It was a busy weekend on the hardwood as a group of local girls’ basketball players represented the area on the national stage by winning one of the biggest summer tournaments in the nation. Also, more regional honors were garnered by some of our outstanding girls’ soccer players over the weekend while one of the winningest softball coaches announced her retirement from the diamond.
The ladies took center stage this past weekend at the Run 4 Roses in Louisville, KY, as the Napheesa Collier Elite 17U squad won the Elite 40 League Platinum Championship with a 52-44 victory over Griffin Elite from Oklahoma Saturday evening at the Kentucky Expo Center. The game was one of the first-ever girls’ grassroots championship games televised on the ESPN family of networks as the local squad showcased their talents on ESPNU.
The team is coached by Webster University head women’s coach Jordan Olufson, who led the Gorlocks to a 25-1 record this past season and an appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The team took a 30-23 lead into the halftime locker room and never looked back as Nebraska commit Natalie Potts from Incarnate Word scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way to the championship.
Other members of the team include:
- Hannah Wallace – Cardinal Ritter – Junior
- Bailey Boulay – Eureka – Junior
- Allie Turner – John Burroughs – Junior
- Olivia Hahn – IWA – Senior
- Shannon Dowell – O’Fallon (IL) – Senior
- Kate Restovich – Visitation – Senior
- Annie Restovich – Visitation – Senior
- Brooke Coffey – IWA – Senior
- Natalie Potts – IWA – Senior
- KJ Janes – IWA – Junior
The United Coaches Association announced their spring high school girls’ All-Central Region team this past Friday with many local players earning their way onto the list. The team was voted upon by a committee made of coaches in the region.
Listed below are the players that were named to the All-Central Region team:
- Sarah Bozeman – Fort Zumwalt South – Senior – GK
- Katy Fitzler – St. Dominic – Junior – GK
- Parker Scheele – MICDS – Junior – GK
- Sydney Frelich – Ladue – Senior – D
- Camille Welker – Cor Jesu – Senior – D
- Brooke Cattoor – Fort Zumwalt South – Junior – MF
- Mary Hardy – Parkway West – Senior – MF
- Maddie Schneiderhahn – Ursuline – Senior – MF
- Grace Bindbeutel – St. Dominic – Senior – F
- Kiley Duchardt – St. Joseph’s Academy – Senior – F
- Rylee Howard – Lafayette – Senior – F
- Zoe Houston – Francis Howell – Senior – F
- Maggie Illig – Troy – Senior – F
- Nina Preusser – Nerinx Hall – Junior – F
- Morgan Struttmann – Liberty – Junior – F
Senior forward Avery Christopher from O’Fallon (IL) was named to the All-North region team.
Late last week, Edwardsville head softball coach Lori Blade announced her retirement as the Tigers field general. Blade has been a mainstay in the coaching ranks in Illinois for 18 years and will finish her career with a 524-98 record on the diamond and she has won 13 Southwestern Conference titles in her career. She led Edwardsville to a third-place finish this past season in the IHSA 4A state tournament. Blade also won over 500 games as the head coach of the Tigers girls basketball team before stepping away from the court after the 2019-20 season.
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
