The state-ranked basketball teams from Mercer will travel to Kirksville on Tuesday night, playing in the Class 1 sectional round of 16, looking to advance to Saturday night’s state quarterfinals at Salisbury High School.
On Friday night, in doubleheader action heard on KTTN FM 92.3, Mercer won the District 12 championships with a pair of victories on the basketball floor at Green City High School.
The #1 ranked Lady Cardinals overwhelmed Linn County, winning 76-32, as Lindsay Wyatt had 24 points, Bailey Owens 18, Nicole Kost 16, and Emily Sample 14 points. For the Lady Mustangs, finishing a 20-8 season, Alexis Miller had 11 points. The win moves Mercer to 27-0 on the season, and sets up a rematch in Kirksville with the Community Lady Trojans, champions of District 11. Mercer beat Community a year ago in the sectional round, before falling in the quarterfinals four nights later against Tuscumbia.
This year, the road is the same, but the potential quarterfinal opponent is different for the Lady Cardinals, who, in the event of a win on Tuesday night, would travel to Salisbury on Saturday night to play either state-ranked Glasgow or Prairie Home.
The Mercer boys will join the girls in playing in Tuesday night’s sectional at Kirksville, after a 40-33 District 12 title game victory over the Tri-County Conference champion Novinger Wildcats. Bryar Noe had 15 points for the Cardinals, now 22-4 on the season, while Collin Roberts had 12 points for Novinger, finishing the campaign at 22-5.
The Mercer boys, at 7:45 on Tuesday night, will tangle with the Wellsville Tigers in Class 1 sectional play. The winner advances to the Class 1 quarterfinals, at 7:45 on Saturday night at Salisbury High School, to play either Chamois or Glasgow.
The Mercer games this week, being the Tuesday night sectionals at Kirksville, and potential Saturday night quarterfinals at Salisbury, will be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, with audio webstreaming available directly from www.kgozfm.com, and KGOZ on the Tune-In Radio app for I-phones, smartphones, and androids. Tom Johnson will call Tuesday night’s games from Kirksville, with pregame at 5:45.
