The Trenton Hoops Classic has grown to become one of the largest tournaments in the area. This year, there were 71 games played. North Harrison, a regular participant, has done well on the girls side the past two years, winning both last year and this year. We saw a surprising number of familiar faces.
Naturally, we did not get to all of the games. But we got away from the cold Saturday and checked out a representative selection.
Southwest Livingston Girls 54, Marshall 31
Worth County and North Harrison are favorites to move out of District 14. Whoever wins could face Southwest Livingston, which will be a favorite to win District 13. They are led by Kourtlyn Rounkles, who is the leading scorer in the area, averaging 26.3 a game. Marshall, a Class 4 school with 813 students and a 5-4 record, tried to be physical with the tiny Southwest Livingston squad, but it didn’t work as Rounkles had 25 points for the game. She had plenty of help from Kaylie Campbell and Colee Webb, also threats to score. North Harrison’s Payton Craig is in the running for leading scorer in the area and got back on track Thursday with 23 against Chilhowee after being held to 12 by Stanberry. But Rounkles continued to tear things up. Southwest Livingston also beat Warrensburg, another Class 4 school, 71-30 the day before.
But nobody this time came close to the single game record for the event set by Sierra Michaelis (Mercer) set back in 2013. She had 51 in a game then.
King City Girls 42, Carrollton 26
Another David vs. Goliath contest went well for the smaller school. Carrollton stayed close for a while thanks to their advantage on the boards. But King City figured out they could pressure their Class 3 foes and got 37 tips and 18 steals for the game. Grace Schottel played one of her best games as a Wildkat on the big stage, hanging 24 points on them as everyone was getting her the ball. She added 1 block, 7 boards, 3 assists, 15 tips, and 7 steals. A freshman, Madeline Saunders, played well on defense as well, getting 5 steals and 10 tips for her squad. The PA announcer kept mispronouncing Schottel’s name in the first quarter and obviously felt badly about it afterwards, playing her up as she lit up the scoreboard. King City will be a good challenge for Worth County when they meet in GRC play as well as possibly the Stanberry Tournament.
Smithville Girls 64, Warrensburg 31
Smithville had a slump early in December, losing three out of four during one stretch. But they showed they were the best girls team of the day in Trenton. It didn’t matter who they threw out there against Warrensburg; all 15 of their players knew what to do. One of their assistant coaches, Pam (Cummings) Weis, was a standout point guard under Hall of Fame Coach Wayne Winstead, and their brand of team play was too much for Warrensburg to overcome.
Hamilton Boys 68, Marshall 58
This was a wild game from start to finish. Both teams were pushing it up the floor, trying to run each other out of the gym. Everything was happening at warp speed, making it difficult to keep up. It was an all-out war between two teams that didn’t like each other.
First, Hamilton looked like it would blow Marshall out of the gym, as LaTroy Harper, recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him in football, scored the first 10 points. The lead grew to 14-3, but then Marshall started coming back.
The Owls had some standouts of their own. Jace Lance, son of Worth County grad Ellen (McKinney) Lance, did all he could, shooting from downtown and getting 22 points for the game along with six steals. He helped shoot the Owls back into the game. Jaylen Varner heated up in the third quarter; his 3-pointer finally gave Marshall the lead at 36-35. The lead grew to 44-39 before Hamilton found its second wind.
Harper was a force throughout the game; he collected 10 boards and was constantly forcing the action, throwing one breathtaking pass after another down the court to his teammates to start transition looks. Cale Whitt was running the floor and finishing well for the Hornets; he had 21 points. Ryan Cook also played well down the stretch.
Lance and the Owls got to within 59-55 after Hamilton had built up a 57-49 lead in the fourth, but then Hamilton made 7 out of their last 8 from the line to clinch the win.
King City Boys 54, Carrollton 44
King City thought they were in over their heads when they dug themselves into a 12-4 hole against their Class 3 rivals; the Trojans have 273 students to 100 for King City. But then all of a sudden, King City realized they could play basketball with them and started coming back. By halftime, the deficit was down to 24-20, and then A.J. Saunders took over in the third. He carried the team on his back, getting all 13 of his points in the period as King City moved in front 34-32 after three.
Despite Saunders picking up his fourth foul and sitting for much of the fourth, the steady hand of Collin Breckenridge was key in the final quarter, handling the ball well against Carrollton’s frantic efforts to get back into the game. Despite only having eight players on their squad, it was King City who wore down their bigger rivals.
Pattonsburg Boys 61, East Harrison 41
East Harrison has improved a lot this year, as there is a big difference between having 9 players out and only having 5. This was a fast-paced game, with both teams trying to run each other out of the gym. But Pattonsburg’s depth was scary, as they were able to use 9 players and 11 if they had to. The Panthers built up a 31-18 halftime lead. Just as it looked like East Harrison would find their footing, the Panthers’ depth kicked in and they went on a 15-3 run to end the third quarter up 46-22.
East Harrison Girls 60, Pattonsburg 23
This one was a foregone conclusion as the Bobcats look to contend for the HDC Title along with North Harrison, Grundy County, and Mercer. Pattonsburg, on the other hand, is just trying to get through the season; they are down to five players and one was hurt and had to stand on the defensive end of the court for much of the game, forcing the Panthers to play with four on the offensive end.
Panther skipper Tim Harding was trying to stay positive and fighting for his players the whole time. Bobcat skipper Bill Pottorff, a North Harrison grad, brought his trademark glare and fiery style from South Harrison to East Harrison with immediate results. East Harrison won 11 games last year and is up to a 5-3 start this year. He looked wildly bored with this one, wanting a bigger challenge for his team. He will get his wish this week with games against Grundy County and South Nodaway. They are one of the more balanced teams in the area; five different Bobcats had 8 or more points.
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