For the fifth time in the last six years, the Park Hill girls’ basketball team (2-3) came away with a top-4 finish in the Winnetonka Invitational.
The Lady Trojans won the tournament in 2016 and have taken second or third place in their respected division every year since, until to this winter. In the 43rd Annual Winnetonka Invitational, Park Hill was put in the Cardinal Division and fell in its last two games to claim fourth place.
Park Hill sophomore Anaya Guess knocked down three 3-pointers in the 43rd Annual Winnetonka Invitational as the Lady Trojans finished in fourth place in the Cardinal Division.
After an 11-point victory over Grandview (3-2) in the opening round on Nov. 28, Park Hill had a matchup with Grain Valley (3-0) – who eventually won the bracket – in the semifinals on Dec. 1. The Lady Eagles defeated their opponent 67-42, forcing 15 Park Hill turnovers and holding it to 35.9 percent shooting on the day.
Boston Wand led the Lady Trojans, scoring 18 points – while making eight of her 12 shot attempts – along with grabbing five rebounds and three steals. Maddie Crump hit two of the team’s five 3-pointers and Anaya Guess ended the day with eight points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 75 percent shooting from the charity stripe.
In the third-place game, Park Hill matched up with St. Joseph’s Central (2-2) and lost 52-47 on Dec. 2. The Lady Trojan offense struggled, shooting less than 30 percent from the field while
Guess ended with 14 points and McKenna Sonsa scored 11 points with both players recording two steals. Wand finished the third-place game with three points, four rebounds and one block, as the sophomore was the only Lady Trojan to make the all-tournament team.
Following two straight losses in the tournament Park Hill hosted and defeated William Chrisman (3-2) 45-36 on Dec. 8 when Wand scored 15 points and Sonsa made all four of her free throws to end with 10 points. The Lady Trojans will have their second home game of the year when North Kansas City (2-2) comes to town on Dec. 8.