Central's Vinson recovering from knee surgery

The Central girls basketball team is heading into this week's Kelso Supply Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center without their floor leader.

Chelsea Vinson, who was entering her fourth year as a varsity player, had surgery on her right knee Dec. 10 at Washington University Orthopedics in St.Louis to repair a meniscus and damaged cartilage. The injury will sideline Vinson for a couple months, though the senior forward hopes she'll return to the Tigers by the end of the season.

Vinson, who averaged 14,7 points and 8 rebounds per game a year ago, first injured the knee in April during tryouts for the Southeast Dynasty, a summer-league program out of Cape Girardeau.

"Originally when I went to the doctor they thought that it was something more simple that physical therapy would help," Vinson said.

Vinson came into the fall hoping her knee would've healed enough for her to play for the Tigers. She played in the first four games, including the Northwest Invitational Tournament in Cedar Hill where she was named tournament MVP, but decided playing through the pain was too much. She last played in Central's win over Ste. Genevieve on Dec. 3.

"At that point I knew I wasn't going to make it through the season with that kind of pain," Vinson said, adding that a cortisone shot in her knee didn't help.

She's scheduled for a follow-up on Dec. 21 when she'll learn the time frame for her knee to heal sufficiently for a possible return to the court.

Her loss has hit the Tigers hard.

"Any time you lose a player to any type of injury it's going to have an impact on your team," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "Especially for [Chelsea], she's one of our leaders."

Vinson is one of four seniors -- including Alayah Cooper-Johnson, Bailey Kratochvil and Katie Williams -- on the Tigers roster.

"All of our seniors are leaders," Shirrell said. "So far, the three of them are leading our team and doing a good job."

Holiday Classic

Several of the top girls basketball teams will be in action this week when the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic begins at the Show Me Center on Tuesday.

Notre Dame enters as the top seed with a 5-1 record with four of its wins against tournament opponents.

The Bulldogs own two victories over Jackson this season, including a 57-27 thumping Thursday night.

Jackson, this year's third seed, is the defending champion. The Indians defeated the then-defending champion Bulldogs 56-47 in last year's title game. However, Jackson is showing the effects of having lost its top two players from last season, Dru Haertling and Connor King -- the pair combined for 31 points in last year's title game -- who are currently members of the Southeast Missouri State basketball team.

Notre Dame also has handed fourth-seeded Saxony Lutheran its only loss, when the Bulldogs posted a 60-47 victory on their home court Dec. 8. Notre Dame also owns a 51-41 win over No. 6 seed Perryville.

Notre Dame's lone loss was a 61-43 setback to Miller Career Academy in the semifinals of the Farmington Tournament.

No guard, no problem

Leopold not only won a battle of unbeatens Thursday night against St. Vincent, but the Wildcats did it handily without their starting point guard.

Junior Cameron Davis missed the game with a concussion that he suffered in Tuesday night's 82-38 romp past Greenville.

"It happened against Greenville, but we didn't know about it until Wednesday morning," Leopold coach Andy Beck said.

Beck said Davis, who scored 20 points in the game, hit his head on the shoulder of a Greenville player on a back-pick play.

Kyle Stroder helped account for the loss of Davis with a 32-point performance against St. Vincent.

"He'll be back for sure by Thursday, but not sure about Tuesday yet," Beck said about Davis' availability this week.

Leopold stands 7-0 and has a chance be the only undefeated squad in the 16-team Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

The Wildcats host Meadow Heights on Tuesday and visit Bloomfield on Thursday. They'll then return to action as the sixth seed in the Christmas Tournament and face No. 11 Oak Ridge in the first round at 6 p.m. Dec. 26 at the Show Me Center.

-- From staff reports