Credited to: Lonnel Cole, Argus Sports
Vashon boys basketball team and Lift For Life’s girls basketball teams will have city company at the state championships this weekend in Columbia, Missouri: both Cardinal Ritter teams.
In a weekend in which state championship berths were on the line in Class 4, 5 and Class 6 and championships were contested in Class 1-3, the city of St. Louis advanced four teams to the state semifinals this week. Meanwhile, the upstart Career Academy Phoenix boys basketball made it all the way to the Class 3 championship game before being overwhelmed by the defending state-champion Principia Panthers 98-34.
The Panthers from the West County municipality of Town and Country were the prohibitive favorites to repeat over whichever opponent they drew. They had beaten nationally recognized large schools on the way to a 29-2 record. Senior guard Quentin Coleman broke out with a game-high 50 points and added eight rebounds, seven steals, and three assists. The Panthers held Career Academy’s explosive guard C. J. Nelson, who had poured in 27 points in a semifinal win and had a few 30-point games, to five points. Rashad Butler and Calvin Nelson combined for 16 more of the Phoenix’s points.
But while Career Academy and coach Brandon Wright returned home as Class 3 state-runner-ups, Vashon’s boys and Lift for Life’s girls teams will be looking to repeat in Class 4 and Class 5, respectively, after state quarterfinal victories over the weekend. Behind 20 points from Jimmy McKinney III, 17 from Kain McCaskill, and 14 from Leon Powell Jr., the Vashon Wolverines rolled past the Orchard Farm Eagles to improve to 24-3. They will take on Logan-Rogersville (27-3) at Mizzou Arena on Friday, March 20 at 12 noon. The winner of that contest will play in the championship on Saturday at 4 pm at the same site. The Wolverines have won the state title every year since 2019, it’s technically not a streak since the Class 4 and Class 5 boys and girls semifinals and finals were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. Thus, the three other contestants never got a chance to dethrone Vashon, and Vashon couldn’t defend its title. For the record, Vashon’s last playoff loss was in the 2018 sectionals against St. Mary’s, an 83-70 defeat.
Meanwhile, the Lift for Life girls team will play its state semifinals on Wednesday at Mizzou Arena at 6 p.m. against Grandview (23-7) after routing Festus 72-25 behind 24 points by Diamond Polk and 16 points from Zha Harris. Should Lift for Life win that contest, they will play for the championship at Mizzou Arena on Thursday, March 18 at 8 pm. The Lady Hawks (14-11) withstood a six-game losing streak at one point and season-ending injuries to key players, the Manuel sisters (Amaya and Cara), but are still in position to defend their title, which they won last year and the season before.
By contrast, the Cardinal Ritter boys’ team didn’t make it out of the districts last season, and the girls’ squad had made it to state since 2015. Now both squads are back. The boys club outlasted Marquette 81-76, despite a game-high 34 points from Brady Owen in a losing cause. (Cardinal Ritter didn’t turn in its game stats.) Cardinal Ritter (21-9) will take on Blue Springs South (23-7) in a Class 6 semifinal on Friday afternoon immediately after the aforementioned Vashon game in Class 4. Should Ritter win its semifinal, the boys’ Class 6 championship would be immediately after the Class 4 championship, setting up a scenario for Vashon and Ritter to win state championships in succession. The Lions won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024 under Ryan Johnson.boys’
As far as the Lady Lions of Ritter are concerned, they have been led by Nyla Scales, who’s averaging just under 18 points per game. They will bring a modest 15-11 record against perennial powerhouse Strafford (27-3) in a matchup at Mizzou Arena on Wednesday, March 18, at 12 noon. Should they win, they will play the title game on Thursday at 4.
Left to right: Vashon’s Leon Powell Jr. (in white jersey with ball) stretches past Lift for Life’s Tamex Carter (0) in Vashon’s 64-49 sectional win recently to advance to the state quarterfinals against the Orchard Farm Eagles last Saturday. In that subsequent round against Orchard Farm, Jimmy McKinney ( 0 in dark jersey) shoots over an Orchard Farm defender, on the way to 20 points. Powell Jr. (2 in dark jersey), shown here shooting over Max Kelch, scored 14 points and Kain McCaskill (5 in dark jersey) shown here with an easy layup, added 17 points to help the Wolverines run past Orchard Farm 68-53. Photos by Brian McDonald.
