Mercer guard Sierra Michaelis, who wowed everyone at the Worth County District Basketball tournament, is not necessarily done with her playing days after she is done at Mercer. She has signed on to play for Missouri, giving the womens basketball team a local flavor. Sophomore point guard Kyley Simmons, who earned a starting job for the Tigers last year as a freshman, is the niece of Todd and Whitney Simmons of Parnell.
Michaelis is a perfect fit for the team-first approach of Missouri’s athletics program; Athletic Director Mike Alden, in a recent visit to Worth County, talked about the importance of his school’s programs playing as a team. She is gifted with outstanding court vision, meaning that if other teams try to double her, she can spot open players that most other players can’t see. That forces teams to play honest defense on her and that allows her to assault the state high school scoring record, which she will likely come really close to breaking if she continues scoring at her present pace.
And Sierra is not necessarily the only scoring option for Mercer anymore. Courtney Owens, who is playing for Central Methodist next year, set a building record for the Worth County gym with 44 points in Wednesday’s lopsided semifinal win over Cainsville. That eclipsed the total set by Linda (Schmitz) Mattson in her senior year at Northeast Nodaway back in 1987; Linda hung 38 on Benton JV in the first round of the Worth County Tournament that year. The other three players are also capable of scoring if the need arises and know how to play the game, a benefit of having played with Sierra and Courtney for four years.
Michaelis has the gift of making everyone around her better, a must at the college level, where she will join a team that’s on the rise. Mizzou is in a transition period as this is their first year in the SEC and both the men’s and women’s teams along with the football team have experienced growing pains. But the women have improved on last year’s record and sit at 15-13 before a senior night game Thursday night. Like the men, the women have made Mizzou Arena one of the most inhospitable places to play in their new conference; they are 13-4 at home. And they are open to Missouri talent even at the class 1 level; Montrose standout Morgan Eye leads the team with over 100 three-pointers this year and has had as many as 33 points in a game this year. Montrose derailed Jefferson’s bid for a state title three years ago.
After three unsuccessful attempts to get past Jefferson the last three years, Mercer finally got the monkey off their backs Saturday night, winning 59-39 over their long-time nemesis. When asked what it meant to her to finally get the monkey off their backs, an ecstatic Sierra said, “I can’t describe it!” Sierra and her teammates have captured everyone’s hearts and minds because they have discovered the ability to enjoy every moment and play every game like it might be their last. This is what made other teams in the area successful, including the Northwest Women’s final four team of two years ago, the Northeast Nodaway girls teams of 2008-2011, and the Tiger girls teams from 1998-2005.
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