Lady Cardinals varsity basketball is currently flying high after sweeping the field in Harrisonville this past week for the top place in the MRVC West Girls Tournament.
For the Cardinals, who opened MRVC Tournament play off the heels of a tough 41-47 road loss at Nevada just days before, the MRVC was a crucial rebound opportunity for the team as they stared down the barrel of just their second tournament of the year, looking to add to their strong 4-2 start to the season with tournament glory.
For these 2022 Lady Cards, who ran the table to a title opportunity against top-seeded Skyline just a couple weeks ago in the 35th Annual Warsaw Girl's Basketball Tournament before falling to the Lady Tigers to take 2nd place honors in what would be their first loss of the young season, with the MRVC looming this past week, there was a sense that there was something to prove for the team despite their fast 4-2 start. And if there were something to prove, the team was able to do just that.
Oak Grove, who entered the MRVC Tournament toeing the line at 3-3 was the first to fall to the Lady Cards, as the team topped the Lady Panthers from tip-off to buzzer to advance to the semifinals with a 48-21 opening round win.
After flying past the Panthers in Round 1, the Cardinals next set their sights on Harrisonville, as the hometown Lady Wildcats were next in line after topping Odessa by a comfortable 59-38 to punch their own ticket to Round 2. While Harrisonville (3-2), entered the MRVC with just two losses, their semi-final rendezvous with Clinton would soon change that, as the Lady Cards topped the host Lady Wildcats 44-39, dashing any hopes at a title run for the hometown crowd and punching the Lady Cardinals ticket to a title opportunity in the MRVC West, the team’s second tournament title shot in just three weeks.
With top seeded Warrensburg edging out Center 58-56 on the other side of the bracket, the stage was set; top-seeded Warrensburg would take on third-seeded Clinton for the tournament title.
While they may have fell just short in Warsaw, the MRVC West Tournament would be a different story for Clinton, as the Lady Cards topped the rival Tigers 49-46 to take it all this time around by a narrow 3-point margin.
While the Warrensburg squad hit on a barrage of field goals in the first quarter, the Lady Cardinals took advantage of opportunities at the line as the teams were deadlocked at 12-12 at the end of the opening period.
Clinton edged the Lady Tigers in the second with a 13-11 advantage as their offense remained consistent, but the defense ratchetted things up a notch and they took a 25-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
The game was, perhaps won in the third as the Lady Cardinals came out firing to the tune of a 15-10 margin to stretch their lead to 40-33 at the end of three.
In the final frame, things were reversed from the first quarter when Warrensburg exploited opportunities from the line and Clinton connected on just five field goals, but the Lady Cardinals held tight for the win, 49-46.
Mercedez Brown and Skyte Wilson paced Clinton in the championship game with 14 points apiece while Briley Wishard was also in double digits with 11.
For the team, which brings its second MRVC 1st Place trophy home in just three years, the win cements an already impressive start to year, bringing their record 7-2 as they enter the holiday break before returning to action on December 28 in the 12 Courts of Christmas Tournament.
