The girls Holiday basketball tournament season will get underway in earnest this coming week but began early for Edwardsville and Civic Memorial last Saturday at the prestigious Visitation Christmas Tournament.
The Viz Tournament started last Saturday, Dec. 17, with CM winning over Edwardsville in the first round 45-36 and resumes Monday with the quarterfinals in both championship and consolation brackets. The Eagles will play Pattonville, who defeated Westminster Christian in the opening round 47-35, at 4:30 p.m., while the Tigers meet the Wildcats in the consolation quarterfinals at 3 p.m.
In the results of the other first-round games, defending champion Incarnate Word Academy of north St. Louis County defeated Webster Groves 68-24, St. Louis Cardinal Ritter Catholic won over Cor Jesu Academy 52-39, John Burroughs won over Nerinx Hall Catholic 59-33, Parkway South defeated Gateway Legacy Christian 47-35, Eureka won over Parkway West 62-37 and the host Vivettes got past St. Louis Lift For Life Academy 44-40.
The tournament final is set for Dec. 28 at 8 p.m.
In other tournaments, Alton, East St. Louis and Highland are set to play in the Mascoutah Holiday Invitational, with the Redbirds starting off against McCluer of Ferguson, Mo., Dec. 27 at 9 a.m., while the Flyers play the host Indians at 10:30 a.m. and the Bulldogs meet Breese Central at 4 p.m. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Dec. 28 and the final will be played Dec. 29 at 4:30 p.m. Other teams in the field include Belleville East, Okawville, Belleville West, Breese Mater Dei Catholic, Riverview Gardens, O’Fallon, Centralia, St. Louis Vashon, Nashville and Freeburg.
Granite City and Jersey will play each other in the first round of the 48th Duchesne Catholic Tournament in St. Charles, Mo., with the tip-off coming at 2 p.m Dec. 27. The semifinals will be played on Dec. 28 and the final is on Dec. 29 at 3:30 p.m. Also competing will be St. Charles, Ursuline Academy, Ft. Zumwalt North, Mehlville, Notre Dame Catholic of south St. Louis County and the host Pioneers.
Both Triad and Marquette Catholic will be in the Benton Christmas Classic, starting on Dec. 27, with the Knights playing Carterville at 4:30 p.m. and the Explorers taking on Marion at 6 p.m. The quarterfinals are set for Dec. 28, with the semifinals on Dec. 29 and the final the same evening, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Also slated to compete are the Benton JV, Mt. Vernon, Herrin, Vienna, Carbondale, Salem, Harrisburg, Goreville, West Frankfort, Christopher, Du Quoin and the host Rangers.
The Carlinville Holiday Tournament is set for Dec. 26-29 at Carlinville, with the group stage starting Monday. In the White group, Greenfield Northwestern plays Hardin Calhoun at 12 noon, while the host Cavaliers meet Franklin South County at 6 p.m. On Dec. 27, the Vipers play the Tigers at 12 noon, while Carlinville faces the Warriors at 4:30 p.m. The group stage concludes Dec. 28 with Calhoun going up against South County at 12 noon and the Cavies playing Northwestern at 3 p.m.
The final is set for Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. Playing in the Maroon group will be Nokomis, Raymond Lincolnwood, Gillespie and Williamsville.
Staunton, Father McGivney Catholic and East Alton-Wood River are all playing in the Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran Winterfest this week, with play starting Dec. 27 as the Bulldogs meet Anna-Jonesboro at 2 p.m., the Griffins taking on Elkville Elverado at 3:30 p.m and the Oilers playing the host Silver Stallions at 8 p.m. The quarterfinals will be played Dec. 28, the semifinals Dec. 29 and the final is set for Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. Also scheduled to compete are Sandoval, Greenville, Chester, McLeansboro Hamilton County, Dupo, Johnston City, Pinckneyville and Vandalia.
Collinsville will be playing in the Don Mauer Invitational at Mary Institute-Country Day School in Ladue, Mo., and start play on Dec. 27 at 12 noon against Kirkwood. The semifinals are set for Dec. 28 and the final will be played Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. Also competing will be a pair of Rockwood School District sides, Lafayette and Marquette, Clayton, the host Rams, Ladue Horton Watkins and Ft. Zumwalt West.
Roxana will be the only area school in the Waterloo-Red Bud Holiday Tournament. this year being played at Waterloo High, and will be in Group B, meeting Columbia Dec. 27 at 5 p.m., Belleville Althoff Catholic Dec. 28 at 5 p.m., finishing up against the Musketeers Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. The final is set for Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. Playing in Group A will be Carlyle, Waterloo Gibault Catholic, Marissa-Coulterville and the host Bulldogs.
In a Holiday tournament played earlier, Metro-East Lutheran defeated Valmeyer in the seventh and eighth place game at the Gibault Candy Cane Classic, played Dec. 12-17 at Gibault Catholic. In the first round, played Dec. 12, Metro-East lost to the host Hawks, with the final score unavailable, while Valmeyer lost to Columbia 76-24. In the consolation semifinals, New Athens defeated the Pirates 54-40, while the Knights fell to Red Bud 43-37. In the seventh-place game, Metro-East won over Valmeyer 39-36, while Columbia defeated Chester to win the championship 62-33.
