The St. Joseph's basketball team snapped Incarnate Word's run of five straight Metro Women's Athletic Association White Division championships last January via a 61-53 win over the Red Knights.
The Angels, who claimed their first league title since the 2004-'05 season, will try to make it two in a row Saturday when they play at IWA. A victory would give St. Joe's, which is No. 1 in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings and 17-2, an outright conference crown.
"Anytime you get Incarnate Word it's a thrill," St. Joe's coach Julie Matheny said. "In a league championship game it puts a little more fire in it. But it's about winning big games. A game like that gets you ready for March."
St. Joe's head into the 2 p.m. contest on a roll. The Angels have won six straight since falling to Incarnate Word 46-41 in the Visitation Christmas Tournament. And that's a trend. St. Joseph's has been a dominant power in recent years, but beating IWA has proven difficult. The Red Knights have won 13 of the 16 matchups dating to the 2005-06 season.
"We're gaining some confidence," Matheny said. "Our intensity on defense has pulled us up. We're playing with a lot more composure. Confidence and composure feed off of each other."
St. Joe's has gotten some outstanding play of late from its marquee players. Maddie Stock had three straight games with 30-plus points recently, and Sydney Stipanovich has been consistently strong, but some lesser-known performers also have stepped up, including junior guard Emmie Haring.
"She's done a great job handling the ball for us," Matheny said.
Before the Angels can start thinking about the Red Knights, however, they've got another stiff challenge at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in a Coaches vs. Cancer contest at Scottrade Center. That's when St. Joe's will play defending Illinois Class 4A champion Bolingbrook.
The Raiders are No. 5 in ESPN's national rankings. St. Joe's is No. 23, it's best ranking this season.
"They're solid," said Matheny, who recently picked up the 300th win of her career. "They average 6-2 on the floor. They're strong, they're athletic and quick. They've got size and they've got speed."
Bolingbrook, the three-time Class 4A champ, is led by senior Morgan Tuck, a Connecticut recruit who averages 23 points and eight rebounds.
Incarnate Word (13-6, No. 2 large schools) also has been playing well of late. The Red Knights have won eight of 10 games after starting the season 5-4.
A win over St. Joe's would not guarantee IWA its sixth league title in seven years. The Red Knights, ranked No. 34 nationally, still have league games with Nerinx Hall and Ursuline ahead. St. Joe's has already beaten those teams, along with Cor Jesu.
Still, beating the Angels would be a big step forward for IWA if it wants to win another league title.
"Obviously, we beat them the first time and that's good," IWA coach Dan Rolfes said. "We know we can play with them. But when you play a great team multiple times your odds go down."
The Red Knights, who will get a good tuneup for the St. Joe's game Tuesday against Fort Zumwalt West (15-2, No. 4 large schools), are coming off of a 46-39 loss Friday at Columbia Rock Bridge.
"Our kids played hard," Rolfes said. "We got in foul trouble, and that really hurt us in the third quarter. Several calls went their way that could have made a big difference."
KIRKWOOD SEEKS REDEMPTION IN VILLA TOURNEY
The 32nd Annual Queen of Hearts Tournament at Villa Duchesne will run Thursday through Saturday.
Kirkwood (15-2, No. 6 large schools) is the top seed. The Pioneers lost 54-48 to 2-seed Jefferson City in the title game last season.
"We want to play Jeff City again (in the final)," Kirkwood coach Brad Sutterer said. "They have a couple of outstanding players coming back."
The Pioneers might appear to be in a bit of a funk after losing 52-37 to Rock Bridge in the Prepcasts Shootout a couple weeks ago. After all, they've recently struggled against three teams they had the potential to blow out.
Sutterer said there's a reason games against Oakville, Parkway West and Parkway South were tight.
"We've been playing a lot of kids because there might not be another chance," he said. "We're trying to get ready for districts."
Although Sutterer thinks Jefferson City will make it to the final, he said he wouldn't be surprised to see host Villa Duchesne, the No. 3 seed, make it.
"They're kind of a sleeper," Sutterer said. "They're playing really well.
"We hope to get three good games out of the tournament. It's our last tournament before districts."
Kirkwood's stuggles have been on offense -- the Pioneers scored just 36 against Oakville -- but Sutterer said the defense has been solid.
"For us to win we've got to play good defense because we don't have the type of players who put up 20 or 30 points a night," he said.
SHUFFLE IN THE AREA RANKINGS
Francis Howell Central can't buy a break. Right after it won seven straight games to earn the 10th spot in the large-schools rankings last week, the Spartans lost starting point guard Katy Gerler to an injury against East St. Louis.
With Gerler out of the lineup, the Spartans (14-5) dropped back-to-back games to Holt and Nerinx Hall. As a result, they dropped out of the top 10.
"It hurt us not having our point guard," Spartans coach Brian Ricker said after the loss to Nerinx Hall. "She's such a key to our team. She's our best defensive player. We miss her."
Howell Central had even more bad luck against the Markers when another guard, sophomore Sydney Wilson, went down with an injury. That meant that shooting guard Sharese Jones had to play the point.
"I had to take (Wilson) out and put in a freshman JV player, so we were really outmanned," Ricker said. "But the kids still put up a valiant effort. When we get everybody back we'll be a pretty solid team, I think."
Holt jumped into the top 10 for the first time this season.
WEBSTER GROVES FIELD IS STRONG AGAIN
The Webster Winter Challenge, which kicks off next Tuesday, will feature a very solid field again.
No. 1 seed St. Joseph's tops the list of teams. However, Rock Bridge and Fort Zumwalt West also are serious contenders for the first-place trophy, as is host Webster Groves, which has won six straight games to improve to 12-5.
Other teams in the tournament include Hazelwood Central, O'Fallon, Cor Jesu and Belleville East.
The first-round games will be Tuesday and Wednesday. The semifinals are slated for Friday, and the final is Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
