The Lady Trojans shocked the top-seeded Falcons and got revenge from last season’s district championship defeat when the Park Hill girls’ basketball team (17-10) knocked off Staley (20-7) with a 46-32 victory in the Class 6 District 8 Semifinals on Feb. 28.
Park Hill senior Amaya Blake, above, led the Lady Trojans past the No. 1 seed with 12 points in the 46-32 win over Staley on Feb. 28.
After Staley beat Park Hill 50-48 in the Class 6 District 16 Championship in 2021, the Trojans had to wait 361 days for a chance at revenge as there wasn’t a regular season matchup between the opponents. The venue for the rematch was familiar territory for the Trojans as the district tournament is hosted at Park Hill High School.
After Park Hill took down No 5. seeded Liberty North (12-11) 33-28 on Feb. 26, the No. 4 seed was able to pull off a huge upset over the No. 1 seed when it never trailed after the first quarter. Despite turning the ball over six times and trailing 10-2 midway through the opening frame, the Trojans outscored the Falcons 11 to two in the final 3:39.
After Amaya Blake made a free throw, Kennedy Townsend scored five straight points on the senior’s first two field goal attempts – a fast break three-point play after a Boston Wand block and a layup within the offense. Blake found McKenna Sonsa in the left corner for a 3-pointer to give Park Hill a 13-12 advantage with 1:26 left, and it held the lead for the rest of the night.
Sonsa had a big second quarter when the sophomore scored the Trojans’ first eight points in the period – which was 11 straight dating back to the opening frame. Blake added a layup and Park Hill took a 23-18 advantage at the break.
The Trojans’ defense held the Falcons to only one made field goal in the third quarter and took a 33-23 lead entering the fourth quarter after Anaya Guess scored a layup with 1:19 left and Blake beat the buzzer with a fast break score. Staley scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to narrow the double-digit deficit, but Townsend answered with a step-back shot from the top of the key and then followed her shot and put back a layup on a missed 3-point attempt.
From that point on, the Trojans closed out the contest with eight made free throws to pull off the upset when three Trojans scored in double figures, led by Townsend with 13, while Blake had 12 points and Sonsa ended with 11 points. Park Hill has advanced to the Class 6 District 8 Championship against St. Joseph’s Central (19-7) – where the Trojans will look for their first title since 2017 – on March 3 at 7 p.m.