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Andover pulls away late for 71-55 win over T-Birds in Wells’ final game
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Shawnee Heights Lady T-Birds took the court against No. 1 seed Andover early Saturday morning in the Class 5A girls third-place game, marking the final game of Heights' coach Bob Wells’ long career.
After falling to Hays 66-41 in the semifinal, Heights looked to turn the page and finish the season with a win and a third-place trophy, but the Trojans didn't let that happen, taking control down the stretch for a 71-55 win.
Shawnee Heights junior KK Emmot scored 27 points in Saturday's 71-55 loss to Andover in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
For three quarters, the T-Birds showed the fight that had defined their season -- rebounding, hustling and scoring their way into a tight contest.
Heights led at halftime and trailed by just one point heading into the fourth quarter.
Shawnee Heights got the game off to a strong start when senior Reianna Vega scored the game’s first basket. Andover answered quickly, but the T-Birds kept pace.
T-Bird junior guard KK Emmot had a big first quarter, scoring her eighth point before knocking down a three pointer at the buzzer to cut Heights' deficit to 15-13 at the end of the opening period.
Andover struck first in the second quarter, but Heights responded.
Senior Imani McGlory attacked the rim, drew a foul, and knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 20.
Junior Sami Baum followed with a basket to give Heights the lead, and Vega added a three to push the T-Birds ahead, 25-20.
Andover’s Bella Bouddhara stopped the run with a basket, but Baum answered with a three at the buzzer, sending Shawnee Heights into halftime with a 31-23 lead.
The Trojans came out firing in the third quarter, opening with back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 31 and forcing Heights to call a timeout.
Emmot responded out of the break, driving to the rim for an and-one to put Heights back in front 34-31. Andover continued to battle back.
Grier Hand scored inside and, after a turnover, Bouddhara knocked down a three to give the Trojans the lead.
Emmot answered with another three to make it 41-39. Bouddhara then split a pair of free throws, and Emmot followed by hitting two of her own to cut the deficit to one.
McGlory later drove to the basket for a three-point play, tying the game at 44 and keeping the T-Birds within striking distance.
Emmot added two more free throws with 23 seconds left in the quarter to give Heights a 48-47 lead.
But Bouddhara answered again, hitting a shot to send Andover into the fourth quarter with a 49-48 advantage.
The final quarter belonged to Bouddhara and the Trojans.
Bouddhara scored 14 of her game-high 32 points in the fourth as Andover pulled away.
The Trojans outscored Shawnee Heights 22-7 in the period and forced 11 T-Bird turnovers to secure the 71-55 victory.
Despite the loss, Heights received a standout performance from Emmot, who scored a team-high 27 points and was perfect from the free-throw line, going 15 for 15.
As a team, Shawnee Heights shot an impressive 25 of 28 from the line, good for 89 percent.
“I told the girls all season long I never ever questioned their effort, and that's something I'm really, really proud of,” Wells said. “They play their hardest, and they give their best effort. They did the things that we asked them to do. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Silver Lake boys bounce back to finish third in Class 3A with 61-45 win
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- For the second year in a row, the Silver Lake boys basketball team rebounded from a disappointing semifinal defeat to bring home the third-place trophy from the Class 3A state tournament.
As he has so many times in his career, senior Dayne Johnson took over the game in the third period, leading the Eagles to a 61-45 win over defending 3A champion Hesston Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake boys basketball poses for a team picture after finishing third in Class 3A Friday in Hutchinson. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Silver Lake coach Shannon Kruger was proud of the way his team overcame a 57-43 loss to top-seeded Wichita Collegiate on Thursday.
“We knew we had a chance to be here and to finish in Hutch somewhere,” Kruger said. “Obviously, we wanted to be playing for the championship. We got beat by a really good Collegiate team. I thought last night we were right in there in the third quarter. They just made more plays than we did, and all credit to them.
“So, to be able to regroup less than 24 hours later, it’s a credit to the guys that we always talk about next play, one play at a time, one day at a time, and they epitomize it.”
Hesston, winners of four of the previous five 3A titles, had to put aside the devastation of a triple-overtime loss to Burlington in the semifinal round. They had to do so quickly, playing in the early afternoon on Friday after being on the court until after 10:30 p.m. the previous night.
Silver Lake jumped on the sleep-deprived Swathers early, but the Eagles’ lead quickly disappeared when they went to sleep for nearly six minutes in the second period. Silver Lake was fortunate that Hesston scored just five points during that interval.
Johnson closed the first half with highly contested bucket in the lane at the buzzer, putting Silver Lake back on top 25-24. Johnson would then score all of the Eagles’ next 12 points as they increased their lead to 37-28 over a five-minute stretch.
Silver Lake senior star Dayne Johnson hoists the Class 3A third-place trophy after Friday's win over Hesston. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Johnson finished with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists. It was a fitting end to a brilliant career.
“He could have scored zero points and got zero rebounds, and he would still be obviously the best player statistically to ever come through Silver Lake,” Kruger said of the senior. “But for him to finish his career with an epic Dayne-type of performance, he just carried us. Everybody looks at the offense, but defensively he just does everything right.
“I don’t want to think about not having Dayne yet. I want to enjoy it one more day. Everybody knows how great of a player he is. But people that know him understand what a great kid he is. We’re just grateful he was with us for a while.”
Silver Lake girls earn third straight trip to Class 3A championship game
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.”
