Baker, Widaman help college teams
A pair of former Mexico High School all-staters continue to help their college basketball teams get off to a strong start.
William Woods University sports a 4-0 record, thanks to a pair of double-doubles by Rachel Baker. The sophomore forward totaled 20 points and 18 rebounds Friday in Oskaloosa, Iowa against William Penn in a 73-59 decision; she added 20P/15R plus 6 blocks and 6 assists in Monday’s 60-56 win over Benedictine in Fulton, which made the Lady Owls 4-0.
Columbia College moved to 4-1 with Monday’s 93-53 triumph at home over Missouri Valley. Whitney Widaman, a junior guard, contributed 10P for the Lady Cougars.

St. Brendan tops pair of opponents
St. Brendan School G7/8 basketballers posted a pair of home wins Tuesday night.
The Lady Irish took on St. Peter’s of Fulton and prevailed 29-6 after leading 13-0 at halftime. Great defense and a group effort on the boards marked the SBS triumph.
For St. Brendan, Remington Greenwell totaled 10P/2R/2S, Josie Mueller 4P/8R/5S, Emilee Rodenbaugh 5P/5R/7S, Kaitlin Orr 2P/2S, Anna Perll 2P/3R, Kaitlyn Ingrum 2P/1R, Kelli Ingrum 2P/1R/1S and Rachel Kerr 2P/1R/3S.
Kaitlyn Brooks, Beth Jennings and Asia Reno also helped out the Lady Irish, forcing several turnovers with their aggressive defense.
SBS boys also improved to 2-1 with a 24-14 decision over a defensively strong St. Joseph’s of Martinsburg team. Halftime was 10-4 in favor of the Irish.
Brandt Wieberg dominated the floor for the Irish with 10 steals and 10 defensive turnovers which translated into 6 points and many free-throw attempts; Josh Patterson added 10P/8R, Christian McKeown 4P/5S, Logan Robinett 4P/4R/4S/2 blocks.
Both St. Brendan squads play Thursday in Moberly against St. Pius.

NC G7 and G8 teams see action at SoCal
In Grade 7 basketball games Tuesday at South Callaway, North Callaway girls bowed 20-16 in overtime and North Callaway boys fell 38-26 after trailing by a point at the half.
NorCal led the girls game 9-5 at halftime; regulation ended at 16-all.
Jaida Gray paced NorCal with 8 points, while Cassidy Webster scored 4, Baylie Borman 2, Tara Oberlag 1 and Maddie Sorell 1. High scorer for SoCal, which controlled the boards, was Abby Bartley with 6P.
South Callaway held a 19-18 lead at halftime of the boys game. Miguel Hudson paced NorCal with 8P, while Justin Menard had 7P, Chance Kee 7P and Trenton Oberlag 2P. Tristan Peneston and Cody Vandelictt shared high-point honors for SoCal with 10 apiece.
North Callaway also played G8 games Tuesday at Mokane, the boys winning 36-20 and the girls losing 38-8.
High scorers for NorCal were Justin Murphy with 11P and Zack Eads 9P for the boys, plus Justina Kent 5P for the girls.