The number three and four seeds both fell Monday, Dec. 9 in first-round girls action at the I-70 Conference Basketball Tournament, co-hosted this week by Wellington-Napoleon and Orrick.
In a contest that was heard on KMMO-FM, sixth-seeded Wellington rallied past the number-three seed Concordia, beating the Orioles, 43-39. It was matchup of two young squads where the lead changed hands most of the evening.
Neither side did much offensively in the early going as it took nearly five minutes for someone to get on the scoreboard. After one period, the host Wellington team owned a slim advantage of only 6-4. From that point on, it was a game of spurts. Concordia owned the middle portion of the game by going on a 15-5 run to lead 19-11 early in the third quarter. Wellington then responded with an outburst of their own as a 10-0 Tiger explosion had them back on top, 20-19 only to see the Orioles regroup again and toss in 14 of the next 22 points to own a 33-28 advantage early in the final quarter.
Down the stretch however, Wellington was able to connect on some long-distance shots as they made six three-pointers during the evening. Over the final few minutes, it was Wellington who benefited from a 15-6 run as they slipped past Concordia and edged them, 43-39.
The Tigers’ Anniston Hampton knocked down three trifectas along the way, scoring 18 points with all of her offense coming in the last half. The win improved Wellington’s record to 3-0. Meanwhile, Concordia dropped to 1-1 on the season as Ava Mueller had 12 points to pace them.
In Monday’s other game at Wellington, second-seeded Lone Jack led Sweet Springs, 14-4 after one quarter and then 22-6 at the break before coasting home for an easy, 46-18 decision against the Greyhounds. While play was going on at Wellington, there were also two contests occurring at Orrick with fifth-seeded Saint Paul’s upending fourth-seeded Santa Fe, 36-29. That game took place prior to top-seeded Crest Ridge’s 67-9 throttling of Orrick.
Boys first-round tournament action gets underway this evening with the girls resuming play on Wednesday. Greg is back at Wellington for tonight’s doubleheader there, starting at 5:30 p.m. when Lone Jack and Concordia battle in the four/five matchup. That’ll be followed by top-seed Saint Paul taking on Santa Fe. Our broadcast will begin with pregame around 5:20 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9; again tonight our newscast for the hour will air around 5:10 p.m. Meanwhile at Orrick, the sixth-seeded Bearcats host Wellington-Napoleon at 5:30 p.m., followed by the two/seven contest between Crest Ridge and Sweet Springs.
Also Tuesday on our airwaves, the Marshall Owls begin NCMC play as they hit the road to the Bob Gooch Gymnasium in Mexico for a doubleheader against the Bulldogs. Pregame coverage begins at 5:50 p.m. on KMMO AM 1300, with the girls games tipping off at 6 p.m. and the boys contest at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight’s games will also stream on our website, KMMO.com. Other games across the region scheduled for Dec. 9 include:
Doubleheaders
La Plata at Bevier
Tina-Avalon at Braymer
Madison at Community R-VI
New Franklin at Fayette
Carrollton at Holden
Atlanta at Meadville
Marceline at Milan
Leeton at Montrose
Hale/Bosworth at Norborne
Northeast (Cairo) at North Shelby
Faith Christian at Northwest (Hughesville)
Gallatin at Polo
Brookfield at Putnam County
Hardin-Central at Southwest Livingston/Breckenridge
Girls
Van-Far at Brunswick
Camdenton at California
Versailles at Laquey
Lee’s Summit West at Smith-Cotton
Russellville at Stover
Jefferson City Helias at Tipton
At The Husker Classic, Higginsville
Warrensburg at Lafayette County
Oak Grove vs Richmond
At The 101st Monroe City Invitational
1) Highland vs 8) Marion County
4) Paris vs 5) Louisiana
Boys
Versailles at Bolivar
Keytesville at Brunswick JV
Knob Noster at Pleasant Hill
At The Centralia Invitational
1) Hallsville vs 8) Macon
4) Centralia vs 5) Van-Far
2) Moberly vs 7) North Callaway
3) Boonville vs 6) Salisbury
At The Husker Classic, Higginsville
2) Smithville vs 7) DeLaSalle
3) Lafayette County vs 6) Hogan Prep
At The KCI Conference Tournament, Plattsburg
West Platte vs Hamilton Penney
At The 101st Monroe City Tournament
1) Monroe City vs 8) Mark Twain
4) Louisiana vs 5) Marion County
At The Pilot Grove Tiger Classic
1) Pilot Grove vs 8) Bunceton
4) New Bloomfield vs 5) Sturgeon
2) Sacred Heart vs 7) Smithton
3) Prairie Home vs 6) Jamestown