Whiteman and Knapp help guide West
all-stars to victory in “Bird Cage Classic”
[March 17, 2025]
It was one last hurrah for Piper Whiteman and Makinley Knapp
on Sunday night as the two Lady Railer seniors put on their green
Lincoln uniforms to play in the 3rd Annual “Bird Cage Classic”
Senior Girls Basketball All-Star Game at Warrensburg-Latham High
School in Warrensburg.
Whiteman and Knapp were part of the West all-star team that featured
teammates from Taylorville, Olympia and Nokomis.
On the court these girls joined forces to defeat the South all-stars
54-41 in the 6:00 p.m. contest. Whiteman had seven points and four
rebounds for the West all-stars in the victory. Knapp had six
points, two rebounds, two steals, a block that was unfairly called
for a foul and a handful of attempts at making a three-pointer.
In the 8:10 p.m. game the West all-stars beat the North all-stars
50-39.
The West all-stars were clinging to a 19-17 lead at the half, with
our Lincoln girls’ stats a bit slim in the first half. Whiteman had
a point and a rebound at the half while Knapp had a steal and two
fouls.
The all-stars kept it competitive early in the second half, with the
West all-stars finally pulling away for the eleven-point win.
Knapp stepped up for six points in the paint. “Big Mac” as Jay
Hardin calls her, was trying so hard to make a three but she
eventually gave up. Even her teammates were encouraging her to keep
shooting but she good-naturedly declined as the game drew closer to
an end. Knapp did bank in the last basket of the game and she
managed to break out in a big smile. She also had a nice reverse
layup in the second half, as well as pulling down a rebound or two.
“Pretty Piper” as coined by the legendary Jay Hardin, contributed
three points and a rebound in the second half as the West took the
victory over the North.
The West all-stars were stacked with some fantastic talent and they
played together very well.
A trio of Taylorville Tornadoes put points on the board in both
wins, with Mazie Fleming playing a dominant inside game and Lia
Champley knocking down some key shots.
However, the real scene-stealer of the all-star performance was
Taylorville’s Kyleigh Heimsness.
Heimsness was named the Most Outstanding Regional Player for the
West all-stars and she put on a great show from the three-point plus
range. She was definitely confident shooting from “the logo” or in
this case barely a step off from the beak of the Cardinal painted at
center court. “Headband Girl” was launching long shots and sinking
them to her team’s advantage in both wins. In the first game she hit
three 3s in barely as many attempts.
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Mayor Tracy Welch came out to support the Lady Railers at the
all-star game. Photo by Teena Lowery
In game two, she caught fire in the second half and made three
consecutive 3s that just made you go “Wow!” over and over. And the
defense wasn’t always leaving her wide open. She was heavily
contested on one long shot that breezed through the net. Just when
the game was about over and the win was already secured, Heimsness
launched a three from the top of the key to make the score 48-36
with maybe a minute to play. In fact, she was 4-for-5 from the
three-point range in the second half, playing shared minutes with
the rest of the all-stars. It was impressive to watch and a lot of
fun to witness.
Heimsness will continue her basketball career at Millikin University
in Decatur.
One final observation of the all-star night has to include how much
fun each and every girl seemed to be having on the court and on the
bench. There was giggling, chatter, smiles, encouragement and a lot
of applause for each and every girl making a good play. In the
win/loss column the games mean nothing, but the memories made in one
night mean everything.
Hats off to Warrensburg-Latham High School for hosting such a fun
evening of basketball.
The West all-stars:
Piper Whiteman Lincoln
Makinley Knapp Lincoln
Mazie Fleming Taylorville
Kyleigh Heimsness Taylorville
Lia Champley Taylorville
Addison Tarr Taylorville (DNP)
Natalie Brownback Nokomis
Grace DeWerff Nokomis
Madi Barnes Olympia
Amelia Kistner Olympia
Raquel Birky Olympia
Morgan Huffington Olympia
The West all-stars were coached by Nokomis’ Brandon Engelman and
Bonnie Brownback.
[Teena Lowery]
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