Principia's Record-Setting Season Ends at Hannibal

A record-setting season for nearly turned into a dream trip to the Class 3 state girls semifinals at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO.

The Panthers, aiming for their first ever trip to the semifinals, had their season conclude last Saturday as they lost, 69-57, to Hallsville in the Class 3 quarterfinals at Hannibal. Despite that defeat, head coach Shad Nichols saw his Panthers finish at 20-10 and set a school mark for wins in one season.

It was Principia’s first trip to the state quarterfinals, and the Panthers were down just two points early in the final period against Hallsville, which is 28-2 this season. Junior guard Liz Gilman and junior forward Kara Johnson each scored 15 points in the season finale. That tandem will, once again, be the focus next season for Nichols’ offense. In fact, the Panthers will return all three of its top scorers and will bring very high hopes into the 2011-12 campaign.

Gilman, an all-district player the past two seasons, averaged a team-high 14.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4 steals per game. She also made a team-best 53 3-pointers and averaged 5.8 rebounds per game. Johnson was second on the team at 13.5 points per game and led the Panthers with 9.2 rebounds per game and 133 made free throws (69.6 percent).

Junior Spencer Randolph added 7.5 points per game.

Gilman was instrumental in top-seeded Principia winning the second district title in school history. She had 17 points as the Panthers defeated North Tech, 44-39, in the Class 3 District 6 championship game at Principia on March 4.

Principia went 6-3 for second place in the Metro Women's Athletic Association Blue Conference, which was won by Whitfield. The Panthers finished with a solid 15-7 overall record one year ago, but lost in their opening game in district play.