By Dana Harding
Verona, MO — The Miller Lady Cardinals and Verona Wildcats each won a game in a Friday night double-header in Verona. The Lady Cardinals kicked off the evening with a 64-47 victory, and the Verona boys took the nightcap with a resounding 67-27 result.
Girls Game
While Miller head coach Hannah Wilkerson is just a few games into her inaugural coaching season, you can already see some of the fingerprints in place from Missouri’s career scoring leader.
The Lady Cardinals showcased quick, precise ball movement in the first half to open up scoring opportunities. The open looks helped Miller build a first-half lead, which it protected it with a solid defensive effort.
“[Ball movement] was our main focus coming into this game,” Wilkerson said. “This was an important game against a district opponent. We knew we had to come in here and take this, and this is not an easy place to play.”
Miller’s Abby Gann poured in 28 points to lead all scorers in the contest. The senior guard was joined in double figures by Shayne Mallory’s 15 and Bethany Gulick’s 10.
Wilkerson praised her senior shooter for working within the flow of the offense and stepping up to knock down big shots that not only helped extend Miller’s lead, but killed several momentum-shifting opportunities for Verona, as well.
“[Abby] has the green light,” Wilkerson said. “I don’t care if she’s 0-10, she’s always got the green light. I want her to shoot the ball. That’s part of her being a leader. Even if she’s not having her best night, she’s finding her teammates, getting rebounds and playing defense.”
While Gann’s offensive output was certainly impressive, her work on the defensive end proved to be just as vital and allowed Miller to stretch its lead early on.
Gann shadowed Verona’s Twyla Carrisquillo for a majority of the contest, limiting the talented sophomore’s shot selection and second-chance opportunities. While Gann feasted on open looks and clean driving lanes, for the most part, Carrisquillo had to work for each and every one of her 22 points.
“Twyla’s just a great player,” Gann said. “I’ve played travel ball with her, and I always knew she was tough. She’s a big driver, makes good moves on me and is very quick. I just knew pressuring her more would cause her to drive and maybe kick, because I had my help of my teammates kicking off.”
Madison Shrum and Rita Castillo scored eight points each to help pace the Lady Wildcats. Next up for Miller (5-1) is a Dec. 12 trip to Purdy. Verona (2-3) hosts Greenwood on Dec. 13.
Girls Varsity final: Miller – 64, Verona – 47
Miller 15 16 19 14 — 64
Verona 12 8 10 17 — 47
Miller scoring: Abby Gann – 28, Shayne Mallory – 15, Bethany Gulick – 10, Sadie Barnes – 5, Lynna Hadlock – 3, Dalyn Hadlock – 3
Verona scoring: Twyla Carrasquillo – 22, Rita Castillo – 8, Madison Shrum – 8, Nicole Stephenson – 6, Carolina Castillo – 3
Girls JV final: Miller – 22, Verona – 2
Boys Game
In the nightcap, Verona’s attacking offense and smothering defense overwhelmed a young Miller squad almost from the tip en route to a 67-27 Wildcat victory. The Cardinals started four freshmen in the contest, and the lineup’s varsity inexperience proved to be a major factor. Facing a full-court onslaught from the Wildcats, Miller struggled to advance the ball beyond the perimeter, for the most part.
Verona’s pressure defense caused repeated turnovers which, in turn, led to easy fast-break opportunities at the other end. Wildcats head coach Brad Stewart also has a lineup full of underclassmen; however, most of Verona’s squad received valuable experience during last year’s campaign and benefitted from the team’s senior leadership.
“I felt and saw in the locker room the intensity, pre-game, that we need to play with,” Stewart said. “We’re still young, and now the challenge will be, moving forward, to play that way each night, and to play that way when we’re not in the friendly confines of Verona High School gymnasium.”
Verona opened up the first quarter with a torrid 18-0 run and closed out the frame with a 23-7 lead. From there, the Wildcats stretched the lead with each passing quarter. Verona poured in 18 points in the second and 20 in the third to take a commanding 61-22 lead into the final quarter.
A trio of sophomores paced Verona’s scoring barrage.
Caleb Hillhouse led all scorers with 21 points, followed by a pair of 17-point performances from Kolton Pinkly and Eddie Gutierrez. Despite the lopsided victory, Stewart noted a host of talent within Miller’s lineup that just needs time to adjust to the varsity game.
“As Miller matures, they’re going to find a lot of success,” Stewart said. “I see the talent. They just weren’t quite ready for the defensive intensity that we were able to bring.”
Preston Richardson led Miller with 7 points.
Verona (3-2) hosts Greenfield on Dec. 13, while Miller (2-3) travels to Purday that same evening.
Boys Varsity final: Verona – 67, Miller – 27
Verona 23 18 20 6 — 67
Miller 7 6 9 5 — 27
Verona scoring: Caleb Hillhouse – 21, Kolton Pinkly – 17, Eddie Gutierrez – 17, Jorge Lara – 4, Dominic Fernandez – 4, Austin Valdez – 4
Miller scoring: Preston Richardson – 7, Garrett Rollett – 5, Nick Johnson – 4, Kaul Kleeman – 4, Cory Parnell – 3, Devin Dempster – 2, Shaun Edwards – 2
Boys JV final: Miller – 32, Verona – 30 (OT)
