St. Joe Suffers First Loss In Viz Tourney Final To No. 1 Incarnate Word

TOWN AND COUNTRY -- An intense, back-and-forth battle for the coveted championship trophy of the Visitation Academy Holiday Girls Basketball Tournament turned inside out against St. Joseph’s Academy on Friday.

The Angels were ahead 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, and even enjoyed a brief 11-10 lead early in the second quarter.

But from that point on, the No. 1-ranked team in all of St. Louis area girls basketball -- Incarnate Word Academy -- controlled every aspect of the game, and was able to ease its way to a 49-34 win over St. Joe.

Incarnate, which is now 10-0 and has been ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation by ESPN and other high school girls basketball polls, took control by outscoring the Angels 14-3 in the second quarter.

St. Joe seemed to have trouble solving Incarnate’s full-court pressure defense. The Angels turned the ball over a season-high 16 times, and Incarnate scored many of its points off those SJA miscues.

Sophomore Napheesa Collier, the Viz tourney MVP, had a game-high 16 points, along with 10 rebounds, six blocks, and five steals to lead Incarnate to its ninth Viz title, with eight of those coming in the last nine years.

Senior Sydney Stipanovich had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead St. Joe, which finishes the first half of the season with a 7-1 record and is ranked No. 2 in the city among all Large School girls‘ teams.

The Angels will get a full week off to enjoy the rest of their holiday break from school, before returning to action next Saturday, January 5, with a game against Carthage (MO) in the Prepcasts Shootout, which will be played at De Smet High School.

Tip off for the game that evening is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Scoring Summary

Score by Quarters ........... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 -- Final Score

St. Joseph’s ..................... 9 ... 3 .. 11 . 11 -- 34

Incarnate Word ............... 8 .. 14 . 17 . 10 -- 49

Individual Scorers

St. Joseph’s -- Sydney Stipanovich 10, Erin Nelson 8, Susie Schmank 6, Emmie Haring 4, Mary Barton 3, Lexi Gorman 2, Jackie Karl 1.

Incarnate Word -- Napheesa Collier 16, Nakiah Bell 12, McKenna Treece 10, Gwen Adams 4, Nia Roth 3, Carly Frala 2, Katie Lacefield 2.

VIZ TOURNAMENT All-TOURNAMENT TEAM -- First Team

Sydney Stipanovich, St. Joseph’s

Napheesa Collier, Incarnate Word -- Tournament MVP

Alexis Chappelle, Hazelwood Central

Becca Steins, Parkway South

Abbie Marshall, Nerinx Hall

Lizzy Wendell, Blue Springs

Nia Roth, Incarnate Word

Erin Nelson, St. Joseph’s

VIZ TOURNAMENT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM -- Second Team

Nakiah Bell, Incarnate Word

Cami Unger,Webster Groves

Allie Ball, Principia

Karlay Middlebrook, Blue Springs

Mallory Moran, Webster Groves

Maddie Simonds, Nerinx Hall

Emma Mitchell, Visitation

Jenn Dynis, Visitation