The Herculaneum girls basketball team completed the first of what it hopes are many accomplishments with a dominating 63-23 win at Crystal City on Friday. The Blackcats completed their sweep of the Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools with a 5-0 record. Grandview won the small-schools division the previous two seasons.
“We’ve had some good teams in the past,” Herculaneum head coach Riley Blair said. “We just ran into some good teams in our conference. We have a special group here. They’ve put the work in for several years. I’m super proud of where our program has come from and where it’s going.”
Next stop for the Blackcats, who are 17-7: The Class 3 District 3 tournament they’re hosting as the No. 2 seed. Steelville (16-5) is the top seed. Grandview (14-6, No. 3), St. Pius X (18-2, No. 4) and Jefferson (11-12, No. 6) are the other small schools from the league in the field. Herculaneum plays Kingston (9-13, No. 7) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Seniors Emma Vaughn, Taylor Metcalf, Ashley Croom and Caitlyn Huber and the returning MVP, junior Paige Fowler, have a bond on the floor that comes from playing together for years. Fowler (5-10) is a physical player who is averaging almost 20 points per game. She scored 12 points against the Hornets. Metcalf set the school’s career record for assists early this season and is up to 529. She scored the game’s first basket against the Hornets (3-14, 0-3).
Playing point guard, Metcalf is usually smiling when she rushes the ball down the floor. That’s probably because she likes what she sees waiting for her passes in Huber (6-0), Croom (5-7), Vaughn (5-8) and sophomore Macey Pilliard (6-1).
“I think Taylor’s a happy person in general,” Fowler said. “I’m going to cry after our last game because I’m going to miss her so much. We played in little league together. We’ve always had a good bond. It’s awesome to know I helped her set the (career assist) record.”
Herculaneum didn’t attempt a single 3-point shot against Crystal City. Meanwhile, freshman Abbie Edwards (two) and junior Jillian Schubert combined for three treys for the Hornets.
Crystal City was unable to keep the Blackcats from the boards and gave up a lot of baskets in close.
Was Herky trying to avoid taking 3-point shots?
“Not necessarily. I think the 3-point shot was our second option,” Fowler said. “(Crystal City) didn’t have anybody to stop us inside. So why take the outside shot, when we have (opportunities) down low?”
“That was one of the things we focused on,” Blair said of the inside game. “We didn’t want to come out and just start shooting around. We wanted to work on our offense and pound the ball inside and we did a good job of that.”
The Blackcats’ 34-33 win against Grandview on Feb. 7 was a key moment in their season, Fowler said.
“That was overwhelming. We knew we had the team,” she said. “So it’s awesome to be conference champions.”
Fowler said she’s enjoyed representing the conference as the MVP. She said she didn’t play well in a 49-33 win over St. Pius X on Feb. 12.
“I wanted to play for my team,” she said. “I had a rough game against St. Pius because I got into my own head a little bit. I was playing selfish and not making my shots.”
Playing with a large lead throughout the game against the Hornets, Blair sent in three different groups of five players on the floor. Sophomore Emily Gruhala is listed on the JV roster. She made the Blackcats’ final two baskets Friday.
“We wanted to give some reps to some kids and I thought we did a good job of that,” Blair said. “This is the kind of game we wanted to work on things.
“I’m looking forward to it and these girls are looking for an opportunity as well. One of our goals at the beginning of the season was a conference championship and we accomplished that. But I don’t think our girls are finished.”
Crystal City’s boys held off Herculaneum 66-61 after the girls game on Friday and the Hornets improved to 10-11 after shellacking Bismarck 77-19 on Saturday.
Crystal City is hosting the Class 2 District 4 boys and girls tournaments. The Hornets are the No. 2 seed on the boys side, while the girls are the No. 3 seed.