By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

FARMINGTON - A pair of free throws from Zhanesha Dickerson gave the Miller Career Academy Phoenix the lead just over a minute into the second quarter of Friday night's Class 4 Quarterfinal game.

The Lady Bearcats would never get it back.

Less than 200 yards from where the Phoenix handed LBB their first loss of the season, Miller Career Academy again defeated the Lady Bearcats by a 17 point margin, with a 51-34 final score (the December contest, held three months to the day earlier, ended with a 50-33 final).

The Phoenix were fashionably late to the game; tip was originally scheduled for 6:00 p.m., but had to be pushed back due to 'transportation difficulties', according to Farmington Civic Center staff. Despite the late start, the Phoenix shut down the usually potent Lady Bearcat offense with outstanding high-pressure defense.

"Offensively, we didn't really get things going, but you've got to give credit to Miller, they played really excellent defense," head coach Chad Allen said after the game. "I thought we played really well defensively. We battled hard, and we drew three or four charges. That's one thing we talked about a lot, and I thought we really battled hard."


"We had talked a lot about their physicality," he continued. "I thought, for the most part, we played really aggressive and physical along with them. We wore down there toward the end because of it, having to push and shove around so much inside.

Dickerson led the Phoenix with 21 points, and Coach Allen was quick to compliment the lone senior for her shooting ability.

"She's a very good jump-shooter. There's not a lot of jump-shooters in basketball like there were back in the day," Allen said of Dickerson. "She's a great shooter, and she can take you off the dribble and knock them down. She had an excellent game tonight."

The game got off to a slow start, but the Lady 'Cats were able to squeak out a 6-5 lead after the first quarter. Dickerson's free throws sparked a 10-2 run for the Phoenix in the second quarter that helped Miller Career to a 21-14 halftime cushion.

A long jumper from Paige Patterson and layup from Brittany Harris pulled LBB within three at the 6:00 mark of the third. The Phoenix were able to capitalize on a few Lady Bearcat turnovers late in the frame to take a 10 point lead into the fourth quarter.

A trey from Erika Cobb pulled the Bearcats within seven at the 5:40 mark in the fourth quarter, but it would be as close as LBB would get to a lead for the rest of the game. The Phoenix ran off another 10-2 run and utilized their delay game late to take the 51-34 victory and advance to the Show Me Showdown.

Despite the disappointing finale, Allen was proud of his team's 23-5 effort this season. It was a big improvement over the previous year, especially considering their short bench and sophomore-laden lineup.

"These girls had a great year; we made it one step further than we did last year, and we'll have everybody back next season," he said. "I want to motivate them to keep working hard over the summer; these girls want to go to the final four, and I think they'll get in there and get the work done."

FULTON - Behind a perfect 9-for-9 shooting effort from Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) the William Woods University women's basketball team rolled to an easy 80-55 win over Williams Baptist to advance to the championship game of the AMC Postseason Tournament for the fourth time in as many years.

Both teams came out firing, posting a dozen points apiece over the opening five minutes of the contest. Williams Baptist opened the scoring with a 3-pointer with just 17 seconds gone, with Taylor answering for the Owls just 19 seconds later.

With the score level at 14-14 with 13:59 on the clock, William Woods jumped all over the Lady Eagles, hanging 10 unanswered points on WBC before the clock rolled to 10:00. Kala Tyus hit a jumper with 9:45 to go in the half to pull WBC within eight, but WWU kept its foot on the accelerator and pulled out to a 44-22 lead with 3:52 left.

WBC finally managed to stem the bleeding a bit, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Destani Stensrud (Exeter, Mo.) off a broken play sent the Owls into the half with a 50-27 advantage.

William Woods continued to roll coming out of the break, with Taylor hitting her career high 25th point at the 15:40 mark to put the Owls up 60-30. The Lady Eagles were able to muster a few consolation buckets against the WWU bench to close the deficit down the stretch, but Dan Chapla's squad easily finished off the game 25-point winners.

The Owls finished with four scorers in double figures on the night, with Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) posting a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Stensrud and Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) each added 10. WWU controlled the boards as well, posting a 44-30 advantage in the contest. Kimberly Wise racked 16 points for WBC, with Tyus adding 14 before fouling out with 3 minutes to go.

With the win, WWU moves to 22-9 on the year and will face top seeded Columbia College for the AMC Tournament Championship. Monday's game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff from the Arena at Southwell Complex.

Reader-Submitted by Kim Flowers

Alexa Werneck and Ethan Flowers, both from Dexter, will compete in Jefferson City at the Knights of Columbus State Free Throw Competition next week.

Both Werneck (10-year-old girls division) and Flowers (14-year-old boys division) won the local, council, and regional free throw competitions held over the last 6 weeks.

At the local level, the competitor's goal is to shoot 15 consecutive free throws, with the council, regional, and state competitors shooting 25 consecutive free throws.

This will be Werneck's first trip to the state competition and Flowers' third trip to the state competition.

Since 1972, the Knights of Columbus councils have sponsored the Free Throw Championships for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 14. The championship is set up to have contestants compete within their own gender and age group. All competition starts at the local level. Winners move on to the district, regional, and state levels. From there, some make it to the international level for championship competition in their groups.

Alexa is a 4th grader and the daughter of Chad and Amber Werneck, and Ethan is an 8th grader and the son of Tim and Kim Flowers.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

HAYTI - Jamie Massey covered the paint like a man possessed in Thursday night's Class 2, District 1 matchup between Bernie and Holcomb. The 6'9" center accounted for 29 of Holcomb's 55 points in their 55-44 double-overtime upset of the Bernie Mules.

Things were looking great for Bernie early in the contest; Troy Kirkpatrick hit four threes in the first quarter to push the Mules out to a 17-6 lead. Kirkpatrick was good from downtown two more times in the second quarter, but a deep trey from Aaron Reeves and six point effort from Massey pulled the Hornets within eight heading into halftime.

Massey put together another six point effort in the third, coupled with treys from Reeves and Patrick Skelton. Kirkpatrick hit his seventh three of the night early in the frame, but Holcomb pulled within four at the end of the frame.

David Baker scored all six of Bernie's points in the fourth quarter, and the Hornets were able to keep up the momentum and force overtime.

A pair of three point plays were the only offensive output in the low-scoring overtime period. The Mules were only able to hit two shots from the floor in the second overtime, while Holcomb connected on nine of 11 trips to the charity stripe to ice the 55-49 victory.

“This one is hard to swallow as we controlled much of the game and had great opportunities to win or increase our lead," Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said. "Holcomb did a good job not allowing us to run away from them in the first half and our lack of poise and experience in win-or-go-home situations caught up to us."

"We really needed a better night offensively from our upperclassmen than what we got, and we were very tentative offensively all night," he continued. "I thought we played hard defensively as we usually always do, but felt we really struggled overall in scoring. We had some turn-overs in key spots and missed some easy buckets that really contributed to our offensive woes."

Despite the disappointing finale, which ended Bernie's two year hold on the Class 2, District 1 title, Botsch was proud of his team's determination and composure throughout a season filled with adversity.

"These kids played through a lot of adversity this season. They never quit trying and never questioned why we push them so hard to succeed. Losing at the end always hurts because we put in so much time and effort into practicing and playing, but our kids for the most part embrace hard work and dedication, and I’m proud of them for that," He said. "We’ve got virtually everyone coming back next season, and we really feel like we’ve got the potential to be real solid for the next several years if the kids will maintain focus and improve on their individual weaknesses."

Bernie ends the season with a 17-11 record. Holcomb (23-5) will face off against the host Hayti Indians (18-9) for the Class 2, District 1 title on Friday (Mar. 2) night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LANTANA, Fla.- The Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball team dusted off their cleats on Wednesday night as they took on No. 19-ranked Mercyhurst College as part of the Palm Beach Challenge at the Santaluces Complex. The Sailfish hadn't played a game in eight days and perhaps some of that rust coupled with a strong offensive performance by the nationally-ranked Lakers ended with Mercyhurst holding on for a 10-6 win.

Senior starting pitcher Logan Thomas (2-1) was handed his first loss of the season as he was touched for 15 hits allowed in five innings of work as he was tagged for seven earned runs while totaling one walk and five strikeouts.

Each team would score a run in the first-inning as the Lakers (7-2) rallied from two outs and nobody on to register three consecutive singles to move in front 1-0. PBA senior left-fielder Nick Natale promptly tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first as he launched his second homerun of the season over the left-centerfield fence.

Things would remain 1-1 entering the top of the fifth as Thomas worked in and out of trouble as his pitch count began to rise. Mercyhurst added a pair of runs in the fifth as third-baseman Ethan Santora produced a solo homer while a second run came in to score later in the frame on a Colin Loughner RBI single.

Palm Beach Atlantic (6-3) cut the deficit back to a single run in their half of the fifth inning as leadoff man Matt Perkowski registered his team-leading third homer of the season on a drive out to right-field.

The biggest inning of the night came in the sixth as Mercyhurst plated four runs, effectively ending the night for Thomas, as the Lakers moved in front 7-2.

Still not giving up, the Fish plated two more runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth inning as freshman Matt Wisniewski plated Travis Murray and Justin Sizemore on a two-run single.

Now into the Lakers' bullpen following a solid starting assignment by MC right-hander Brad Duffy, the Fish hoped to mount a solid comeback.

The Lakers put to rest those aspirations with a single run in the eighth and two more in the ninth to help offset a pair of PBA runs coming in to score in the ninth on a RBI single from Murray and a sacrifice fly by Sizemore.

Following Duffy (1-0) and his 5.1 innings of work (four runs, seven hits allowed) was right-hander Zach Leitten who earned the save following a 3.2 stint on the hill while allowing only two hits and striking out five batters.

The Fish received a solid pitching effort from their pen as well with left-handers Jonathan Kies and Kenny Frosch tossing a combined two innings of scoreless baseball while Jeremiah Cothiere and Peter Graffeo each threw well also.

Santora closed out the game with a 4-for-5 day with four runs driven in for MC while Ryan Siegel and Shane Latshaw each chipped in three hits apiece to lead the 18-hit attack.

Palm Beach Atlantic was led by Perkowski, Murray, and Sizemore who each produced a pair of hits.

The Sailfish will welcome in Valdosta State University over the weekend for a three-game series at the Santaluces Complex. PBA and VSU will battle at 6:30 pm on Friday, March 2nd and then again on Saturday, March 3rd for a double-header beginning at 1 pm. All three games will be broadcast on the Sailfish Sports Network.

Click here for the full box score.