- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- A year ago, Highland Park felt like it made some uncharacterisic mistakes down the stretch that opened the door for Andover to take a last-second, one-point semifinal win on the way to the the Class 5A state championship.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson had 20 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 67-64 overtme loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
HIghland Park junior Mikey Williams scored 20 points, including an 8 of 9 performance at the free throw line, in the Scots' 67-64 overtime loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Conversely, Mike Williams' Scots played well enough to win Friday's semifinal but Kapaun Mt. Carmel came through with just enough big plays down the stretch to advance to its second straight 5A title game with a 67-74 overtime win at White Auditorium.
"When you get to this time of the year that's what you ask for,'' Williams said of Friday's nailbiter. "You ask for the kids to compete hard, the moment is going to be big and there's going to be a lot at stake and all you can ask is that your kids leave it out there and give it their all and we did that.
"A couple of bounces didn't go our way, a couple of bounces went their way and that's the beautiful thing about the game and that's what you put in the time for. That's a good team in that other locker room. They're coached really, really well. They don't give up and they did all that was necessary to win this game.''
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite being the lower seed, the Hayden girls showed on Thursday they belong amongst the best in Class 3A, totally shutting down Olathe-Heritage Christian Academy.
The 48-33 win Thursday propelled the Wildcats into a much-anticipated match with Silver Lake on Friday.
Junior Amelia Ramsey scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Hayden's 48-33 Class 3A state tournament win over Heritage Christian. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden's bench celebrates during Thursday's 48-33 Class 3A state tournament win over Heritage Christian. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
The Wildcat defense completely overwhelmed the fourth-seeded Chargers for three periods, including shutting them out in the first quarter to grab an 11-0 lead.
After three periods, Hayden led 38-13 and only a late rally by the Chargers made the game appear at all competitive.
“I loved our intensity coming out,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson. “I would like to have seen a little better execution on the offensive end. We were so hyped up I don’t think we took the time on offense to be as good as we can be.”
Hayden hit 41 percent from the field and turned the ball over 20 times, leaving some feelings of frustration despite the lopsided win, particularly after Heritage Christian cut into Hayden’s wide margin.
“The letdown came from us getting a little sloppy. But they’ll be OK,” Reynoldson said. “We’ve been through a lot of tough challenges this year and been fine. We’ll do better.”
Hayden senior Lauren Sandstrom, who averaged 13 points on the season but frequently scores 20 or more, was held to six points – just two in the first half.
“We need Lauren to play a good offensive game,” Reynoldson said. “Recently a game like that is really rare for her. So I expect her to come back tomorrow and have a great game.”
With the Chargers bottling up their leading scorer, the Wildcats looked to others to step up. Junior Amelia Ramsey, a mid-season transfer, came to the rescue.
Ramsey has had to make a quick adjustment to her new team. As her level of comfort grows, so does her production.
“It feels great to be able to help my team, especially coming in and being new,” Ramsey said. “I know that when I came, I was a little bit nervous. But everybody was super nice and welcoming to me and surrounded me with love. I didn’t feel like the outsider. I already knew a couple of (Hayden players) so it was just a matter of learning the offenses. They made it really easy and were patient.”
Ramsey converted 7-10 shots and 5-5 free throws to lead all scorers with 20 points. She also hauled in 14 rebounds, including four offensive boards.
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Silver Lake steamrolled Haven in the opening round of the Class 3A girls state tournament, 75-38, setting up a semifinal meeting on Friday with Hayden.
Senior McKinley Kruger scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, helping Silver Lake advance to the Class 3A semifinals with a 75-38 first-round win over Haven. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Senior Makenzie McDaniel scored 18 points to tie for team-high honors in Thursday's 75-28 Class 3A state win over Haven. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
The Silver Lake seniors were playing their eighth state tournament game, having qualified for the tournament every year of their careers.
They certainly appeared comfortable in the Hutchinson Sports Arena, with the Eagles hitting 10 of their 18 shots in the first quarter.
Senior McKinley Kruger set the tone by knocking down three 3-pointers in the period and all five starters scored in the opening period as Silver Lake jumped out to a 24-5 lead.
The second period was just like the first, with Silver Lake outscoring Haven 17-8 to build a 41-13 halftime lead.
“I think our girls were loose but also locked in and focused,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “The first half went about as well as we could have expected. That’s a testament to our experience and our level of our focus with our senior group.”
Porter said he wasn’t surprised to see Kruger come up big early, noting Haven’s defensive strategy left them vulnerable to the outside shot. He said Kruger has been hitting better than 50 percent from beyond the arc for the past several weeks.
“Coming into the game, we weren’t quite sure what they were going to do defensively,” Porter said. “They started off playing man. We wanted to attack the scoring area and then take what the defense gave us.
“McKinley is a knock-down shooter and when she’s locked in, she’s really tough.”
“I’m glad I got those off at the start because once I get started and get hot, it’s usually going to be a good game,” Kruger said. “I’ve been practicing hard with my team, and we all know our roles and do our best to fill those.”
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Seaman's girls cleared a couple of major hurdles in Thursday's 51-38 Class 5A state quarterfinal win over De Soto at White Auditorium.
Junior Anna Becker led three double-figure scorers for Seaman in Thursday's 51-38 Class 5A state tournament win over De Soto. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
The Vikings not only completed the always tough task of beating the same team three times in the same season but Seaman also wiped away the bad memories left by a 23-point first-round loss to St James Academy in the 2023 state tournament.
"DeSoto's a great team, they're well-coached, and their players probably knew our scouting report and we knew theirs,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "It really just came down to execution and I told the girls before the game, 'This game's going to have ebbs and flows.'
"We started off and we got them out of the gate. They came back and hit us hard, so it was back and forth but we knew it would be a game like this and we made just enough plays at the end.''
With Thursday's win Seaman (21-2) advanced to Friday's 4 p.m. semifinal to face undefeated top seed Andover (23-0), a 65-42 first-round winner over Blue Valley Southwest.
"We're enjoying the moment,'' Tinsley said. "We've got a good team and everybody here is good. I really feel like we have a special team and they know what it takes. Last year was an eye-opener for us. It was a learning experience for us and that's been our goal, to get back here and we want to make some noise.''
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Down 14 points with four and a half remaining in Wednesday night's Class 5A boys quarterfinal, Piper coach Steve Wallace knew he had to try something different to give his Pirates a chance.
Shawnee Heights junior Jaret Sanchez scored 19 points to tie for game-high honors in the T-Birds' 72-71 loss to Piper in the Class 5A state tournament. {Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Wallace's answer was a fullcourt press that turned the tide down the stretch as Piper scored 14 of the final 15 points to pull out a 72-71 win and advance to Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal against undefeated and top seed Maize South (23-0).
"We hadn't done that against them,'' Piper coach Steve Wallacd said about the use of the press. "First of all, they're a great defensive team, the best we've played all season consistently, and I felt like we just had to do something to get some offense going.
"So we tried it and luckily it worked.''
Shawnee Heights, which was playing its United Kansas Conference rival for the third time, led virtually the entire game, except for one 17-second stretch early in the second quarter, and led 32-26 at the half and took a 57-50 advantage into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 13 points in the period.
The T-Birds looked to be in control of the rubber match when Heights took a 68-54 advantage on a Jaret Sanchez bucket with 4:37 remaining.
Heights still led by double-digits at 70-58 after Deacon Pomeroy scored with 3:44 left, but managed only a Jayden Moore free throw the rest of the way as the Pirates took control with their defensive effort.
Shawnee Heights committed 17 of its 22 turnovers in the second half, with a flurry of those miscues coming in the final minutes while the T-Birds also missed some crucial free throws and a couple of ill-advised shots.
"Manhood,'' Heights coach Ken Darting said. "Fifteen-year-old freshmen and sophomores against men. Fourth quarter was just a complete collapse. We just totally collapsed physically. We totally collapsed.''
