As the Lady Tigers prepare for their trip to the Final Four, I’ll be looking at each of the other three teams remaining in Class 4. Today it’s Westminster Christian Academy, from St. Louis.
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Westminster Christian Academy (26-3)
Coach: Steve Stipanovich
With only three losses, Westminster Christian Academy has the best won-loss record of any of the four teams still alive in Class 4. Second-year head coach Steve Stipanovich says he expected good things from his team coming into the season.
“We finished strong last year. We lost in the quarterfinals last year to (eventual state champion) St. Dominic’s,” he says. “We started the season thinking we would build on that.”
Westminster’s three losses were against Kirkwood and Troy — both larger schools — and Class 3 Principia, which Stipanovich says was the best of the bunch.
“I like to think we play some good teams,” Stipanovich says. “If you’re a team that you feel can get to the Final Four and win a championship, you’re going to prepare for that by scheduling stronger competition. It’s all about the playoffs.”
To succeed in the playoffs, Stipanovich says it all goes back to solid defense.
“I think any coach will tell you the defense is where your success lies. You can play defense every night,” he says. “Rebounding is also another one we try to hammer into the girls heads. Rebounding and defense is what we say we focus on more than our offense.”
Man-to-man is the staple of Westminster’s defense, with an occasional half-court zone trap. “Our focus is on half-court defense. We don’t do much full-court pressure,” says Stipanovich.
The Wildcats are led by 6’3″ junior center Sadie Stipanovich, averaging nearly 16 points and nine rebounds per game. Senior guard Courtney Powell averages about 13 points for Westminster.
This is the Wildcats’ first-ever trip to the Final Four in Columbia. Stipanovich says last season’s experience as a quarterfinalist has helped prepare his girls for this year’s playoff run.
“I told the girls before we played Kirksville (in this year’s quarterfinals), I really feel like we’re in the state tournament now because we’re playing for something.”
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