The drive for five kept the St. James Lady Tigers alive!

Despite being written off by many due to heavy graduation losses and very little returning varsity experience, the 2025-26 STJ girls’ basketball team secured its place as one of the greatest squads in the rich history of the program by knocking off top-seeded host Cuba 39-32 in the championship game of the Missouri Class 4 District 3 Tournament Friday, March 6 at Cuba High School.
After receiving a first-round bye, the second-seeded Lady Tigers held off third-seeded Sullivan 29-19 in the semifinals March 4.

It was the fifth consecutive district title for the Lady Tigers, as well as the sixth in the last seven seasons and 19th in program history. St. James was also the undefeated Four Rivers Conference champions this season - the ninth time in program history the squad captured both district and conference titles the same year.

St. James, 17-10 and winners of its last nine games, was to play St. Francis Borgia (17-9) Monday, March 9 in the sectional playoff round at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton. Borgia advanced by beating Lutheran South 57-42 in the title game of the District 4 Tournament March 6.

The St. James/Borgia winner will play the Doniphan (26-2)/Potosi (22-4) sectional survivor in Class 4 Quarterfinal action at 6 p.m. March 13 at Sullivan High School.

That quarterfinal winner advances to the Girls’ Class 4 Final Four March 18-19 at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia, with the semifinal game at 10 a.m. March 18. The Girls’ Class 4 third-place and championship games are slated for March 19.

St. James was attempting to reach the Final Four for the seventh time, and first since the 2021-22 campaign.

“A lot of credit goes to these kids,” said Lady Tiger head coach Terry Wells said. “At one point this season we were 8-10, and they could have given up and started thinking about their spring sports or something else. But they stayed with it and bought in. We tried something defensively that worked and that the kids loved to do and, except for a loss to state-ranked Bunker, we haven’t lost since then. They are undefeated conference champions and district champions, and it’s the first time in a long time we have won both outright.”

“It’s just surreal, being a part of it,” said STJ junior guard Adalee Richardson following the district victory. “It’s something we really wanted.”

After losing six seniors and returning just three players with extended varsity minutes these Lady Tigers wanted to prove the doubters wrong.

“I’m a little surprised,” Wells admitted. “I thought we could possibly win conference, then when the district draws came out I thought we had a chance. But surprised? Yes, I was, because early this season we weren’t playing well. I’m just so happy for the kids. I’m so proud of (senior forward) Sophie Deluca. She sat the bench behind some really good players the last couple years, then this season got hurt in the first game we played. After the final buzzer sounded (Friday) she was so happy. That’s the reason you do what you do; to see these kids’ reactions and see their faces.”

“Everyone doubted us at the beginning,” said junior guard Payge Kemnitzer, the lone returning starter from last season. “But we all wanted it so much. Probably at the beginning of conference, something just kicked in. Every game we’ve been getting better and better.”

“We knew coming in things had to be different this season,” Richardson said. “And the middle of the season we knew we had to kick it in. Once we got on the win streak we knew we wanted it the most.”

Championship Game, March 6 - STJ 39, Cuba 32: After Sullivan frustrated Kemnitzer throughout the district semifinals, the Cuba Lady Wildcats attempted to do the same by having junior Annica Farris shadow her every move.

It didn’t work this time, however.

Kemnitzer helped get the Lady Tigers off to a strong start, nailing three 3-pointers in the opening period. Freshman guard Kaelyn Smith hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to give St. James a 17-11 lead entering the second quarter.

The Lady Tigers would not trail the rest of the way. The game remained tight, however, and STJ outscored Cuba 9-7 in the second quarter, as sophomore guard Brynlee Costoplos’ free throw made it 26-18 at intermission.

It was much of the same in the second half, as the Lady Wildcats could not generate enough offense to rally against the tight Lady Tiger defense. Deluca’s put-back at the 6:51 mark gave St. James its largest lead of the third quarter, 30-18. Cuba trailed 35-26 entering the final period.
The Lady Wildcats managed just three field goals the rest of the way.

“The kids were defending their tails off,” Wells said. “Kemnitzer is shooting the ball really well right now. Obviously she’s our leader, especially offensively. To get her going early (against Cuba) was important. We thought if we could build the lead our defense could win it.”

Kemnitzer scored a game-high 15 points - including four treys - while Richardson tallied 11 points and Deluca 10.

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

St. James (17-10): Kemnitzer 5-1-15, Richardson 5-0-11, Smith 0-2-2, Costoplos 0-1-1, Deluca 4-2-10, Totals 14-6-39.

Cuba (21-7): Schmidt 1-3-6, Haffer 4-0-9, Garbo 3-0-9, McGinnis 4-0-8, Totals 12-3-32.

The score by periods:

St. James 17 9 9 4-39

Cuba         11 7 8 6-32

Semifinals, March 4 - STJ 29, Sullivan 19: The Sullivan Lady Eagles tilted their defense to holding down St. James’ leading scorer, Kemnitzer. However, Richardson and Deluca picked up the slack offensively and the Lady Tiger defense once again took over.

In a defense-dominated contest, only three points were scored in the first period. That set the tempo of the game, as it stayed low-scoring the rest of the way. Richardson netted seven points in the second period and allowed STJ to cling to a 13-9 halftime edge.

St. James continued to smother the Sullivan offensive attack the rest of the way, holding the Lady Eagles to just a combined 10 points after intermission.

However, St. James held just a 19-17 advantage entering the fourth quarter. That’s when Deluca helped seal the deal, erupting for eight points in the final period.

“Sullivan’s goal was to take Payge out of the game and they did a great job of it,” Wells said. “I felt like our kids stood around and watched on offense for two and a half quarters. I credit my kids though; I challenged them in the third quarter when Sullivan took a lead and we had players step up and get some big baskets. Sophie was absolutely huge for us down the stretch. I love that kid, and it was worth every minute I’ve spent coaching to see her step up and dominate in huge moments in this big game.
“Our defense was elite all night. My kids play so, so hard. I’m very proud of them.”

Richardson and Deluca combined for 23 of the team’s 29 points - Richardson getting 12 points and Deluca 11.

The individual scoring:

St. James: Richardson 4-3-12, Campbell 1-1-4, Smith 0-2-2, Deluca 5-1-11, Totals 10-7-29.

Sullivan (18-10): Barton 1-1-3, Kirk 2-1-5, Schmuke 1-1-4, Hayes 2-3-7, Totals 6-6-19.

The score by periods:

Sullivan    1   8 8   2-19

St. James 3 10 6 10-29

Class 4 District 3 Results:

First Round, March 2 - No. 4 St. Clair 60, No. 5 Owensville 50; No. 3 Sullivan 46, No. 6 Salem 26

Semifinals, March 4 - No. 2 St. James 29, Sullivan 19; No. 1 Cuba 31, St. Clair 28

Championship Game, March 6 - St. James 39, Cuba 32