By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
It took three periods, but Shawnee Heights and Hayden finally shook off the rust accumulated over the holiday break, turning a snoozer into a thriller that the T-Birds won in the final seconds, 38-36, at Shawnee Heights Friday.
Junior KK Emmot scored a game-high 18 points in Friday's 38-36 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Just one day after New Years, the Wildcats and T-Birds came out looking like they needed more practice, or more sleep. They struggled to a 20-20 tie after three quarters. But then the offenses got in gear. Hayden led 31-26 with 2:25 remaining. But then the T-Birds went on a 10-2 run to lead 36-33 with just seconds remaining.
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein, frustrated into an inefficient shooting night, let fly a 3-pointer from about 25 feet that tied the game with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Shawnee Heights junior KK Emmot was not intimidated by the moment, however, but rather seized command of the game. Knowing the T-Birds were in the bonus, she took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the floor, drawing a foul with 2.9 seconds on the clock. Emmot calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws, as she had twice earlier in the period. She scored nine of her 18 points in the final quarter to lead the T-Birds to their fourth victory of the season.
“Lucky enough for us, we hit some shots coming down the stretch,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “Then (Schmidtlein) hit a big shot coming down the stretch when she hadn’t (shot well) from the perimeter all game. Kudos to her for stepping up and hitting that.”
Wells drew up a play to give Emmot a chance to decide the game.
“I thought we did a good job getting the ball where we wanted to get the ball, finding a way to get it into KK’s hands. She was definitely the first option,” Wells said. “She was just gonna take it and go do what she does.”
Emmot hit six of six free throws down the stretch and accounted for seven of the T-Birds’ final eight points. She said pressure does not bother her.
“I work good with pressure and stress. I don’t really care,” Emmot said. “I just know that if I start hustling, everyone else (takes) their energy from me. In the fourth quarter we just had to get going. I was screaming at everyone, ‘We have to get hyped!’ And then we just started hitting shots.”
“She works her tail off. I’m super proud of her,” Wells said of Emmot. “And all the girls, at some point in time, stepped up and hit shots, and that’s what we needed to happen. We just need to get where everybody is rolling at the same time. This is a fun group to watch.”
Hayden, ranked second in Class 4A in the most recent poll by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, struggled to get its offense in gear. Schmidtlein hit just 4-19 attempts from the field and finished with 16. Lauren Borjon added 11.
Wells said playing a game so early in January, with so little time to practice, contributed to the ragged performance by both teams.
“When you have four days to practice, where you’re trying to get your legs back and get your shot back, you can’t have both,” Wells said. “I think you saw that from both teams.”
“I think there’s some sickness going around,” Emmot added. “And you could tell (Hayden) was not in super great shape either. I think both of us were just playing with the same amount of hustle and everything. It was just no one could score. We were both pretty gassed.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 38, HAYDEN 36
Hayden 8 8 4 16 -- 36
Shawnee Heights 5 9 6 18 -- 38
Hayden (6-2) – Schmidtlein 4-19 6-10 16, Foster 0-2 0-0 0, Huscher 0-0 0-0 0, Borjon 4-10 1-2 11, Watts 2-5 2-5 6, Walter 0-3 0-2 0, Connell 0-1 0-0 0, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 3, Wichman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-32 9-19 36.
Shawnee Heights (4-3) – Emmot 4-18 8-11 18, Schmidt 0-5 1-2 1, Carter 2-3 0-2 4, Baun 1-5 4-6 7, Vega 3-9 0-2 7, Brees 0-2 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 10-43 14-25 38.
3-point goals – Hayden 5 (Schmidtlein 2, Borjon 2, Mitchell 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot 2, Baun 1, Vega 1). Total fouls – Hayden 15, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – Schmidt. Technical fouls – None.
