Principia Girls down Howell Central in Round One of Viz Tournament

Principia will now face the No. 1 seed, Incarnate Word, on Dec. 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Principia's Record-Setting Season Ends at Hannibal

The Panthers, aiming for their first trip to the girls semifinals, lost, 69-57, to Hallsville in the Class 3 quarterfinals at Hannibal.

A record-setting season for Principia 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 …

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Principia Girls Claim District Championship

The Panthers beat North Technical at home to win the district title, 44-39.

In a game that was tight the entire way, the Principia (19-9) girls defeated North Technical, 44-39, to win the Class 3 District 6 title. Ahead by 20-19 at the half, the Panthers were helped on by a large, boisterous home crowd. Junior guard Liz Gilman scored a team-high 17 points and junior forward Kara Johnson had a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Junior guard Spencer Randolph added six points. The Panthers play Cardinal Ritter (22-5) next Wednesday at St. Louis Community College in Florissant Valley at 7:45 p.m. in the Class 3 sectionals.

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Doug Miner

1:16 pm on Sunday, March 6, 2011

Principia plays at 7:45 p.m., not 2:45, as stated in the article, in the Class 3 Sectionals on Wednesday, at Florissant Valley.   more ›

Long Buzzer-Beater Dooms Principia Girls in OT Loss

Whitfield's Stephanie Anderson sinks a long 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to force overtime as Whitfield defeats Principia, 50-45.

Thanks to sophomore Stephanie Anderson’s long, soaring 3-pointer from several steps beyond the arc at the buzzer, Whitfield was able to tie Principia at 45 and force overtime. In the four overtime minutes that followed, the huge momentum of that shot pushed Whitfield to a 50-45 win over the MWAA Blue Conference-leading Panthers. The win puts the Warriors at 8-4 overall and 1-1 in conference. Principia, meanwhile, is 12-4 and 3-1 in league play. Whitfield began the fourth quarter down 35-32, but the Warriors patiently worked its way back to a 42-40 lead with 1:51 left. However, foul shots gave the Panthers a 45-42 lead with 13 seconds remaining in regulation. Whitfield passed the ball in and found Anderson open at nearly half-court. “We …

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Principia Boys Unable to Catch Brentwood

The Brentwood boys varsity controlled the entire game in a 60-46 victory over Principia.

Brentwood jumped out to a double-digit lead over Principia by the end of the first period and never had to look back in a 60-46 non-conference home victory. Principia was resilient, though, and still has a winning mark at 4-3. “We put ourselves in a hole, that’s for sure,” Principia head coach Tom Bania said, “but you know … they never quit, and by never quitting we had the opportunity at the end to make it a real game. It just didn't happen tonight.” The Eagles (5-4) were mostly outsized, but experience playing bigger and better teams in the MICDS Tournament prepped them for the challenge, Eagles coach Brad Kern said. “We had a game plan going in that while they had the size on us, our guards are pretty quick and we wanted to force their …

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Girls Hoops: Despite Tough Schedule, Principia Enjoying Hot Start

Principia is 4-1 this season, and head coach Shad Nichols has his sights set on a postseason run for the Panthers.

Principia girls basketball head coach Shad Nichols is more concerned with going far in the postseason than regular-season wins and losses. He believes that his girls are up for this challenge. Nichols is used to opposing teams, and parents, being surprised by his teams. "We played Parkway North this summer and beat them by 30," Nichols said, "and by the first half, the parents were looking at each other, saying, 'what school is this? Who are these kids? Where are you guys from? Really? Just down the street?'" The Principia (Class 3 District 6) girls went 15-7 last season, though they didn't get far in the postseason. Nichols has higher hopes for this year's team, which is off to a 4-1 start after its 57-30 victory over Tower Grove …

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EnTeam Reaches Out to Embrace Diversity

Manchester-based program targets local schools, encouraging children from different backgrounds to study and work together.

A diverse group of students from West County, including students in Manchester and Town and Country, got another taste of Operation Cooperation this month from an organization dedicated to bringing together students and adults. The Manchester-based nonprofit EnTeam has provided instructors who teach area parents and children how to work, compete, solve problems and study as one since 1995.   "9/11 demonstrated a need for people to be able to solve problems without agreeing on everything," said Executive Director Ted Wohlfarth. "We've got a world of evidence that people who are not effective at solving problems wound up doing bad things to each other." Wohlfarth and the rest of the staff at EnTeam focus on collaboration and breaking down …

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