Advance

DEXTER – There is belief and then there is borderline insanity. For the Woodland boy’s basketball team on Friday, its players and coaches never ceased in their conviction that the Cardinals could beat Advance in the third-place game of the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament, which minutes into the contest, was either an insane thought or ignorant, take your pick.

DEXTER – In a rematch of the 2022 Stoddard County Athletic Association Boy’s Basketball Tournament championship game on Thursday at the Bearcat Event Center, Bernie got the best of Advance – again – this time by making smart plays down the stretch and winning 81-75.

Both the Stoddard County Athletic Association and the Big Springs Conference tournaments will tip off next week and hoops fans should be ready for what could offer some good storylines and drama. The SCAA boys tournament will take place at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter, home of the top-seeded Bearcats, while the BSC girls and boys brackets will be played out at Couch High School...

Leading up to the semifinal round of the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament a month ago, Advance head coach Dennis Wheetley said, “Anytime we play someone better than us, it's gonna help us.” The Hornets played Cape Central and Charleston to round out their tournament experience and lost both times by a large margin. However, those defeats stand out as the only losses on Advance’s schedule...

ELLINGTON — Thursday was a good night for the top two boys seeds at the Black River League Tournament. The top-seeded South Iron Panthers turned back host Ellington 67-48 in the early semifinal Thursday, then No. 2 Bunker defeated East Carter 66-41 in the late game...

ADVANCE – There certainly are some physical traits that benefit Dallas Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic, such as, he is 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, which as a point guard, gives him the opportunity to dominate his defenders because of his size and strength. However, Doncic isn’t incredibly athletic or physically sculpted, but what he is, is more skilled with a basketball in his hands than almost any other human being in the world.

Meadow Heights defeated Advance 54-23 in the BCS Tri-County Conference Tournament semi-finals on Wednesday at Advance High School. Meadow Heights was led on offense by freshman Jaycee Shelton who scored 17 points, followed by junior Rachael Hellebusch with 16 and senior Ashley Allen with 11...

Jackson (11-3) rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat fifth seed and host Lindbergh, 55-52, to advance to the Flyer Invitational Tournament championship – its first appearance in the fixture since 2017, in which the Indians won their most recent regular season tournament championship...

ADVANCE – The Advance High School boy’s basketball squad isn’t going to intimidate any opponent with their size, strength, or athleticism this season. The Hornets don’t have to, because as a unit, veteran coach Bubba Wheetley has constructed an experienced, mentally tough group of kids, who are really, really, really skilled and smart on the floor, and that has served just fine this winter.

The Oran girls basketball team (9-4) owned the tempo from start to finish as the Eagles stormed to a 53-22 win over Chaffee (9-3) on the road. Senior Taylor Hobbs led Oran in the win, scoring a game-high 17 points on four 3-pointers. Classmate Haley Webb followed Hobbs with 13 points...

ELLSINORE — Nineteen days after the Doniphan Donettes and East Carter Lady Redbirds battled for the Lady Royals Christmas Classic title, the two squads met Monday in a key Ozark Foothills Conference battle. And for the second time in 19 days, the Donettes emerged victorious, this time by a score of 59-49 in a battle of two of the area's best girls basketball teams...

The St. Vincent girls’ basketball team entered the 2022-23 season with no seniors and only one junior. The Indians were 10-17 last season, and are in a stretch in which going 11-10 in 2021 represents their only winning season in the last four years...