By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
DESOTO -- Washburn Rural's faced tournament host De Soto in Wednesday's semifinal of the De Soto Hardwood Classic, taking a 41-28 win in a defensive struggle to advance to Saturday's the championship game.
The game began with both teams struggling to put the ball in the basket as Washburn Rural shot 2 of 10 from the field while De Soto was 2 of 9. At the end of the first quarter, the Junior Blues led, 8-6.
The struggles continued in the second quarter as both teams combined to make only three shots over the eight-minute period. The defense of De Soto forced nine turnovers in the half with a mixture of a three-quarter court trapping press and a stingy man-to-man defense in the halfcourt.
But Washburn Rural’s defense was just as stout, forcing a total of 15 turnovers, holding the Wildcats to 3-13 from the field and maintaining a two point lead at halftime, 13-11. A statistical anomaly occurred for the host school as De Soto’s only made baskets in the first half were from behind the 3-point line and they only attempted one shot from inside the line.
The proverbial lid came off the basket in the third quarter as both teams exploded for double-digits in points. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, De Soto took its first lead of the game, 20-18, on a 3-point play by junior Katie Bush.
After Rural tied the game at 20, De Soto’s freshman point guard, Maddie Leis, hit a 3-pointer, giving the Wildcats a 23-20 lead. Not to be outdone, Rural freshman forward Brynn Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner, sending the contest to the fourth quarter tied at 23.
The final quarter was dominated by the Junior Blues as they built an eight-point lead thanks to five straight points by senior Ella Hirschi. The Junior Blues made 8 of 13 shots from the field over the last eight minutes and advanced to the championship game on Saturday.
Washburn Rural was led by Anderson’s 11 points and five steals. Senior Hallie Walker had 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Hirschi scored seven points along with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and two steals.
De Soto was led by Leis, who scored 14 points with four 3-pointers.
Washburn Rural advanced to the championship game to face the Liberty, Mo. Blue Jays at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Liberty advanced with a 60-50 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest.
WASHBURN RURAL 41, DE SOTO 28
Washburn Rural 8 5 10 18 — 41
DeSoto 6 5 12 5 — 28
Washburn Rural 41 (2-0) -- Rutherford 2-5 0-0 5, Hirschi 3-8 0-0 7, Walker 3-4 2-4 8, Anderson 4-15 2-2 11, Carlgren 2-4 1-2 5, Hinck 0-0, 0-0 0, Petersen 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 16-40 5-8 41.
DeSoto 28 (2-1) -- C. Leis 0-1 2-2 2, O’Brien 1-4 0-0 3, Cinotto 1-4 0-0 3, M. Leis 5-15 0-0 14, Chappel 0-3 0-0 0, Green 1-2 0-0 3, Stepp 0-0 0-0 0, Carpenter 0-0 0-0 0, Major 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Bush 1-3 1-1 3, Gulley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-34 3-3 28.
3-point field goals -- Washburn Rural 4 (Rutherford, Hirschi, Anderson, Petersen), DeSoto 7 (M. Leis 4, O’Brien, Cinotto, Green). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 14, DeSoto 15. Fouled out -- none. Technical Fouls -- none.
Trojan girls fall to Huskies, 56-35
Topeka High played its second game in the De Soto Hardwood Classic Wednesday against Blue Valley Northwest Huskies, with the Trojans dropping a 56-35 decision.
For the second consecutive game, the Trojans struggled in the first quarter and trailed 13-4. The deficit remained at nine, 22-13, going to the halftime break.
The Huskies pulled away in the second half for the 21-point win.
Topeka High will play in the seventh-place game on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. against Shawnee Mission East, which lost to Olathe Northwest, 44-37.
BV NORTHWEST 56, TOPEKA HIGH 35
Topeka High 4 9 8 14 — 35
BV Northwest 13 9 16 18 — 56
Topeka High 35 (0-3) -- Short 0-1 2-2 2, Triplett 0-1 0-0 0, Marshall 0-12 2-2 2, Rayton 9-17 0-0 19, Gotru 4-7 1-2 9, Conley 0-0 0-0 0, Whayne 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 14-42 5-6 35.
Blue Valley Northwest 56 (1-2) -- K. Becker 4-11 0-0 11, Edwards 6-11 2-2 16, R. Becker 5-11 0-0 12, Numrich 2-2 0-0 5, Cozart 4-9 1-3 9, Eils 0-0 0-0 0, Dahl 0-1 0-0 0, Domazet 0-3 1-2 1, Norton 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 21-50 6-9 56.
3-point field goals -- Topeka High 2 (Rayton, Martin), BV Northwest 8 (K. Becker 3, Edwards 2, R. Becker 2, Numrich). Total Fouls -- Topeka High 10, BV Northwest 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
