The Park Hill South girls basketball team are champions of the Winnetonka Tournament Cardinal Division for the first time since 2021, defeating district rival Park Hill in the championship game on Dec. 5.
Park Hill South extended its regular-season winning streak to 30 games, an unbeaten run stretching over the past two seasons after chalking up three more wins at the Winnetonka 46th Annual High School Girls Varsity Basketball Tournament.
Addison Bjorn led the way in the championship with a 35-point, 17-rebound performance against Park Hill.
Park Hill South senior Paige Farber tallied the first double-double of her Panther career against Truman on Dec. 2.
Park Hill South made easy work of Truman on the opening night of the tournament, defeating the Patriots 60-31 behind double-double performances from Paige Farber and Bjorn. Farber tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists while Bjorn scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
The following couple of games posed a much greater challenge as the Panthers scraped their way past Lee’s Summit with a 41-36 victory on Dec. 4 before walking away with a 45-41 win in the championship against Park Hill. Bjorn recorded a double-double in all three games, totaling 80 points and 51 rebounds.
Park Hill managed to get itself to the championship game after defeating Platte County on the opening night with a 49-27 result. The Trojans grabbed an early 9-point advantage before the Pirates climbed back into the game early in the second quarter, making it a one-possession game, but a 14-point performance from freshman Ja’Kyla Wright delivered the 22-point victory for the Trojans.
The Trojans got to the final after defeating Grain Valley by a score of 59-46 in the semifinal. Park Hill fell behind by double-digits in the first half before it grew to a 14-point deficit in the third quarter until the Trojans rose to life by cutting the lead down to seven entering the final frame. Park Hill continued its run into the fourth quarter, where it stretched its lead out to 13 before the final buzzer.
Platte County’s Madeline Arthurs protects the ball against Park Hill’s Taylor Finney.
Platte County bounced back from its quarterfinal defeat with a 37-13 victory against St. Joseph Central behind Rylee Carr’s double-double performance. The senior shot 5 of 12 from the floor, scoring 12 points with 12 rebounds in addition to 4 blocks with some assistance from 7-point scorers in Addie Ayers and Madeline Arthurs.
The Pirates settled for a sixth-place finish at the tournament after falling to North Kansas City in the consolation final by a final score of 37-13.