Kickapoo beats Cor Jesu in Missouri Class 6 girls basketball semifinals

Mikayla Pilley scores game-high 18 points to lead Kickapoo
Kickapoo beats Cor Jesu in Missouri Class 6 girls basketball semifinals
Kickapoo beats Cor Jesu in Missouri Class 6 girls basketball semifinals /

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – The Kickapoo girls basketball team is headed back to the Missouri Class 6 championship game for the second time in three seasons. 

Led by junior Mikayla Pilley, the Chiefs defeated Cor Jesu 56-37 in the Missouri Class 6 semifinals on Friday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.

Pilley, a 5-foot-10 guard, scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, and added two steals and two blocked shots. 

The Chiefs (30-1) also got 13 points apiece from senior guard Kya Johnson and junior guard Mikayla Smith and 10 points from sophomore guard Josie Salazar. Johnson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

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Kickapoo will now face either Incarnate Word Academy (29-0) or Rock Bridge (25-5) in the Class 6 title game at 6 p.m. Saturday. 

Lauren Ortwerth led Cor Jesu (20-9) with 10 points and five rebounds. Makenzie Van Bree scored eight points. 

Pilley scored seven points in the first quarter as Kickapoo built a 14-8 lead. Cor Jesu got five points from Makenzie Van Bree.

Pilley scored 14 points in the first half to lead all scorers as the Chiefs took a 28-20 lead into halftime. 

Missouri Class 6 girls basketball semifinal: Kickapoo - Cor Jesu

Photos by Nate Latsch

Kickapoo girls basketball
Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports
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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz


Published
Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports
NATE LATSCH, SBLIVE SPORTS

Nate Latsch is a Regional Editor at SBLive Sports overseeing high school coverage for Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. A veteran sportswriter and multimedia content creator, Latsch has covered high school sports in the St. Louis area and Missouri for 20 years, with a focus on high school football, basketball, baseball and football and basketball recruiting.  He has worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, STLhighschoolsports.com, the Associated Press, FOX Sports Midwest, MLB.com and Scout.com.  In addition to covering high school sports, Latsch has covered youth, college and professional sports, including covering the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Rams, the University of Missouri and Saint Louis University.