Park Hill South shocked the top seed in the North Kansas City Invitational on Monday, Jan. 30 behind 24 points from sophomore Alecia Westbrook.
Hickman entered the tournament ranked No. 4 in the most recent Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 5 poll but were kicked to the consolation side of the bracket. Park Hill South emerged with a 53-51 win — one of the biggest in the first season for coach Josh Dorr — at North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, Mo.
Park Hill South controlled the ball late against the tournament’s top seed and made 12 of 17 free throws to hold on late in a tight game.
“As a team we worked a lot on talking more on defense, and it definitely paid off,” Dorr said. “Offensively, we have been talking about keeping our turnovers low and working for good shots. I thought we did a great job with that last night.”
Hickman hit a 3-pointer late to draw within 52-51, and Park Hill South senior guard Emily Dinovo split a pair of free throws. The Kewpies missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer to cement the upset victory for the Panthers.
Westbrook, who has been in and out of the lineup, put up 10 rebounds and hit three 3-pointers in her best game of the season for Park Hill South. Grace Cunningham hit a pair of 3s to finish with 12 points, joining the 6-foot-2 sophomore center in double figures.
The win broke a three game losing skid for Park Hill South, which had lost four of five overall. The eighth-seeded Panthers (8-10) advance to play in a semifinal against Lincoln Prep on Wednesday, Feb. 1 with the championship and third-place games slated for Friday, Feb. 3.
Truman 80, Park Hill South 50
The Patriots hit an incredible 19 3-pointers in a Suburban Conference Red Division win Friday, Jan. 27 in Independence, Mo.
The shooting barrage included 28 points in the second quarter to put Park Hill South down 47-23 at halftime. DeQuaria Guillory, a freshman guard, hit four 3s for the Panthers to finish with 12 points.
Westbrook led the way with 13 but couldn’t help the Panthers keep pace.
After a 3-0 start in Red Division play, Park Hill South has now dropped two straight entering this week’s North Kansas City Invitational. The Panthers sit third behind Truman and Liberty, both 2-0 entering play this week.