Tiger Boys First, Girls Second at Northwest Missouri Tournament

Worth County’s boys won the Northwest Missouri Tournament Saturday, beating East Atchison 58-48 to secure the win. The girls fell to East Atchison 68-59 to take the second place trophy. The game was the first time ever that the Tigers had both the boys and girls playing in the championship game of a regular season tournament together. They played together in district championship games before, in 2003 and last year. The Tigers have never had their boys and girls teams win the same tournament.
For the boys, it was their second tournament title this year, their third in the last two (including districts), and their first win of the Northwest Missouri Tournament since 2011. Current guard Ryan McClellan’s older brother, Al Harmening, was on the 2011 team that won that tournament.

For the girls, it was the first time that they had played in a regular season tournament title game since 2005. Pitted against a Class 2 powerhouse that had beaten North Andrew, Worth County gave the Wolves all they could handle. They led by as much as 26-19 in the second quarter. But then Jaycee Graves showed that she was one of the best post players in the area, as she began sealing at will inside, and the Wolves started to take control in the third period despite Worth County putting up 16 points.

By the early fourth quarter, Worth County was down 55-45. In a similar situation against North Andrew in December, they were down 11 after three and lost by 20. But this time, the girls stormed back, getting the game tied at 57 and 59 late in the game. But Morgan Parshall hit a 3-pointer with 1:24 left, Worth County couldn’t answer, and they had to start fouling. East Atchison was 6 for 6 from the line in the last 47 seconds. By contrast, Worth County struggled at the line for the game, going 9 for 20.

Regan Allee had 25 points to lead the Tigers. Jessi Badell had a career night and had 21. Anna Gladstone and Kaylee McElvain had 6 each, while Kristin New had 1.

Jessi Badell, Anna Gladstone, Kaylee McElvain, and Jill Hardy all had 1 block.

Jessi Badell had a double double as she matched a personal best with 13 boards. Anna Gladstone had 9, Kristin New 8, Regan Allee 4, and Kaylee McElvain 3.

Anna Gladstone had 7 assists for the Tigers. Kristin New had 4, Jessi Badell and Regan Allee 3, and Jill Hardy 1.

Jessi Badell and Regan Allee had 5 tips each. Kaylee McElvain had 4, while Kristin New and Anna Gladstone had 3 each.

Anna Gladstone and Jessi Badell had 3 steals. Regan Allee had 2, while Jenna Smith, Kaylee McElvain, and Kristin New had 1 each.

The boys trailed East Atchison much of the game as they couldn’t get their shots to fall and had not seen the kind of dribble drive motion offense that the Wolves run. They trailed by as much as 40-30 in the third quarter. But then they picked up their defensive intensity, getting better pressure on the ball up top; they finally started getting some shots to fall. By the end of the third, they were only down 40-39, and they took the lead for good on Drake Kinsella’s three point play. They scored 19 in the fourth to pull away for the win.

The Tigers had three in double figures, led by Cade Allee with 15. Drake Kinsella had 14, Ryan McClellan 12, Mason Hawk 8, Caleb Parman 6, Jacob New 2, and Tevin Cameron 1.

Cade Allee had 5 blocks for the Tigers, while Mason Hawk had 1.

Cade Allee had 7 boards for the Tigers. Mason Hawk, Ryan McClellan, and Tevin Cameron all had 5, Caleb Parman and Drake Kinsella had 3 each, while Jaxon Anderson had 2.

Drake Kinsella had 5 assists for the Tigers. Cade Allee and Ryan McClellan had 3 each, Tevin Cameron 2, while Jaxon Anderson, Mason Hawk, Jacob New, and Cade Allee had 1.

Ryan McClellan had 4 tips for the Tigers. Mason Hawk, Drake Kinsella, Jacob New, and Tevin Cameron all had 2, while Cade Allee and Caleb Parman had 1.

Drake Kinsella had 6 steals, while Cade Allee had 2, and Ryan McClellan, Mason Hawk, and Tevin Cameron had 1.