From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
Miller’s girls, fresh off a first-round victory against top-ranked Sparta, face Osceola in a Class 2 quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. today at Willard.
The Cardinals, 26-4, are led by 5-foot-8 senior Hannah Wilkerson, who became Missouri’s all-time leading scorer — boys and girls — when she scored 43 points in a 62-60 overtime victory against Purdy in the district championship game.
Wilkerson, who scored 29 points against Sparta, is expected to start along with 5-8 senior Nicole Adams, 5-7 junior Kaitlin Johnson, 5-6 senior Betsy Epps and 5-7 junior Jessica Cook.
Osceola is no stranger to the state tournament. The Lady Indians, 23-4, were a quarterfinalist each of the last two seasons and placed fourth in 2007. Osceola has won the WEMO Conference championship each of the last six years.
The Miller-Oceola winner will advance to the Show-Me Showdown II on March 18-20 at Mizzou Arena and Hearnes Center in Columbia. That semifinal game will be against the winner of today’s matchup at Chillicothe between Hamilton Penney and unbeaten Harrisburg.
