lady Panthers rolled to another Class 1 crown, beating Bradleyville on Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena, 52-35. The Lady Panthers, in finishing with a mark of 29-3, had 17 points from Kameron Freemyer and 11 from Hannah Wedlock, with strong defense shutting down a normally potent Bradleyville attack. BHS finishes 26-6.
The Class 1 boys title went to Eminence, a small community in south-central Missouri’s Ozarks region, with a 79-72 victory over traditional power Walnut Grove.
The third place results in Class 1 were the North Andrew boys 72 over Chamois with 58, with the Wheatland girls downing Glasgow 56-50.
In Class 2, the Van-Far boys, just six days removed from a come-from-behind victory over Milan in the state quarterfinals, used another rally in Friday’s state title game, overtaking and beating Hayti in overtime, 56-55. Van-Far, an east-central Missouri district combining the communities of Vandalia and Farber, finishes the year at 29-3. The Class 2 girls title went to Neelyville, in a 70-51 final over the KCI Conference’s Mid-Buchanan Lady Dragons.
Class 2 third place results were the Skyline girls over Northeast (Cairo) 64-35, with the Mid-Buchanan boys hammering Purdy 83-63.
The Class 3 championships were captured by the Strafford girls and the Hogan Prep (KC) Academy boys. Strafford won its third consecutive state title, with yet another unbeaten season, rolling past California in Saturday night’s final 77-36, while the Hogan Prep Rams ousted Charleston, 63-58.
The third place game in Class 3 were won by the Whitfield Lady Warriors and the Mountain Grove boys. Whitfield defeated Clark County, 60-42, with Mountain Grove taking down Transportation & Law 67-53.
Among Class 4 state quarterfinal games, played on Saturday night in Independence, the Kearney Lady Bulldogs beat Lincoln Prep to advance to Springfield, 55-43, while the Kearney boys fell short of making it a KHS sweep, falling to Raytown South 61-47.
