Lady Cardinals upset Webb City; avenge Blue Eye amid key stretch, MIller boys basketball downs Verona for second win of year

The Miller Lady Cardinals are now 2-1 in the toughest stretch of the season with wins over Webb City and Blue Eye.
The week began with a trip to Fair Grove Tuesday where the Lady Cardinals took on one of the best teams in all of southwest Missouri, regardless of class. Miller struggled to match up with the lethal combination of size and speed the Lady Eagles had to offer, as Fair Grove handed the Lady Cardinals their first loss of the season, 53-31.
Thursday looked to begin the same way as Webb City’s 6’5 phenom Sami Mancini led Webb City to a 12-0 lead. Then after a timeout, Miller began to cook. An added intensity on the defensive side led to run outs and Miller roared and escaped Webb City with a 53-41.

The win set up a revenge game Monday as the Blue Eye Lady Bulldogs came to town. Blue Eye ended Miller’s run last year in sectionals with a decisive 56-30 victory over the Lady Cardinals back in March. This time around though, it was Miller who would command the finish with a 47-39 victory.
With the win, Miller moves to 5-1 with two more big games left in the next seven days ahead of the Walnut Grove tournament. They travel to Crane, Thursday to battle the Pirates before a trip to Mansfield, next Monday.

Miller scoring vs. Blue Eye
Rose Hill 15
Loghann Leivan 14
Hailey Mart 8
Haylie Schnake 5
Rachel Nunez 3
Ashlynn Helton 2
Miller downs Verona for second win of year
The Miller Cardinals grabbed their second win of the season last Friday night defeating the Verona Wildcats, 50-46, in a hard fought battle after falling to Marion C. Early and state-ranked College Heights earlier in the week.
The Cardinals week began Monday in Joplin as the No. 5 team in Class 2, College Heights, hosted Miller in a rematch of their 31-21 district semifinal showdown where Miller held a 6-4 lead at halftime. This showdown had more points scored, but unfortunately most of them came from the taller College Heights squad that defeated Miller, 66-31. Miller was unable to rebound both from the College Heights loss and in the game against Marion C. Early, as the Panthers were able to use their size to down the Cardinals 50-38. Miller was able to bounce back Friday night after two straight losses, as the defense was able to limit Verona’s shooters and claimed a 50-46 win over the Wildcats.
Miller moves to 2-4 on the year with just one game left before the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic. The Cardinals will take on SWC rival Sarcoxie Friday at home to conclude the pre-holiday tournament portion of their schedule.