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PITTSBURG —
We touched on the fact that Pittsburg State sophomore forward Lizzy Jeronimus played under the weather Wednesday night against Missouri Southern at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
“I about had a heart attack on the way to the game because I found out (Jeronimus had the flu) when she got to the locker room,” Pitt State head coach Lane Lord said. “We left at 3:15 so she kept it a secret for me. At least, she didn’t make me worry all day long. We got off the bus and I was pretty nervous but . . . of course, gave her the little Michael Jordan speech. She probably wasn’t even born when that happened but she played like him today.”
Playing with the flu, Jeronimus led Pitt State to a 66-63 win and the MIAA’s leading scorer delivered an incredible shooting performance: 9-for-10 from the floor and 5-5 at the free throw line.
Her only miss was a wide-open 3-pointer early in the second half.
Jeronimus finished with a game-high 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Michael Jordan only added to his legend in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
Battling the flu, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 win over the Utah Jazz with 38 points (13-27 shooting, 2-5 3-pointers), seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jordan could barely walk off the Delta Center floor after the game.
“He’s the greatest and everyone saw why tonight,” Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen said.
Two days later, Jordan scored 39 in Game 6 as the Bulls closed out the Jazz for their second of three consecutive NBA titles. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fifth time.
Jeronimus averages 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds for the 11-4 Gorillas. Her performance Wednesday night will be part of her legacy.
For the record, Jeronimus was born Jan. 28, 1993 and the Jordan flu game was June 11, 1997.
Tony Dubray Classic
LIBERAL, Mo. — Both of the St. Mary’s Colgan basketball teams advanced to the championship games of the Tony Dubray Classic with semifinal wins Thursday night.
The Colgan boys once again relied on the hot shooting hand of senior forward Dyson Dechant, who scored 28 points Thursday against Wheaton after 35 points against Bronaugh on Tuesday, and the Panthers claimed a 61-38 win.
Luke Marquardt added 12 and Austin Commons had nine for the 8-2 Panthers.
Colgan outscored Wheaton 15-0 in the second quarter after Wheaton enjoyed a 16-12 lead following one quarter.
The Colgan girls defeated Galena 46-43 in overtime and the operative for the Panthers was balanced scoring — Mariah Klenke 12 points, freshman Halee Pace and Taylor Bolinger eight, Aliee Story seven and Nichole and Katie Kolarik five apiece.
We touched on the fact that Pittsburg State sophomore forward Lizzy Jeronimus played under the weather Wednesday night against Missouri Southern at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
“I about had a heart attack on the way to the game because I found out (Jeronimus had the flu) when she got to the locker room,” Pitt State head coach Lane Lord said. “We left at 3:15 so she kept it a secret for me. At least, she didn’t make me worry all day long. We got off the bus and I was pretty nervous but . . . of course, gave her the little Michael Jordan speech. She probably wasn’t even born when that happened but she played like him today.”
Playing with the flu, Jeronimus led Pitt State to a 66-63 win and the MIAA’s leading scorer delivered an incredible shooting performance: 9-for-10 from the floor and 5-5 at the free throw line.
Her only miss was a wide-open 3-pointer early in the second half.
Jeronimus finished with a game-high 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Michael Jordan only added to his legend in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
Battling the flu, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 win over the Utah Jazz with 38 points (13-27 shooting, 2-5 3-pointers), seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jordan could barely walk off the Delta Center floor after the game.
“He’s the greatest and everyone saw why tonight,” Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen said.
Two days later, Jordan scored 39 in Game 6 as the Bulls closed out the Jazz for their second of three consecutive NBA titles. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fifth time.
Jeronimus averages 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds for the 11-4 Gorillas. Her performance Wednesday night will be part of her legacy.
For the record, Jeronimus was born Jan. 28, 1993 and the Jordan flu game was June 11, 1997.
Tony Dubray Classic
LIBERAL, Mo. — Both of the St. Mary’s Colgan basketball teams advanced to the championship games of the Tony Dubray Classic with semifinal wins Thursday night.
The Colgan boys once again relied on the hot shooting hand of senior forward Dyson Dechant, who scored 28 points Thursday against Wheaton after 35 points against Bronaugh on Tuesday, and the Panthers claimed a 61-38 win.
Luke Marquardt added 12 and Austin Commons had nine for the 8-2 Panthers.
Colgan outscored Wheaton 15-0 in the second quarter after Wheaton enjoyed a 16-12 lead following one quarter.
The Colgan girls defeated Galena 46-43 in overtime and the operative for the Panthers was balanced scoring — Mariah Klenke 12 points, freshman Halee Pace and Taylor Bolinger eight, Aliee Story seven and Nichole and Katie Kolarik five apiece.
Head coach Abby Farabi said that freshman Pace did a nice job taking over for sophomore point guard Alex Minton, who will have knee surgery and be out for 3-5 weeks.
The Colgan girls play host Liberal in the championship game 6 p.m. Saturday.
PHS soccer coach resigned
Pittsburg USD 250 accepted the resignation of soccer coach Wraine Meadows on Monday.
Meadows, a 1995 Pittsburg High graduate, took over the Dragon soccer program in 2003.
After losing seasons the first two years, Pittsburg took off in 2005 with a 14-4 overall record, 13-3 in the regular season, and won 14 straight matches.
Pittsburg enjoyed its first winning season, its first Southeast Kansas League title (shared with Independence) and defeated Kansas City-Washington 7-0 at home for its first regional win.
Meadows won SEK Coach of the Year and landed five players All-SEK: first team selections Anani Eble, Chris Doura, Francisco Lopez and Dennis Klos, and second team selection Jack Thomas.
Meadows wrote a “Letter to the Editor” in the Morning Sun after the historical 2005 season.
“Dear editor, I would like to personally thank everyone that has supported PHS soccer at any point during the season,” Meadows wrote. “Whether you have been a long-time supporter or a recent supporter I appreciate all the support.
“Growing up I would never have thought that I’d see ‘Good Luck PHS soccer’ on gas station signs. This has been an amazing season for our team.
“It’s sad that it has ended. I am sad for the players more than anything else because of the work that they put in this year and the improvements they made.
“Although it was ended, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for the world. From the highs to the lows it has been one heck of a ride and I am both honored and privileged to be a part of it.”
After that pinnacle season, Pittsburg struggled the next few seasons with predominantly losing records.
Sparked by foreign exchange student Danilo Pinheiro and several talented younger players, Pittsburg finished its 2012 season 9-7.
Crespino hired on at Western Michigan
The Western Michigan Broncos have hired Girard native Anthony Crespino as their director of football operations, it was announced Wednesday.
Crespino, the son of the late Girard coach Craig Crespino and the grandson of former St. Mary’s Colgan football coach Frank Crespino, spent 2012 assisting his great uncle and Texas State head football coach Dennis Franchione as the assistant director of football operations and recruiting coordinator.
Crespino graduated from Girard High School in 2006 and from Pittsburg State in 2011.
The Broncos, a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in every sport but ice hockey, finished their 2012 season 4-8.
Northeast girls 47, Bronaugh (Mo.) 37
LIBERAL, Mo. — The Northeast Viking girls returned to the win column Wednesday with a 10-point victory over Bronaugh in the consolation bracket of the Tony Dubray Classic.
This win helped Northeast earn a spot in the fifth place game late Friday afternoon. Northeast plays Golden City at 4:30 p.m.
The Vikings, especially Kaylee Bogina and Jaycie Polhlopek, found their shooting touch. Bogina led Northeast with a career-high 19 points, making three 3-point shots, and Polhlopek scored nine of her 10 in the first half. Morgan Maransani finished with six points.
“We were a lot more aggressive than we have been and got back to our philosophy we have been teaching from the first day of practice,” Northeast head coach Scott Post said. “I am very proud of these girls. They are a great group of kids who want to win and do whatever I ask of them. They continue to improve.”
Middle school/junior high basketball
The Pittsburg Community Middle School boys swept Altamont on Monday, the eighth grade winning 32-26 and the seventh grade winning 50-15.
Conner Southard led the eighth graders with 10 points and seven rebounds. Trevor Kent added eight points and six rebounds. Douglas Jajo scored seven points and had three steals. Noah Vaughn dished out three assists and Nathan Woods grabbed six boards.
Chase Curtis paced the seventh graders with 13 points, Jalani Long had nine and Alex Kafka added seven. Drew Roelfs had four steals and two assists. Long grabbed 10 rebounds and nearly had a double-double. Isaac Leverenz additionally dished out two assists. The seventh graders improved to 5-0.
On Monday, the Frontenac eighth grade boys improved to 8-2 with a 32-30 win over Galena. Ryan Long paced the Raiders with 13 points.
The seventh grade A team won 35-14 with nine points from Peyton Brown and eight from Jake Wilbert. The seventh graders improved to 9-1.
Galena won the 7B game 20-4 and the 8B game 31-27.
On Monday, the Girard girls swept Columbus, winning the 8A game 39-29, the 7B game 17-4 and the combo B game 15-14.
Calea Augustin led the eighth graders with 21 points and Olivia Hanson and Lauren Franklin each added seven.
Jacey Murphy led the seventh graders with 11 and Shelby Smith added four.
The St. Mary’s Junior High girls won two of three games Tuesday against Baxter Springs.
Marci VanBecelaere and Kamree Pace led the seventh grade A teams with 10 and nine points, respectively. The 7A team won 23-12.
The 8A team lost 35-10 and the combo B team won 21-18 behind eight points from Becca Spears and five from Grace VanBecelaere.
