On Monday, both McPherson Middle School Girls 7th and 8th Grade Basketball teams were able to complete their perfect season, winning the Wichita Suburban League Championship.
The 8th Grade Girls would defeat Salina Lakewood 43-33 in the championship after defeating Hutch on Saturday 38-24. Head Coach Heidi Ricke said, “This group of girls are something special,” She said, “Offensively they came out and executed their plays and protected the ball with 0 turnovers in the first half and ended the game with 6 turnovers total.” Jaela had another outstanding game finishing with 24 points, and Ricke mentioned that every girl played great defensive and really left it all on the court. She said, “Molly and Piper both played really good on both sides. Brynn had a good night, and Rylie played tough and was huge in setting the screens to get Jaela open.” Coach Ricke concluded by saying, “I am just so proud of these girls and the amazing season they had. They practiced hard and it has been so fun watching them come together as a team.”
Stats vs Hutchinson:
Jaela Thompson: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 steals
Piper Alvord: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Riley Whitfield: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals
Ari Prose: 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Molly Owen: 0 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals
Stats vs Salina Lakewood:
Jaela Thompson: 24 points; 3 Rebounds; 1 steal
Piper Alvord: 9 points; 1 Rebound; 3 steals
Rylie Whitfield: 6 points; 2 Rebounds; 1 steal
Brynn LittleJohn: 4 points, 11 Rebounds, 1 steal
Molly Owen: 0 points, 1 Rebound
McPherson Middle School 7th Grade Girls Basketball Team
In the 7th Grade game, it was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball, as they would go on to defeat Hutch 42-4 in the semifinals, and Salina South 37-18 in the championship.
Head Coach Matt Sandbo said, “Jersey and Audra did a great job guarding #1 again holding her to just two. Amerie was able to get to the basket and finish. He said, “We did a solid job rebounding the ball led by Kennedy inside.”
In the Championship, the Pups would defeat Salina South, 37-18. Coach Sandbo mentioned that it was a rough, physical game, he said, “Foul trouble in the first half limited our ability to pressure. South defended a triangle and two on Amerie and Audra until late in the game, and Sandbo said “Jersey and Karlie stepped up and really shot the ball well.”
Coach Sandbo concluded by saying, “The girls did a nice job of playing together and sharing the ball this year. To have 5 girls on the court at any given time that could put the ball in the basket was a huge luxury. Having a coach like Josh who has such a high understanding of the game was big, too. We both look forward to next season with this group.”
Stats vs Hutchinson
Amerie Lowery 21 points, 7 steals
Kennedy Bonham 8 points, 16 rebounds
Karlie Cooper 6 points, 2 assists
Audra Sandbo 5 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals
Jersey Alexander 2 points, 5 rebounds
Stats vs Salina South
Karlie Cooper 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
Jersey Alexander 11 points, 5 rebs, 3 steals
Amerie Lowery 8 points, 6 steals
Audra Sandbo 3 points, 8 assists, 6 stls, 6 rebs
Kennedy Bonham 2 points, 6 rebounds
