Lady Trojans and Panthers take another one to the wire

Last year the Park Hill and Park Hill South girls battled each other in two close regular season games with the road team winning each time. This year both teams were hoping to go into the holiday break with a victory as one team would be able to say they completed the first third of the season at a .500 winning percentage or better with Park Hill coming into the game with a 2-3 record and South at 4-4.

Playing at Park Hill, the teams played neck and neck nearly the entire game. The Trojans held merely a 16-15 lead over the Panthers at the half, but South would go on a five point run to start the half before Park Hill’s Kyleesha Weston turned a fast break into a lay-up to tie the game at 24 in the third quarter. Timely baseline scoring from Helena Hudson helped Park Hill maintain a narrow lead into the fourth quarter before South regained momentum when Tori Kerr converted a lay-up with 5:30 to tie it at 32. South took the lead when a well executed give-and-go from Haley Shelton to Samantha Roy put the Panthers up 38-37 with just under three minutes to play. Shelton and Roy along with Stephanie Griffith have been strong for the Panthers up to this point.

“Samantha’s stepped into a starting role as a freshman point guard and played under composure. Stephanie Griffith is always kind of our go-to person along with Haley Shelton. They work really well together,” Park Hill South Jenny Orlowski said.

Park Hill retook the lead and could have sealed the victory with some crucial free throws, but was unable to cushion their 43-42 lead.

“We usually shoot pretty well, just tonight we didn’t and that’s ok,” Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser said of the free throw shooting.

After a missed free throw, South called timeout with ten seconds to play. Shelton inbounded the ball and immediately streaked to the hoop before receiving it back. The play was executed with precision and while the look was there, the bounce was not, leaving the Panthers on the wrong side of a 43-42 loss to Park Hill.

Understandably, Neeser was relieved about getting out of Monday’s game with a victory.

“We’re just really happy to walk out of here with a win,” Neeser said. “Defense and not giving up those easy buckets is something we need to work more on.”

Asked whether the close game was the rivalry or similarity between the teams, South’s Orlowski said it was a little of both, but the loss withstanding, she is proud of her team’s progress.

“This year we’re both pretty close talent wise (to Park Hill), but style of play is a little different,” Orlowski said. “I told them in the locker room before the game that when we were in this game last year we were 0-8, so I’m very proud of them.”

Winter Weekly Recap: Dec. 13-18

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Park Hill South girls basketball team reached and surpassed their win total from last year last week as they improve to 4-4 after going 2-1 with wins against Raytown South and Grandview. And the two wins weren't squekers either as they defeated Raytown South 50-19, with 12 points coming from Jessica Lee, and Grandview 47-24, as Stephanie Griffith scored 16 with 7-10 shooting from the field. The Panthers feel to William Chrisman 49-37 in their final game of the week. South came into the fourth quarter only down by two. Coach Jenny Orlowski said the loss was in part due to fatigue and mental mistakes late in the game. She says they are making great improvements and are beginning to gel as a team.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
After a second place finish in the Blue Springs South tournament two weekends ago, South continued to play well last week as they added two more wins to improve their overall record to 6-1 on the year. A 63-29 thumping of William Chrisman featured three players scoring in double digits with Christian Hildebrandt's 15, Adam Schemenauer's 14, and Rocky Benson's 10. Chrisman did not score more than nine points in any of the four quarters. Their Friday night showdown with Northland neighbor Winnetonka was more of a game, but the Panthers pulled out a 54-48 win as South's Hildebrandt put in 19 along with Benson's 11. They'll compete in the Cardinal Division of the William Jewell Holiday Classic next week and start things with Kansas City Central followed by a likely match-up with O'Hara.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
Park Hill is now 5-1 after a victory against Kearney last week. Nathan Wilson's 11 points along with Chris Nsenki's 10 led the Trojans to a 48-45 victory over Kearney. They'll begin competition in the William Jewell Holiday Classic next week as they play start play in the Patterson Division against William Chrisman to set-up a likely second round game with Liberty.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
The Lady Trojans basketball team is now 2-3 after a poor performance against North Kansas City 58-20 and a win against Belton last week 43-32. Micalla Rettinger has emerged as threat for the Trojans on the scoring front as she led Park Hill in both games with five and 12 points, respectively. Dominique Broadus also added 12 points and 13 rebounds in their victory against Winnetonka.

Park Hill South Wrestling
Park Hill South Wrestling fell to Kearney last week 56-18. South won three matches, but two were by forfeit. The quality showing by Jimmy Carpenter in the 125-pound division resulted in a pin of Kearney's Joe Disciacca. They were back in action over the weekend at the Kansas City Wrestling Classic at Hale Arena. The Panthers finished 27th with a total of 143.5 team points. The Panthers' next action will be the first of January when they host Fort Osage and then visit Platte County.

Park Hill Wrestling
Despite neighbor Oak Park's impressive third place performance and five individual titles, Park Hill had a quality showing as they placed seventh with a team score of 391.5 at the Kansas City Wrestling Classic and took two of the individual titles. After winning his division last year, Bricker Dixon won again, this time in the 125-pound division with his 11-0 victory. At the 145-pound division, Preston Crouse took home the title. Nolan Smith came up just shy in the heavyweight championship match as he fell 3-2 in seven overtimes to Oak Park's John Cervantes. Park Hill and Oak Park were two of the three teams in the entire tournament to win more than one weight class. Collins Hill out of Georgia took home the team title with 472.2 team points without any first place finishes. John Erneste finished fifth at 103 and Russ Coleman placed fourth at 130. Park Hill is off from competition until the beginning of the year when they host Lee's Summit West and Staley.

Park Hill Girls Swim/Dive
Park Hill defeated North Kansas City last week 147-33 in an early week meet. They traveled to the Independence Invitational over the weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Swim/Dive
Park HIll South Swimming's week couldn't get much better last week as they racked up wins over five different teams including Oak Park, Staley, Liberty North, MICDS ( St. Louis) and Springfield Kickapoo. Over the weekend, they continued their dominance with a Top performances in the invitational included first place medals for the 200 Medley Relay's team of Lyndsay Ryan, Olivia McLain, Mary Cate Reinert, Mariah Bryant; the 200 Free Relay of Rachael Norfleet, Shannon Brouk, Miranda Henderson, and Bryant; and Ryan in the 100 backstroke. Other Medal winners included Norfleet in the 200 Free, Brouk and Reinert in 200 IM, Bryant, Ryan and Henderson in the 50 Free, Kelsey Sadler in Diving, Reinert in 100 Fly, McLain and Norfleet in the 100 Free, Shannon Brouk, Taylor Brouk, and Dannie Burdiss in the 500 Free, Bryant in 100 Back, McLain and Abbie Moyes in the 100 Breast and the 400 Free Relay of Ryan, Shannon Brouk, McLain and Norfleet.

The Panthers will have one meet over the holiday break which is Thursday, December 3th at Lee's Summit North.