Westran Boys Get Redemption With Sturgeon Tournament Title Win, Salisbury Girls Repeat as Champs

Westran used a controlling presence inside to win their first Sturgeon Tournament title since 2004 while the Salisbury girls repeated as tournament champs Saturday night at Sturgeon High School.

Westran grabbed their first lead in the third quarter and held off a late Salisbury rally to win the boys’ title 50-48. A week after scoring 17 points against the Panthers, Jace Chapman landed in double figures again with twelve. His biggest bucket came early in the fourth quarter.

Colin Schowe with the call on 99.9 The Captain and centralmoinfo.com. The win came eight days after the Hornets lost to Salisbury 46-44 in a Lewis & Clark Conference matchup. Langden Kitchen led the Hornets with 19 points in the rematch. His younger brother Marshall added five points off the bench. Westran coach Chris Sander said that tandem played a big role in slowing down Salisbury’s offense.

Westran improves to 18-3 on the season. Salisbury’s Cooper Francis led all scorers with 20 points. Ethan Hamilton added ten for the Panthers who led for much of the first half and had multiple chances to tie it in the waning seconds. Salisbury boys coach Kenny Wyatt said they just couldn’t get shots to fall down the stretch.

The loss snaps Salisbury’s 16-game winning streak as they move to 16-3 on the year.

Salisbury battled Community in the girl’s championship game in a 47-39 win. Both teams were tied after the opening quarter and the Lady Panthers took a 17-16 advantage into the half. In the third quarter, Salisbury’s run was answered by Community. With both teams continuing to duel down the stretch in the fourth, Salisbury sophomore Tori Ricketts made an emphatic play in a big moment.

Steven Findley Jr. with the call. Three different Lady Panthers scored in double digits Julia Sloan and Emmersyn Hammons scoring 13 and Ricketts adding twelve. Coach Barry Grascewicz said his team creates defensive issues for the opponent.

Sarah Angel produced 18 points to lead the Lady Trojans. Community falls to 17-3 on the season. Coach Bob Curtis said his team had to battle uphill the entire contest.

The Lady Panthers extend their winning streak to eight and capture the Sturgeon Tournament title for the second year in a row.

The New Franklin Bulldogs captured third place as they took down South Callaway 71-56. Tanner Bishop’s 14 first-half points paced the Bulldogs as they never trailed after one. Coach Jim Schlotzhauer.

New Franklin improves to 18-2. South Callaway junior Tayber Gray contributed 13 in the losing effort as the Bulldogs sit at 10-10.

The New Franklin Lady Bulldogs used a balanced attack to defeat conference rival Sturgeon for a 69-44 win in the third place game. Freshman Lily Chitwood led four New Franklin players in double figures with 23 points. New Franklin was also consistent by scoring 18 points in the first three quarters to steadily increase the lead. New Franklin girls coach Morgan Grosse praised her team’s offensive output.

Brooklyn Dougherty was the lone Sturgeon player in double figures with ten points. Sturgeon slips to 6-13 with the loss.

In the boys consolation game the Paris boys battled back against Community after trailing 21-8 in the first quarter to win 51-42. The Coyotes were led by seniors Mason Edwards with 14 points and Evan Smothers with 13 respectively. Coach Jeremy Skinner spoke about his team’s defensive effort after one.

Mason Carroll led the Trojans with 15. Paris improves to 9-9 while Community falls to 11-10.

In the girls’ consolation game, New Bloomfield’s offense surged to life in the second half for a 46-28 win over Paris. Ashlyn Peters scored 21 of her 27 points in the second half to help break the game open for the 5-14 Lady Wildcats. New Bloomfield coach Brett Craighead said this can be a momentum builder for his squad.