Intriguing Holiday Tournament First Round Matchups

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> The Christmas holiday basketball action really picks up in the next week with an abundance of great tournaments from around the state. Prep Girls Hoops Missouri takes a look at some of the more intriguing first-round tournament games from around the Show-Me State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":722449,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/07/IMG_0008.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-722449" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cape Notre Dame vs. Ursuline Academy (Visitation Tournament): An excellent matchup between No. 8 seed Notre Dame vs. No. 9 seed Ursuline. Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the first MBCA Class 4 state poll. They have the excellent 2026 trio of twins Kate and [player_tooltip player_id='317351' first='Brie' last='Rubel'] and 6'2" forward Navaeh Lucious. Usruline has an excellent 2026 player of its won in 6'0 forward [player_tooltip player_id='554959' first='Evelyn' last='Shane']. [player_tooltip player_id='644564' first='Brooklynn' last='Williams'] is a talented 2024 point guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Date: Saturday, December 23, 4 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":816739,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_7706.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-816739" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clever vs Chadwick (Pink &amp; White, White Division): A good first-round game between a pair of strong small schools. Chadwick is one of the top Class 1 teams in the state. The Cardinals played for a state title last season. They are led by 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='424724' first='Kerrigan' last='Guerin']. Clever has a solid team with a strong 2024 backcourt in [player_tooltip player_id='645080' first='Ireland' last='Jones'] and Brylie Hicks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Date: Wednesday, December 27, 3:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":678226,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/IMG_2846.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-678226" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Staley vs. Helias (Jefferson Bank Holiday Classic): A strong first-round game that is part of a loaded tournament, which is being held at Capital City. Staley is one of the top teams in Class 6 while Helias is one of the top teams in Class 5. Staley has a young and talented squad led by 2026 standouts [player_tooltip player_id='317343' first='Ava' last='Miles'] and [player_tooltip player_id='458975' first='Londyn' last='Parker']. Helias has an excellent 2024 duo of 6'1" [player_tooltip player_id='194413' first='Adalyn' last='Koelling'] and 5'10" [player_tooltip player_id='645232' first='Claire' last='Galbraith'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Date: Wednesday, December 27, 4 p.m</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":408321,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CD3C2B98-7335-481F-A8A6-E3F145EF016A-scaled.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-408321" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fatima vs. Battle (Jefferson Bank Holiday Classic): Another excellent first-round battle taking place at Capital City. Fatima is an excellent team that is off to a very good start. The Comets are led by 5'11' 2024 guard Alli Robertson and 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='634037' first='Vivian' last='Bax']. Battle has a strong Class 6 team that features excellent guards [player_tooltip player_id='375675' first='Tayla' last='Robinson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='199287' first='Nautica' last='Washington'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wednesday, December, 27, 2:30 p.m</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":671079,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/IMG_2299.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-671079" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Dominic vs. Hannibal (St. Dominic): This is a good 4-5 matchup in the first round at St. Dominic. Hannibal has a very talented offensive player in 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='635330' first='Mariah' last='Mayfield']. St. Dominic is led by 5'10" 2025 forward [player_tooltip player_id='865984' first='Madison' last='Lynch'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Date: Wednesday, December 27, 2:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":462046,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/07/3CC72133-B979-4BAD-8E25-F3B593DFCBED.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-462046" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grain Valley vs. Waynesville (Rolla): Grain Valley has put together a nice start to the season, which includes the championship of the Winnetonka Tournament. They will face a Waynesville team that is paced by 6'2" 2024 Virginia recruit [player_tooltip player_id='194406' first='Breona' last='Hurd'], who can do everything.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Date: Tuesday, December 26, 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->