MIDWAY BASKETBALL OPENS SEASON WITH WEMO TOURNEY

Cass Midway's varsity basketball teams got their 2008-09 season started by spending a week on the home hardwood hosting the Western Missouri Conference Basketball Tournament. The tournament games were played December 1 thru December 6.

The Lady Vikes' and the Vikings each played first game in the tournament on Tuesday, December 2. The Lady Vikes faced Archie and the Vikings battled Appleton City.

Archie led Midway 13-6 after one quarter of play. At the half, the score was Lady Winds 27 and Lady Vikes 10. Archie's lead over Midway was 41-16 at the end of the third quarter. The final score was Lady Whirlwinds 53 and Lady Vikings 26.

Bree Renner scored a team high 6 points for the Lady Vikes. Katie Chouinard tallied 5 points. Kelsey Weis and Jenny King had 4 points apiece. Michaela Hinkle scored 3 points. Shelby Garrigus and Jennifer Gorsage each scored 2 points.

Katie Chouinard, Kelsey Weis, and Jenny King each had 4 rebounds. Shelby Garrigus had 3 rebounds. Michael Hinkle had 2 rebounds. Jennifer Gorsage and Janae Semsch each grabbed 1 rebound.

Shelby Garrigus had 3 steals and 2 assists vs. Archie. Bree Renner had 3 steals and 1 assist. Janae Semsch had 1 steal and 1 assist. Katie Chouinard and Kelsey Weis each had 1 steal. Michaela Hinkle had 1 assist.

Midway led Appleton City 12-6 at the end of the first quarter of play. The Vikings lead over the Bulldogs was 18-16 at halftime. Midway led Appleton City 33-28 after three quarters of play. The Vikings had to hold on in the final seconds of play for a hard fought 51-49 victory.

Derek Worthley scored 16 points, Shane Henry scored 13 points, and Matthew Yoakum scored 10 points to pace the Viking scoring effort. Sam Riggs chipped in 4 points. Jason Kurzweil, Taylor Ayres, Josh Fischer, and Jacob Kraft each added 2 points.

The Vikings got a team high 8 rebounds from Derek Worthley. Matthew Yoakum had 7 rebounds, Sam Riggs had 5 rebounds, and Shane Henry had 4 rebounds. Josh Fischer had 3 rebounds. Jacob Kraft, Jason Kurzweil, and Justin Beshore each had 2 rebounds. Taylor Ayres had 1 rebound.

Sam Riggs had a team high 4 assists vs. the Bulldogs. Jason Kurzweil had 3 assists, Derek Worthley had 2 assists, and Jacob Kraft had 1 assist.

Taylor Ayres made 3 steals. Derek Worthley and Josh Fischer each made 2 steals. Shane Henry had 1 steal.

Cass Midway's Lady Vikes were eliminated from the WEMO Tournament losing on the home court to Rich Hill on Wednesday, December 3 in a consolation semifinal game.

Rich Hill took a 10-8 first quarter lead on the Lady Vikings. The Lady Tigers led Midway 27-16 at halftime. Rich Hill owned a 33-26 lead over Midway at the end of the third quarter. The final score was Lady Tigers 46 and Lady Vikings 40.

Katie Chouinard scored 12 points and Shelby Garrigus scored 11 points to lead Midway in scoring. Janae Semsch scored 7 points and Kelsey Weis scored 5 points. Midway got 2 points apiece from Bree Renner and Jenny King. Jennifer Gorsage added 1 point.

The Lady Vikings got 13 rebounds from Kelsey Weis. Bree Renner had 4 rebounds. Janae Semsch had 3 rebounds and Jenny King had 2 rebounds. Katie Chouinard and Shelby Garrigus each had 1 rebound.

Bree Renner had 4 assists, Katie Chouinard had 3 assists, and Kelsey Weis had 2 assists. Michaela Hinkle and Shelby Garrigus each had 1 assist.

Shelby Garrigus made 5 steals against the Lady Tigers. Janae Semsch, Bree Renner, and Jenny King each made 2 steals. Katie Chouinard, Kelsey Weis, Jennifer Gorsage, and Michaela Hinkle each made 1 steal.

The Vikings struggled early in their championship semifinal game against Archie on Thursday, December 4, and Midway was never able to catch the Whirlwinds.

Archie led Midway 19-2 at the end of the first quarter of play. At the half, the Whirlwinds held a 30-17 lead on the Vikings. Archie led Midway 44-30 at the end of the third quarter. Midway fought back late, but the Whirlwinds defeated the Vikings 62-55.

Taylor Ayres scored 14 points and Josh Fischer scored 12 points to lead the Viking offense. Shane Henry and Tyler Johnston each scored 7 points. Sam Riggs scored 6 points and Matthew Yoakum scored 5 points. Derek Worthley added 4 points.

Derek Worthley pulled down 9 boards and Josh Fischer grabbed 8 boards to lead Midway's rebounding effort. Matthew Yoakum and Shane Henry each had 3 rebounds. Sam Riggs, Justin Beshore, and Jacob Kraft each had 2 rebounds. Zach Goddard and Taylor Ayres each had 1 rebound.

Bryan Fregeau and Sam Riggs each had 2 assists. Players with 1 assist each were Jason Kurzweil, Justin Beshore, Taylor Ayres, Josh Fischer, Shane Henry, Tyler Johnston, and Zach Goddard.

Derek Worthley had 3 steals. Josh Fischer had 2 steals. Shane Henry and Tyler Johnston each made 1 steal.

Saturday, December 6, Midway faced Rich Hill for the boys' third place trophy. The Tigers clipped the Vikings for the bronze medals.

Rich Hill led Midway 19-9 after one quarter of play. The Tigers led the Vikings 29-22 at the half. Rich Hill was in front of Midway 39-32 at the end of the third quarter. The final score was Tigers 56 and Vikings 41.

Shane Henry led Midway with 13 points. Josh Fischer scored 10 points and Taylor Ayres scored 8 points. Tyler Johnston gave the Vikings a 6 point effort. Derek Worthley and Sam Riggs each scored 2 points.

Josh Fischer claimed 5 rebounds. Sam Riggs had 4 rebounds. Matthew Yoakum had 3 rebounds, and Derek Worthley had 2 rebounds. Justin Beshore and Tyler Johnston each had 1 rebound.

Sam Riggs had 3 steals and 2 assists. Shane Henry had 2 steals and 1 assist. Tyler Johnston had 2 steals, and Derek Worthley had 1 steal.

Midway plays at Blue Ridge Christian on Tuesday, December 9. Call the Midway central office at 816-250-2994 for directions to Blue Ridge Christian.

This article appears courtesy of The Adrian Journal & The Drexel Star.