After an invincible regular season campaign, the Park Hill South girls basketball team is hunting for its second district title in the last three years.
The Panthers, who went 26-0 as the only undefeated girls basketball team in the state, are the No. 2 overall seed in the state and the No. 1 seed in the Class 6 District 8 Tournament.
Park Hill South concluded its regular season last week with win No. 25 against Oak Park before completing the program’s first-ever undefeated season against North Kansas City on Feb. 28.
Of the 26 wins, only four have been within a 10-point victory margin. The Panthers opened the season with an overtime vic- tory against Liberty North. Since then, only Booker T. Washington of Tulsa, Park Hill, and Blue Valley North have managed to stay within 10 points.
Park Hill South has had two key performers throughout the season: Addison Bjorn and LaNicia Parker. Bjorn, a junior, easily averaged a double-double with nearly 22 points and 12 re- bounds per game and led the Panthers in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. Parker, a senior, shot nearly 41% from beyond the arc as South’s second-highest scorer and rebounder.
While the Panthers could make a district championship look easy, it may not be that simple. It begins with a quarterfinal matchup against Central (St. Joseph) on March 6 before potentially a semifinal meeting with Park Hill, if the Trojans also defeat Liberty.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 state-ranked Staley sits as the No. 2 seed in the district. A rematch against No. 3 seeded Liberty North is also on the table if both teams make it through to the championship.
The Panthers hope to make it to the team’s first state tournament final four, scheduled for March 19-20 at Mizzou Arena, and are six wins away from etching their names in to Missouri high school girls basketball history as invincible state champions.