Incarnate Word survived what may be their toughest stretch of games to continue their winning streak while the Alton girls’ basketball team took care of business to win the Highland girls’ tournament as they as remain undefeated on the year. The Ladue boys’ basketball team got a signature victory this past Friday while Chaminade garnered a pair of big wins in the Annual Quincy Shootouts.
Let’s get caught up on all of the weekend action in today’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up!
Incarnate Word hit the road for Louisville, Ky., and returned home with a pair of wins over two of the top teams in the Louisville area as their winning streak climbed to 83 consecutive victories.
In the opening game of the weekend, the Red Knights got out to an early lead and held on to defeat Louisville Mercy 77-65. IWA grabbed an early 20-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended that to 45-32 at the half. Mercy battled back in the third quarter to cut the Red Knights lead to 56-48, but IWA outscored Mercy in the final stanza 21-17 to hold on for the win. Natalie Potts paced the Red Knights offense with 18 points and 14 rebounds as she was named player of the game honors. Peyton Hill chipped in with 16 markers while Brooke Coffey added nine rebounds in the win.
In the final game of the weekend, the Red Knights needed a huge third quarter to earn a 60-48 win over Kentucky state power Louisville Sacred Heart. IWA held a 16-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter and stretched the lead to 33-28 at the break. The Red Knights took control of the contest by outscoring Sacred Heart 15-6 in the third quarter to take a 48-32 lead and held on in the fourth quarter to gain the victory. Potts led the way for IWA with 19 points and nine boards while Brooke Coffey added 14 points in the win to help the Red Knights improve to 15-0 on the year.
At the Highland tournament, the Alton girls’ hoops team pushed their record to 23-0 with a 54-38 win over Okawville Saturday afternoon. The win set a new school record in wins, and it is the first time that Alton has won the loaded tourney at Highland. After the two teams played to even terms in the first quarter at 13-13, the Red Birds took a 29-25 lead to the halftime locker room. The game remained close in the third quarter, but Alton limited the Rockets to two points in the final stanza to gain the record-setting victory. Jarius Powers led the way for the Red Birds with a game-high 18 points while Kiyoko Proctor added 14 markers in the win.
In boys’ action Friday evening, Ladue raced out to an early lead and never looked back as the Rams defeated Parkway West 60-46 in a battle of two of the top teams in the area. Ladue broke out to a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 27-20 advantage to the break. The Longhorns cut into the lead in the third quarter before the Rams exploded for 26 points in the final stanza to earn the win. Jack Steinbach led the way for the Rams with 22 points and handed out six assists while Jaylen Swinney chipped in with 13 markers to help Ladue improve to 14-3 on the year.
Chaminade travel north to Quincy and came home with a pair of wins over two of the top teams in the Midwest. The Red Devils won their opening game in Quincy 67-62 over Real Salt Lake and then raced out to an early first-quarter advantage en route to a 72-53 victory over Chicago Curie. The two victories helped Chaminade improve to 14-3 on the year as they prepare to take on Cardinal Ritter Monday evening.
As conference action continues to heat up this week, all eyes will turn to Parkway West as their annual tournament starts off Monday with four games. De Smet will open play at the tournament against Parkway Central at 4 p.m. with Liberty taking on the host Longhorns at 5:30 p.m. Upstart Kirkwood will look to remain undefeated on the year as they will take on Hazelwood West at 7 p.m. with Hazelwood Central and Lafayette will hook up in the night cap at 8:30 p.m. The finals of the tourney will take place Friday evening at 8:30 p.m.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
