Game Balls: Top performances from the week in high school sports

Abby Burroughs and Sophie Thompson

Burroughs and Thompson combined for 122 points in three games as the Knights (18-3) placed third in the Highland Invitational Tournament. Burroughs scored 24 points while Thompson added 22, including the game-winning basket, as Triad defeated Belleville West 59-57 in the third-place game.

Tarkus Ferguson

Ferguson, a senior headed for Illinois-Chicago, continued to shine with his defense, playmaking, shooting and overall play as the Crusaders won the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East for the second year in a row. Ferguson scored 63 points and turned in a handful of blocked shots and dunks.

Teddy Fifer and Jason Johnson

Fifer had a huge week in helping Metro-East Lutheran win the Litchfield Invitational, including 19 points in the championship game win over Civic Memorial. Fifer had 29 points against Litchfield, 17 vs. Nokomis and 16 vs. Taylorville. Johnson, a major inside force for the Knights, had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the championship game against CM. Johnson also had 16 points and 11 boards vs. Taylorville, 12 points against Nokomis and 10 against Litchfield.

Jordan Goodwin

The 6-foot-3 junior scored 47 points in three games, was a force on the boards and was the Crusaders’ motivational leader as they captured their second straight Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East championship by defeating Columbia, McCluer and St. Louis University High. Goodwin had 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 76-72 win over SLUH.

Clayton Hartman

Hartman led the way as Collinsville upset O’Fallon to win the Cahokia Sectional at Bel-Air Bowl on Saturday. The Kahoks junior averaged better than 256 for his six-game block, finishing with a score of 1,540 as he won the individual title.

Logan Kohrmann

It was another big week for Kohrmann and the Central Cougars as the senior guard helped lead them to their sixth Nashville Invitational Tournament title since 2009. Kohrmann had 24 points on back-to-back nights in tourney wins over Nashville and Mater Dei; he also had 16 against Mascoutah and 14 in the championship game win over Teutopolis. He’s averaging just under 17 points this season.

Faye Meissner and Grace Yaunches

Meissner capped a memorable week in the Highland Tournament when she scored the winning basket in the Cougars’ 51-49 win and finished with nine points. Yaunches continued to live up to her reputation as a big-game as she scored 13 points in the title game.

Andrew Orf

After winning the regional title a week ago with a 1,497 score, Orf went even higher this week at the Cahokia Sectional. Keyed by an 818 series, Orf finished with a six-game score of 1,519, but still placed second behind Collinsville’s Clayton Hartman.

Javon Pickett

On a week that saw the talented junior make a verbal commitment to Illinois, Pickett also scored 75 points in three games as the Lancers finished 2-1 in the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East. Pickett scored 28 points Saturday against McCluer, going 8-for-12 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Rachel Pranger

Pranger continued to show why she’s considered one of the top sophomores in Southern Illinois as Edwardsville continued to roll with three lopsided wins and the championship at the Carbondale Mid-Winter Tournament. Pranger averaged 19 points in the wins and had 26 points and 11 rebounds against Carterville. She had 21 points against Mount Vernon and 12 points in the title game win over Carbondale.

Makenzie Silvey

The talented junior guard and Division I prospect was named Most Valuable Player at the Carbondale Mid-Winter Tournament as she helped lead the Tigers to the championship. Silvey had 24 points and sank five of her eight 3-point tries against Carterville and 15 points and nine rebounds in the win over Mount Vernon. Silvey also had 19 points in the championship game win over Carbondale.

Oliver Stephen

Stephen erupted for 26 points in one half and never played a minute of the second half in the Tigers’ opening-round win over Andrews Osborne Academy at the Salem Invitational. The high-scoring junior guard had six 3-pointers in the first quarter and eight in the first half.

Morgan St. James

The senior entered Friday’s game at Althoff averaging 6.8 points per game and a team-high seven rebounds, but she took charge of a tight game with the Crusaders. St. James scored 23 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead the Lancers to their fifth consecutive win.

Kyleigh Vaught

With three losses in four games against some tough competition, it was a hard week for the Althoff Crusaders. But Vaught kept pouring on the points in her outstanding junior season. She topped the 1,000-point mark for her career the week before, then scored 10 in a win over O’Fallon Thursday, 24 in a tight loss to Belleville East Friday, and 21 in a loss to Highland Saturday.

Kendra Wilken

Chosen the Most Valuable Player at the Highland Invitational Tournament, Wilken overcame foul trouble to score 11 fourth-quarter points in the Cougars’ 51-49 title-game win over Salem. The St. Louis University recruit also averaged more than 18 points in wins over Althoff and Triad.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Game Balls: Top performances from the week in high school sports."