and her middle school Spartans got to play a season-ending girls basketball tournament. But not the one they were expecting. With the cold snap in early and mid-January forcing single games and the Missouri River Valley Conference (MRVC) Tournament to be called off, Knob Noster offered to stage a tournament, Blankenship stated Jan. 26 via email. The young Spartans took second in the season-ending competition. They opened the five-team tournament, consisting of MRVC-East Division programs, with a 47-23 victory over Carrollton Jan. 24, then fell to the host school 39-27 Jan. 25. Brylee Castilleja and Adilyn Swope paced the young Spartans against Carrollton with 22 and 19 points, respectively. Swope also grabbed 11 rebounds (seven offensive, four defensive) for a double-double. Danika Richardson and Alana Ramos also contributed two points apiece. Nora Kate McGaugh led Carrollton with 13 points and was one of two Trojans in double figures. Ella Backes finished with 10 points. …