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Hayden girls stun defending champ Wellington, advance to Class 4A title game
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- In their third try in consecutive years, the Hayden girls finally lifted the lid on the semifinal round, beating defending Class 4A state champion Wellington 50-45 Thursday to advance to the championship round.
Hayden girls basketball celebrates Thursday's 50-45 win over Wellington in a Class 4A semifinal in Hutchinson. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Hayden led by as many as 10 in the contest, but found itself in need of some late-game heroics Thursday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Hayden went cold in the middle of the fourth quarter, going more than four minutes without a point.
An 8-0 run by the Crusaders during that crucial interval turned a 42-37 Hayden lead into a 45-42 advantage for Wellington.
Hayden didn’t allow another point, reeling the Crusaders in with their defense and giving themselves a chance to win.
“We were down 45-42 and ended on an 8-0 run. Our girls stayed together the whole time,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “Some of those girls were involved in some huge games last year where they came out on top. If we had fizzled out there, it just seemed like, ‘Ok, they’re the better team.' They’re used to it. So, I’m glad we didn’t let that happen. We played really tough down the stretch and hit big shots and got big rebounds.”
Sophomore Sophia Wichman, scoreless for 30 minutes, hit a free throw at 1:23 left to cut the lead by one. Having seen the ball go through the net once, she was warmed up for the biggest shot of her career.
Wellington missed two free throws with under a minute remaining, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or take the lead. But the Wildcats struggled to produce a shot from their four-out offense. In the scramble, the ball came to Wichman as the shot clock ticked down. She drained the open look to put Hayden ahead 46-45 with 37 seconds left.
“I went in and I airballed that first three (earlier in the game) and I was like, ‘Wow!’ ” Wichman said. “But I didn’t let it get me down completely. I was like, ‘I’m gonna keep shooting, keep my head up,' because that’s what all my teammates told me to do.''
Wichman said the play was designed to create a shot for Lauren Borjon, who had two 3-pointers in the game.
“I would much rather have (Borjon) take that shot because I know that she’s such a good 3-point shooter,” Wichman said. “Everyone has so much faith in her. But I came around and was just like, ‘I’m open. We’re down. I need to make this shot.’ And I just let it fly.”
“She’s just got nerves of steel, I guess,” Reynoldson said. “She’s never nervous about anything and we had confidence when she shot it.”
The Hayden defense, which had been so successful all game, locked down the defending champs on four possessions, holding them scoreless as the seconds ticked away. The Wildcats’ defense was huge all day. A stiff full-court press forced 21 turnovers and held the defending champs to 35.4 percent shooting from the field. The Crusaders were hurt by 9-17 shooting from the free throw line.
“On the backside we run back so much, so we don’t give up too many easy ones, because when you press, that’s the fear, that you’re going to give up easy baskets and whatnot,” Reynoldson said. “We have girls with active hands and get deflections.”
Vikings' comeback comes up short against two-time defending champs, 54-52
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Jack Becker’s desperate heave at the buzzer had the right distance. It appeared on line. Had it fallen, it would have given the Seaman Vikings a remarkable upset and a comeback for the ages. But the shot ricocheted high off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor as the crowd gasped.
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner led the Vikings with 27 points in Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
The Vikings gave top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel all it could handle in the Class 5A state semifinals Thursday in Koch Arena, losing 54-52 after trailing by as many as 18 late in the third period. Seaman outscored the defending champion Crusaders 24-12 in a wild fourth-quarter comeback that nearly ended in Cinderella fashion.
Seaman could muster no offense in the first 16 minutes. The Vikings attempted just 15 shot attempts in the first half, but committed 10 turnovers to just one assist, putting Seaman at a 25-15 deficit at the intermission. A 6-2 Viking run to close the third period did little to portend what was to come. The fourth quarter began with Seaman trailing 42-28.
The Vikings’ high-scoring senior KaeVon Bonner provided most of the Vikings’ output for three quarters, but he had to work for every point. He found his groove late in the third period and sparked a 16-4 run that brought the Viking crowd back to life. Gradually the Vikings whittled the lead, helped by poor foul shooting down the stretch by the Crusaders.
When the Crusaders missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Seaman had a chance to tie or win on the final possession. Bonner probed the lane, first left, then right, trying to get off a shot. He forced up a jumper that was stuffed on the right block. He shuffled the ball to Becker for the desperation heave. Seaman coach Craig Cox was not happy with the no-call on Bonner’s drive.
Seaman coach Craig Cox reacts to a call during Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
“I get it, officials don’t want to decide games. But when it’s clearly a foul, it’s a very easy call,” Cox said. “You’ve got to blow that whistle. You cannot reward (the defense) in that situation.”
Cox recognized that Kapaun Mt. Carmel wasn’t going to gift Seaman an opportunity to get back in the game. The Vikings would have to force the opening.
“We kept talking about, ‘We need to take it to them,’ ” Cox said. “They make it very difficult with their outstanding defense. That’s why we struggled so much in the first half. And I thought we just got more aggressive and did a better job of rebounding, since the first half was not good at all.”
The Vikings outscored Kapaun Mt. Carmel 30-14 over the final 10 minutes. Bonner scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth -eriod rally. He was followed in the box score by Griffin Zuniga with 13.
“We just showed our character and showed what our kids were made of with that comeback,” Cox said. “There was probably a little bit of embarrassment in the first half with the way that we played and how much we struggled. I was proud of them for showing that they weren’t going to give up and lay down and get steamrolled, which could have happened.
“For our guys, everybody in the arena is saying the same thing about our team, how impressed they were in the second half with the comeback.”
West falls behind early in 76-61 Class 5A semifinal loss to Bonner Springs
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Topeka West Chargers were knocked off balance early and never recovered Thursday, losing to Bonner Springs 76-61 in the Class 5A state semifinal round at Wichita State's Koch Arena.
Junior Prince Lassiter led Topka West with 21 points in Thursday's 76-61 Class 5A semifinal loss to Bonner Springs. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
The third-seeded Chargers fell quickly into foul trouble and found themselves in a 19-8 hole in the opening period. The Chargers played the Braves essentially even on the scoreboard the rest of the way, but never challenged. The closest Topeka West ever came to catching the Braves was eight points.
“We came out flat,” said Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker. “Bonner Springs was ready to play. We were not ready to play. Too many turnovers for us. We didn’t make the 50-50 plays, and they did.”
Topeka West won a grueling double-overtime quarterfinal over rival Piper on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals. Ulsaker admitted the Chargers might have been dealing with a hangover effect.
“It could be. But I think Bonner Springs just has a lot of guys who are pretty good basketball players, and we just weren’t ready for it,” Ulsaker said. “They do the same things we’ve been seeing all year. They hedge ball screens and we didn’t make the right reads to get the ball inside. I think (our) guys were hunting shots they shouldn’t have been hunting for and didn’t stick to the game plan.”
Chargers guard Malakyah Duncan spent a good portion of the first half on the bench in foul trouble. He scored just one basket prior to halftime, by which time Bonner Springs led 37-25.
Senior Gad Munganga, who scored 15 points, reacts during Thursday's 76-61 Class 5A semifinal loss to Bonner Springs. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Prince Lassiter led the Chargers with 21 points, followed by Gad Munganga with 15.
