By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
There were plenty of questions surrounding this year’s version of the Silver Lake girls basketball team. At least some of those questions were answered Friday night when the defending Class 3A state champs steamrolled Perry Lecompton, 78-23.
Junior guard Kailyn Hanni scored 12 points as Silver Lake opened its season with a 78-23 romp past Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Silver Lake lost five seniors – four of them starters – from the team that stormed to a title last March. A lot of experience, and a lot of offensive production, must be replaced. The early results were positive.
“I wanted us to play free, I wanted us to play aggressive, and I wanted us to play confident. We did that,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “So now the goal is to play a little more under control. To understand time and score and how the officials are calling the game, and just grow from the experience. I always think that if you start aggressive and confident, you can always rein that in a little bit.”
The new-look Eagles exploded out of the gate, ripping off 16 points before the visiting Kaws could get on the board. They rolled on from there, holding the opponents to fewer than eight points in each period.
“We played through mistakes. I think that was the biggest thing,” Porter said. “First game, you’re always going to have things happen. I think we were getting over those mistakes pretty well.”
Silver Lake returned four players who played significant minutes last year, led by 3A third-team guard junior Kailyn Hanni. Taylor Zordel, Paige Heiman and Ella Bolan stepped into the starting rotation after playing supporting roles last year.
Joining the starting five was freshman Karys Deiter, who tallied 12 points in her first game.
“Karys has played a lot of basketball, so for her to come in as a freshman, we feel confident that she can make an impact early,” Porter said. “She is super athletic, and her straight-line speed is impressive. The more minutes she can play the better. That will help her grow and develop.”
Porter praised three others who stepped into big varsity roles Friday.
“Jaylie Whitehead played six quarters every night last year. She was suiting up for three games,” Porter said. “She did so much at the sub-varsity level and at practice that allowed her to develop and improve. She’s a defensive stopper and she can handle the ball, too.
“Savanah Wende brings shooting. She is a lefty who, if you give her space, she can light it up.
“Alana Brewster provides depth at the post position. She’s continuing to improve each day. We were really pleased with the way she played tonight.”
Helping Porter’s Eagles move into this new era, Hanni has tons of experience though just a junior. She scored 12 points and guided the newcomers at both ends.
“The biggest challenge will be people being afraid,” Hanni said. “But once they got on the court, all of the fears went away, and they just played and it was awesome.”
Porter and Hanni agreed that a new challenge can be exciting.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Hanni said. “We put in a lot of work in the off-season, and I’ve been hanging out with these girls outside of school, outside of practice, and I’m having a blast with them so far. I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”
“I absolutely loved the team that we had last year, and nothing is going to replicate that experience with those girls,” Porter said. “But it’s really fun to start a new journey with a new team. Every season presents its own challenge.”
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 78, PERRY LECOMPTON 23
Perry Lecompton 5 6 7 5 -- 23
Silver Lake 24 22 21 11 -- 78
Perry Lecompton (0-1, 0-1) – Scrimsher 0-0 1-2 1, Corcoran 3-10 1-5 7, Calovich 1-5 1-4 3, Blosser 0-3 0-0 0, Reed 3-4 2-2 8, Metcalfe 0-4 1-2 1, Aldrich 0-4 1-4 1, Craig 0-0 2-4 2, Baker 0-1 0-0 0, McKay 0-0 0-0 0, Flory 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 7-31 9-23 23.
Silver Lake (1-0, 1-0) – Ka. Hanni 5-7 2-4 12, Zordel 3-6 0-1 6, Heiman 5-11 6-7 16, Bolan 5-11 2-3 13, Deiter 5-13 2-2 12, Wende 5-10 0-0 14, Whitehead 0-3 0-0 0, Brewster 2-2 1-2 5, Ky. Hanni 0-1 0-0 0, Gerber 0-0 0-0 0, Day 0-0 0-0 0, Erb 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 30-65 13-21 78.
3-point goals – Perry Lecompton none, Silver Lake 5 (Wende 4, Bolan 1). Total fouls – Perry Lecompton 20, Silver Lake 20. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
