CLASS THREE…A proven contender and three fresh faces appear in the Class 3 semifinals. Stockton has won two of the last three state championships and will try to make it three-of-four. The Lady Tigers are 29-1 under sixth-year head coach Tony Armstrong. Their starting line up features five seniors, including Kiana Bock, who averages 20 points per game. Their opponent in the semis will be California, which is 26-3. Senior guard Stephenie Cook averages 19 points and five boards per contest. The other semifinal game features one of the state’s most electrifying players. Hancock’s Sony Daugherty averages 32.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and has led the Tigers to a 26-2 record. Hancock faces St. Louis Metro, which only has one player who scores in double digits per game. That’s Deidra Dance who puts in 14 per contest. The Panthers do it with defense—in the state tournament they’ve given up a stingy 43 points per game…….. CLASS TWO…If you saw the Class 2 semifinals last year, you’ll be familiar with the 2004 semis. All four teams—Stoutland, Skyline, Clopton and St. Jospeh Christian—returned to the final four this season. Two of them—Clopton and St. Joseph Christian—are undefeated. St. Joseph is 30-0 and finished fourth last season, losing to Clopton. Last year marked their first trip to the final four. They’ll go up against Skyline, which enters as the defending champions. Skyline is 28-2, and their two losses came to Class 5 Lebanon and Class 3 powerhouse Stockton. They also won the title in 1996 and 1997. Clopton, which is 30-0, lost to Skyline in the 2003 title game. The Hawks have a tough one-two scoring punch in Mikal Bencomo (19.3 ppg) and Brandi Tipton (18.6 ppg). Their opponent is Stoutland which is 29-1 on the season, enters the game with a 14 game winning streak…….CLASS ONE…Undefeated Brashear puts its 30-0 record on the line on Friday as they face 22-7 Chadwick. Kristin Osborne is their leading scorer with 14 points per game. The Tigers have allowed 42.5 per game in the Show-Me Showdown. Chadwick is led by Doug Dunn, who is in his first year as head coach. They won the Mark Twain Conference with a 7-0 record. In the late game on Friday, 26-4 Walnut Grove takes on 24-4 Mound City. Walnut Grove are in their first ever appearance in the Show-Me Showdown. Mound City is in its second trip to the final four and gives up 44.4 points per game.
