Miller crushes Wheaton playoff hopes, 61-2
March 6, 2019
Lee Stubblefield
To misquote John Denver, “Some games are diamonds, some games are stones.”
The Miller Lady Cardinals drowned Wheaton’s postseason run, hanging a 61-24 millstone on the Lady Bulldogs at Carthage on Wednesday, February 27. It was a painful dose of reality for the Wheaton girls, coming on the heels of the euphoria of winning their first girls basketball district title in a quarter century.
But the Lady Bulldogs could not have had a tougher draw for their sectional appearance. The height and athleticism of Miller gave the Lady Cardinals an obvious advantage. Following a cold start and a scolding time out speech from Hannah Wilkerson, the Miller shooters filled the rim with efficient precision.
Wheaton is a good team. So are Verona, College Heights, and McAuley. But Hannah Wilkerson’s girls put on an exhibition that was Globetrotter-esque in easily dispatching the Class 2 District 12 champions.
Time will tell how the Lady Bulldogs will be measured. If Miller had continued to roll in the Class 2 playoffs, then Wheaton would be forgiven for the clock-running debacle at Carthage. But a 40-26 loss to Hartville in the Class 2 quarterfinals sent Miller home and left Wheaton wondering “what if?”
It was a daunting challenge from the start. Miller’s starting lineup featured a Fab Four of talented freshmen, one senior, and Wilkerson - the greatest scoring machine in the history of Missouri high school basketball - coaching from the bench.
The Lady Cardinals entered this sectional game with a 24-5 record against some stiff competition. Miller started slowly, losing two of their first four games: one to Class 1 powerhouse Walnut Grove, and one to Class 3 District 11 runner up Fair Grove. They stumbled against Crane, lost to an ordinary Richland team, and then fell to Class 4 Bolivar.
Along the way, those four freshmen started looking like seniors.
The experienced Lady Bulldogs studied, prepared, and thought they were ready for Miller. Tori Goostree scored twice in the first two minutes as Wheaton jumped out to a 7-0 lead. But Miller responded with a 12-2 run to claim a 12-11 lead at the 1:33 mark. The Lady Cardinals led 17-13 at the first break, thanks to a trio of treys, one of them from reserve guard Jessica Epps.
You couldn’t help but notice the heavy, hanging necklace that Wilkerson wore on the Miller bench. It may not have been a “turnover chain” per se, but it could have been for this game. Starting with the second quarter, Miller’s daunting defense destroyed the Wheaton game plan, contesting every inbounds play, pass, dribble, and shot. By game’s end, Wheaton would have more turnovers than points.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled mightily, scoring only 4 in a second quarter that saw Miller take a 32-17 halftime lead on the strength of a 15-0 run.
Wheaton went scoreless for the first 6:35 of that quarter, finally getting baskets from Hallie Mitchell and Zoie Simpson.
This was the scenario that Wheaton had feared. Miller dropped Verona early in their Class 2 District 11 semifinal with a 20-5 opening quarter enroute to a 70-48 blowout. The Lady Cardinals have the ability to explode on teams with the ferocity of a Mike Tyson knockout.
The third quarter saw more of the same. Miller extended the lead with a 16-5 breakaway. Mitchell opened the quarter with a long trey, her only triple of the game. She had more trey attempts blocked by the aggressive, taller Miller guards than she converted.
Kaylee Helton schooled the Wheaton defense with a pretty pick and roll for a 37-20 lead at the 5:06 mark. Then Payten Richardson finished the quarter with an ankle-breaking dribble drive to create the 48-22 score at the final break.
In the final period, Miller was content to dribble out the clock, a clock that ran and ran after Claudia Hadlock’s stepback three put Miller ahead by a 56-24 score.
Helton scored the last points of the game, knocking down a trey with 3:34 to play and her team leading by 34 points. Just because she could.
Wheaton’s only points of the quarter came on a Simpson jumper way back at the 7:22 mark.
Incredibly, Miller had held Wheaton to just 11 points in the final three quarters of play. The Lady Bulldogs scored 11 in a quick spurt in the fourth quarter of the College Heights district title game. But as good as the Lady Cardinals were on offense, they did their best work with their backs to the basket.
Miller improved to 25-5 with the victory. Wheaton finished the Cinderella season at 21-8.
Wheaton scorers: Tori Goostree, 7; Zoie Simpson, 6; Hallie Mitchell, 5; Rachel Laney, 4; Alyia Prewitt, 2.
Miller scorers: Kaylee Helton, 29; Claudia Hadlock, 10; Payten Richardson, 9; Bethany Gulick, 7; Jessica Epps, 6.
Lee Stubblefield
To misquote John Denver, “Some games are diamonds, some games are stones.”
The Miller Lady Cardinals drowned Wheaton’s postseason run, hanging a 61-24 millstone on the Lady Bulldogs at Carthage on Wednesday, February 27. It was a painful dose of reality for the Wheaton girls, coming on the heels of the euphoria of winning their first girls basketball district title in a quarter century.
But the Lady Bulldogs could not have had a tougher draw for their sectional appearance. The height and athleticism of Miller gave the Lady Cardinals an obvious advantage. Following a cold start and a scolding time out speech from Hannah Wilkerson, the Miller shooters filled the rim with efficient precision.
Wheaton is a good team. So are Verona, College Heights, and McAuley. But Hannah Wilkerson’s girls put on an exhibition that was Globetrotter-esque in easily dispatching the Class 2 District 12 champions.
Time will tell how the Lady Bulldogs will be measured. If Miller had continued to roll in the Class 2 playoffs, then Wheaton would be forgiven for the clock-running debacle at Carthage. But a 40-26 loss to Hartville in the Class 2 quarterfinals sent Miller home and left Wheaton wondering “what if?”
It was a daunting challenge from the start. Miller’s starting lineup featured a Fab Four of talented freshmen, one senior, and Wilkerson - the greatest scoring machine in the history of Missouri high school basketball - coaching from the bench.
The Lady Cardinals entered this sectional game with a 24-5 record against some stiff competition. Miller started slowly, losing two of their first four games: one to Class 1 powerhouse Walnut Grove, and one to Class 3 District 11 runner up Fair Grove. They stumbled against Crane, lost to an ordinary Richland team, and then fell to Class 4 Bolivar.
Along the way, those four freshmen started looking like seniors.
The experienced Lady Bulldogs studied, prepared, and thought they were ready for Miller. Tori Goostree scored twice in the first two minutes as Wheaton jumped out to a 7-0 lead. But Miller responded with a 12-2 run to claim a 12-11 lead at the 1:33 mark. The Lady Cardinals led 17-13 at the first break, thanks to a trio of treys, one of them from reserve guard Jessica Epps.
You couldn’t help but notice the heavy, hanging necklace that Wilkerson wore on the Miller bench. It may not have been a “turnover chain” per se, but it could have been for this game. Starting with the second quarter, Miller’s daunting defense destroyed the Wheaton game plan, contesting every inbounds play, pass, dribble, and shot. By game’s end, Wheaton would have more turnovers than points.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled mightily, scoring only 4 in a second quarter that saw Miller take a 32-17 halftime lead on the strength of a 15-0 run.
Wheaton went scoreless for the first 6:35 of that quarter, finally getting baskets from Hallie Mitchell and Zoie Simpson.
This was the scenario that Wheaton had feared. Miller dropped Verona early in their Class 2 District 11 semifinal with a 20-5 opening quarter enroute to a 70-48 blowout. The Lady Cardinals have the ability to explode on teams with the ferocity of a Mike Tyson knockout.
The third quarter saw more of the same. Miller extended the lead with a 16-5 breakaway. Mitchell opened the quarter with a long trey, her only triple of the game. She had more trey attempts blocked by the aggressive, taller Miller guards than she converted.
Kaylee Helton schooled the Wheaton defense with a pretty pick and roll for a 37-20 lead at the 5:06 mark. Then Payten Richardson finished the quarter with an ankle-breaking dribble drive to create the 48-22 score at the final break.
In the final period, Miller was content to dribble out the clock, a clock that ran and ran after Claudia Hadlock’s stepback three put Miller ahead by a 56-24 score.
Helton scored the last points of the game, knocking down a trey with 3:34 to play and her team leading by 34 points. Just because she could.
Wheaton’s only points of the quarter came on a Simpson jumper way back at the 7:22 mark.
Incredibly, Miller had held Wheaton to just 11 points in the final three quarters of play. The Lady Bulldogs scored 11 in a quick spurt in the fourth quarter of the College Heights district title game. But as good as the Lady Cardinals were on offense, they did their best work with their backs to the basket.
Miller improved to 25-5 with the victory. Wheaton finished the Cinderella season at 21-8.
Wheaton scorers: Tori Goostree, 7; Zoie Simpson, 6; Hallie Mitchell, 5; Rachel Laney, 4; Alyia Prewitt, 2.
Miller scorers: Kaylee Helton, 29; Claudia Hadlock, 10; Payten Richardson, 9; Bethany Gulick, 7; Jessica Epps, 6.