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Gragg powers No. 7-ranked Viking girls to 45-26 UKC win over Chargers
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As a three-time All-Shawnee County first-teamer and by far Seaman's most experienced player, a lot is expected out of Maddie Gragg.
And the senior star delivered in a big way Friday night, posting game-high totals of 24 points and 16 rebounds to power the No. 7-ranked Vikings to a home 45-26 United Kansas Conference victory over Topeka West.
Seaman senior Maddie Gragg scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Friday's 45-26 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I had a talk with her about what a senior leader needs to do and that's what she needs to do,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "I told her after the game, she played hard on both ends of the floor. She played a full game today, and other girls stepped up, too.''
Topeka West, 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the UKC, jumped out to an 8-5 first-quarter lead, but the Vikings used a 12-2 second quarter to take a 17-10 halftime advantage and continued to pad their advantage in the second half en route to improving to 2-1 overall and in the conference.
Seaman opened up an 11-point advantage (29-18) lead at the end of the third stanza and led by as many as 24 points in the fourth on the way to the 19-point win.
Tinsley said the Viking were trying to play at too frantic of a pace offensively in the first half, but got things under control as the game wore on.
"The first half, I told the girls on a scale of one to 10 our offensive pace was 12 out of 10,'' Tinsley said. "We were highway driving in the city. We were running stop signs, we were hitting parked cars, we were all over the place.
"I threw out that we needed to play at a six or seven out of 10 and slow down the pace down a little bit and be strong with it and you saw that in the second half. We were more in control and our defense and rebounding, that was 12 out of 10. We got after it, and I was really proud of that.''
Cair Paravel girls roll to 39-12 win over Heritage Christian
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel girls matched their win total for all of last season Friday, following up their Waverly Tournament title with a 39-12 romp past Heritage Christian School.
Sophomore London Backman led Cair Paravel with 18 points in Friday's 39-12 win over Heritage Christian. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions defeated Waverly and Northeast Kansas Homeschool in the last weekend’s tournament, falling to Burlingame, but winning the event based on defensive points allowed.
“It was a great way to start the year. It got us all pumped and we’re holding that to keep us going,” said sophomore London Backman, who led the Lions with 18 points against Heritage. “I’m so excited for this season to keep on growing.”
The tournament championship was a big accomplishment for a team that didn’t have enough players to practice five-on-five a year ago. The Lions’ roster now consists of 14 players, seven of whom are freshmen.
“Last year we only had six, maybe eight girls, and we were still a strong team. We just struggled with (not having) many people on the bench,” said Backman. “Now it really helps with all that support.”
Backman dropped four three-pointers and directed the offense from the point. Nine Lions got into the scoring column Friday.
“Having the numbers on the bench is so helpful, just having more voices, cheering each other on, just that camaraderie,” said Cair Paravel coach Jayley Barkley. “We have a lot of freshmen, so it is super cool to see almost all of those freshmen got in tonight. It’s just fun to see the joy on their faces. Even when they don’t get in, the encouragement they give on the bench is huge.”
Cair Paravel's upset bid comes up short against top-ranked Axtell, 42-36
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
For three periods, the Cair Paravel boys went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in Class 1A Div. II – defending state champion Axtell – before finally fading 42-36 at home on Friday.
Sophomore Chase Hastert scored 18 points with three 3-pointers in Cair Paravel's 42-36 loss to top-ranked Axtell Friday night. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions learned on Tuesday morning that, when another team canceled its visit to Cair Paravel, the opening would be filled by the 1A powerhouse. Axtell has recently won several football and track and field championships in addition to last year’s basketball crown.
Though Axtell lists an enrollment of just 42 students, its size advantage against the Lions was impressive. Despite being undersized, Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer encouraged his team to take the fight to the Eagles.
“Our identity has to be grit. We’ve got to be a gritty team,” Kueffer said. “For the last several years, we’ve been undersized, so we’ve got to make up for that. We’ve got to compensate for that difference in size. That means rebounding, defending. I think we got a lot of the 50-50 balls. I think we were first to the floor a lot of times.”
Cair Paravel came out unaffected by the Eagles’ glossy resume. After falling behind 5-0, the Lions struck back with an 8-0 run of their own. They led 14-12 after one period.
Cair Paravel extended the lead to 18-12 in the first minute of the second quarter. But the momentum swung again, with Axtell reeling off 12 straight points. The Eagles led 26-25 at halftime.
With the teams and crowds at a fever pitch, each team scored just three points in a wild third period. Axtell led 29-28.
That’s when Axtell’s size, depth and experience finally overwhelmed the Lions. The visitors’ stifling defense held Cair Paravel scoreless for more than six minutes, during which Axtell scored 11 points to build a lead the Lions couldn’t overcome down the stretch.
“We gave up too many second-chance opportunities, too many offensive rebounds,” Kueffer said. “(Axtell is) the real deal. Very well coached. They’ve got a lot of size, a lot of toughness. They’ve got a lot of muscle to them. They all guard. They put a lot of pressure on you and they speed you up.”
Lions’ sophomore Chase Hastert poured in 18 points in the first half, hitting three three-pointers in the opening quarter.
“We did well in the first half, so in the second half, we had their attention,” Kueffer said. “They did a good job keying on our guards and slowing us down.”
