Kickapoo girls basketball gave its all in loss to Staley. It will in third-place game, too.
COLUMBIA — Kickapoo guard Josie Salazar stood in the middle of the paint as Staley's Destiny Manyawu tried to back her down. At 5-foot-6, the smaller guard was tasked with defending someone who could end up being one of the top girls' basketball prospects in the country.
Manyawu, at 6-foot-2, turned around and tried to get a jumper to fall, but Salazar's hops and superb athleticism altered one of a handful of shots throughout Wednesday evening's Missouri Class 6 state semifinal.
It was just one example of the Lady Chiefs playing every possession like it was their last. Until the final horn, against one of the state's most talented rosters, Kickapoo wasn't going to back down.
Kickapoo played until the last horn. Unfortunately, it came out on the losing end once the final buzzer sounded.
"Anytime you have 15 girls together, you can win a ball game, and those girls are going to do everything they can do to win," Hanchey said. "I thought that we showed a lot of grit. We never hung our heads, and I never saw one ounce of negativity from our girls. We played until the buzzer."
Kickapoo lost 42-37 to Staley in an MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown Class 6 semifinal. The defeat puts the Lady Chiefs in Thursday's noon third-place game against Cor Jesu Academy.
Kickapoo led by as many as seven late in the third quarter but allowed a 14-0 run between the end of the third and the start of the fourth when Staley took command of the game.
The Lady Chiefs still didn't back down. Despite being down eight with 40 seconds left, they scored five points over the next 26 seconds to bring it back within three. Staley made its free throws and kept the game out of reach, but it didn't go without a fight until there was no time left.
"We knew this was going to be a game of runs, and it sucks it happened for them so late that it was hard for us to catch up there," senior star Mikayla Pilley said. "I think if we would have had a few more possessions, I think it would have been a different game."
Thus ended Kickapoo's chance at a championship, but the Lady Chiefs weren't hanging their heads. Although their eyes were red from the tears, they recognize what they've done this season is special nonetheless.
Such milestones include another Pink and White Lady Classic championship and a title at the Pittsburgh Tournament. Although the Lady Chiefs didn't win the Central Ozark Conference title in their first year in the league, they got the win that mattered when they avenged a loss to Nixa in a district championship.
Pilley won't be able to forget a 27-point performance in a state quarterfinal win over Lee's Summit West that put the Lady Chiefs in the state semifinals for the fourth time in five years. They've maintained a level of winning that most come to expect from the Kickapoo girls basketball program.
"I know the third-place game doesn't get as much attention, but it's still amazing what we've done to get here to being among the top four in the state," Pilley said. "That's a hard accomplishment. I'm so proud of our team."
Pilley and four other seniors will play their final games in Lady Chiefs uniforms come Thursday afternoon. The class has led the Lady Chiefs to three semifinal appearances, including two state runner-up finishes.
You can bet they will give it all when they take the floor, trying to add a third-place finish to their résumés. The Lady Chiefs will play until the season's final buzzer.
"Even though this hurts, we're gonna have fun tonight," Hanchey said. "And then we're gonna have fun playing together one last time."
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Kickapoo girls basketball falls to Staley in Missouri Class 6 semifinal
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