Principia defeated Highland during the girls high school basketball playoffs in Missouri, twice. The Panthers and Cougars were required to play the entire fourth quarter for a second time in three days because of a scoring controversy.
It ultimately led to the same result.
This unusual high school basketball (re)scheduling change stems from an in-game discrepancy with the scorebooks. Procedure for the subsequent formal protest was not properly administered.
Principia defeated Highland twice in three days.
The Principia is an educational institution located on two different campuses in the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri. There are four different schools: the lower school, middle school, upper school and the college. Established in 1898, they are all affiliated with Christian Science. The total enrollment for all students in K-12 is less than 500 students.
Highland Junior/Senior High School is located in Lewistown, Missouri, serving the Ewing/La Belle area. It enrolls approximately 387 students in Grades 7-12.
Both schools compete on the Division III level of MSHSAA competition. The Panthers finished the girls high school basketball regular season as the No. 3-ranked team in Missouri at 26-2. The Cougars finished at 17-5. They met in the first round of the playoffs on Monday — and Wednesday!
Principia defeated Highland by a final score of 46-45 on Monday night. That score was voided. Principia defeated Highland, again, by a final score of 47-43 on Wednesday night. That score will count.
A high school basketball scoring controversy led to a restart.
The incident took place with 54 seconds left in the third quarter during the first game on Monday.
Highland noticed that its personal team scorebook showed one more point than what was shown on the scoreboard. It checked with the official scorebook kept at the scorer’s table and found the same thing.
Table personnel had incorrectly counted a made basket by the Cougars as a three-pointer instead of a two-pointer. They tried to fix the error in real time without stopping the game. That is not allowed.
When Highland raised the issue to the officials, the crew reviewed the official scorebook at the scorer’s table but failed to review the individual scorebooks kept by each team. They were supposed to do so.
Missouri high school basketball follows NFHS rules, which requires the officials to consult all three scorebooks during a protest— under section 2.11.11. The on-site protest was not properly administered.
Although video evidence confirmed the score as correct, the Missouri State High School Activities Association also confirmed a direct violation of protest protocol. It ruled in favor of the Cougars.
The last 54 seconds of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter were effectively erased from the record. The game picked back up at the 54-second mark of the third quarter during a second game with new officials on Wednesday. All game conditions (fouls, possession arrow, etc.) were replicated. Any play after the point of interruption on Monday did not count.
Fans of both teams showed out in mass for the second game.
It was a packed house!
Principia went on to win the game, for a second time, and the result will count. The Panthers will advance to the next round of the playoffs on Friday night.