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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

HUTCHINSON -- The Silver Lake girls are in the Class 3A state title game for the third year in a row. The Eagles overcame a slow start to put away Holcomb in the semifinal round in Hutchinson Friday, 50-36. 

The Eagles will face Osage City Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. The Indians advanced to the title game by knocking off last year’s champion, top-seeded Halstead, 44-39.

Silver Lake senior star Kailyn Hanni scored 17 points in Friday's 50-36 Class 3A semifinal win over Holcomb. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake turnovers and some hot shooting by Holcomb put the Eagles in a quick hole on Friday. Silver Lake failed to score for the first two minutes and trailed 10-2 after nearly four minutes of action.

But Silver Lake got it in gear late in the period and reeled off a 16-0 run. By the end of the period, the slow start was all but forgotten.

Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter scored 13 points in Friday's Class 3A semifinal win over Holcomb. [File photo/TSN]

Sophomore Karys Deiter put a stamp on the end of the first quarter when she tipped a Holcomb pass in the air, dribbled up court and tossed in a runner from well beyond the 3-point line as the buzzer sounded. That dazzling play put the Eagles up 24-16.

“Credit to Holcomb. They came out ready to go, prepared,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “We wanted to throw the first punch, and I think obviously they did. But I’m really happy with how our players responded.

“A lot of that (response) was fueled by our ball pressure. That’s something that we have to continue to utilize. I was really happy with the way we were able to get them sped up a little bit faster than they want to play. And then we finished in transition. When the ball goes in, it becomes a little easier game.”

Once the Eagles had the lead, they clamped down on Holcomb. The Longhorns could muster just five points in the second period, four more in the third period. Meanwhile, Silver Lake continued to add on, building a 43-25 lead at the end of three quarters.

“In the third and fourth quarter, we owned offensive rebounding,” Porter said. “We continued to hunt shots at the rim. We played the next play when our shots didn’t fall, and we stayed stable with our defensive stops.”

Porter complimented the rebounding and defensive efforts because it was not a particularly efficient day for the Eagles offensively. The team hit just 31 percent of its shots, just 22 percent from behind the arc. The Eagles did force 22 turnovers and scored 13 fastbreak points to Holcomb’s two.

“You’re going to go through scoring droughts, and you’ve got to have confidence to get a stop every time,” Porter said. “I’m proud of the way that we handled a little challenge on the offensive end.”

Class 3A is playing the state tournament without a shot clock. Silver Lake went five minutes of the fourth period without scoring, but it burned precious time that Holcomb needed if it were to mount a comeback.

“When we’re up 18, the only way they can win the game is to increase the number of possessions. So, we didn’t necessarily want to hold the ball, but we wanted to make sure and run some clock off and find a space to get to the rim and score,” Porter said. “I guess it may look like we’re holding it, but really we’re just trying to hunt the right player with the right shot.

“I’m excited about transitioning to the shot clock, but right now we have to play the game the way the rules are.”

Kailyn Hanni led the Eagles with 17 points, followed by Deiter with 13 and Savanah Wende with 11.

Silver Lake graduated a host of players from its 2024 state title run. Senior Paige Heiman provided support from the bench that year. She was a starter on last year’s team that was heartbroken by its 48-45 loss to Halstead in the championship game. She and Hanni are the Eagles’ two seniors who experienced both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

“That (2024 season), we had some really great seniors, so it was great to watch them and see how they set the tone,” Heiman said. “It was fun to be on the bench and be excited, but now this year, to have a chance to win it is just awesome.”

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By RICK PETERSON

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