ST. JOHN 53, SPEARVILLE 43 — St. John sparkplug Mia Meyer scored 23 points and ignited the Tigers' rally from an 8-point deficit with a trio of momentum-changing 3-pointers for 53-43 substrate championship that clinched a spot in the 1A Division 1 state basketball tournament.
St. John's 6-foot-2 Lydia Reed dominated inside with several blocks, including a pair of volleyball spikes on Spearville shots. Reed scored 14 points and dominated the rebounding. The Tigers (17-5) committed 18 first-half turnovers, but led 23-21 at halftime thanks to to four 3-pointers. Meyer made a pair and Jalyn Fisher and Karly Rockenbach converted 3-pointers. The Tigers overcame 26 turnovers.
St. John's aggressive defense forced 23 Spearville turnovers and kept the Tigers within range until the offense got rolling. The Tigers beat Spearville for the second consecutive year to qualify for the 1A state tournament at Dodge City.
"Spearville got up and got after us man-to-man. We recovered, calmed down, played better and come back to win," said St. John coach Danny Smith. "Mia Meyer carried us offensively when she's confident like this. She's played games where she's scored like that. Lydia thrived in a game that was physical. Those games generally favor us."
Spearville's Faith Ackerman scored 12 points and Cheyenne Ackerman added 10 points. Spearville made 19 of 59 field goals against solid Tiger defense.
"Our defense is our strength, and we knew we'd eventually score,' Smith said. "We took Spearville's best game that first half, and still found a way to be ahead. We hit some 3s that gave us the lift and deflated them."
St. John captured the 2009 state championship and own two state runner-up trophies. The Tigers earned the school's 13th state tournament trip. The Tigers lost twice to 1A state qualifiers Little River and Central Plains and once to state qualifier Bucklin.
"We expected to qualify for the state tournament," Smith said. "Our tougher schedule has paid off and prepared us well for the state tournament. This is one of our first games we were down and came back to win."
Reed (12 ppg, 4 blocks), Meyer (11 ppg), Reagan Bonner (8 ppg) and Jalyn Fisher (6 ppg) lead the Tigers.
"We knew we'd draw a tough team like Centralia at state," Smith said. "They're aggressive and shoot the 3-pointer really well. They'll play full-court man and pressure you. We've got a shot because we can score here and defend there. We've got nothing to lose. We need to play relaxed basketball."
Spearville 13 8 12 10 — 43
St. John 5 18 14 16 — 53
SPEARVILLE (16-7) (FG 3 FT TP)—Faith Ackerman 5-14 (2-8) 0-1 12, Cheyenne Ackerman 4-11 (0-1) 2-4 10, McGee 2-7 0-0 4, Huston 1-9 (0-3) 0-2 2, Preisner 2-7 (1-2) 0-0 5, Kliesen 4-9 (0-1) 0-2 8, Correll 1-2 0-0 2, Totals 19-59 (3-15) 2-9 43
ST. JOHN (17-5) (FG 3 FT TP)—Meyer 8-18 (3-9) 4-5 23, Reed 6-10 2-6 14, Averi Fisher 0-0 2-2, Rockenbach (1-1) 0-0 3, Jalyn Fisher 1-7 (1-4) 1-2 4, Bright 1-3 0-2 2, Brummer 0-0 1-2, Bonner 2-6 0-0 4, Totals 19-45 (5-16) 10-19 53
GREENSBURG B—3-7—CHAMPIONSHIP—St. John 53, Spearville 43; SEMIFINALS— St. John 55, South Central 25; Spearville 56, Skyline 25; South Central 63, Fairfield 26; Skyline 49, Pretty Prairie 44
ST. JOHN ROSTER—1—Mia Meyer, 11; 2—Averi Fisher, 11; 4—Tara Dowling, 10; 10—Jennifer Gracia, 11; 11—Karly Rockenbach, 12; 12—Jaylin Fisher, 9; 13—Gentri Bright; 10; 15—Teresa Miller, 11; 21—Lily Brummer, 10; 23—Lydia Reed, 12; 33—Reagan Bonner, 11
ST. JOHN STATE HISTORY (11-13)
2025—St. John vs. Centralia
2024—Frankfort 51, St. John 34
2018—St. Paul 26, St. John 19
2013—St. John 55, Centralia 26; Hoxie 47, St. John 41; 3RD—Bucklin 38, St. John 36
2012—St. John 44, Caldwell 17; St. John 54, Waverly 43; 1ST—Hoxie 55, St. John 45
2010—St. John 43, Frankfort 32; South Gray 34, St. John 30; 3RD—St. John 43, St. Paul 35
2009—St. John 57, Hoxie 50; St. John 49, Centralia 38; 1ST—St. John 46, South Gray 35
2008—St. John 46, Ellis 36; St. John 46, Osborne 33; 1ST—Berean 42, St. John 41 (OT)
2007—Osborne 61, St. John 57
2003—St. John 51, Syracuse 43; Osborne 69, St. John 53; 3RD—Olpe 63, St. John 54 (OT)
2001—Inman 53, St. John 52
1996—Stockton 51, St. John 40
1994—SW Heights 57, St. John 54
