By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls relied on some new contributors to lead them past De Soto 64-46 at home Tuesday to improve to 4-1 in the United Kansas Conference.
Junior Pearmella Carter scored a game-high 19 points in Tuesday's 64-46 Shawnee Heights UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With one minute remaining in the first period, the sluggish T-Birds found themselves in a 9-4 hole. But Reianna Vega dropped a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, which sparked a 22-point run over the next seven minutes. By halftime, the T-Birds had built a commanding 32-14 lead.
Shawnee Heights made that run with its usual scoring leader on the bench. KK Emmot, who averages 18 points per game, tallied just one bucket in the first half before being sidelined with two personal fouls. She returned in the second half, but did not score again.
Senior Imani McGlory and juniors Pearmela Carter and Sami Baum, none of whom played at Shawnee Heights last year, picked up the slack. Carter led the T-Birds with 19 points while Baum and McGlory added 15 and 14 apiece.
“We needed them to step up, and they did it within the execution of the team,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “That’s what I was most impressed with. They were getting the shots we want them to get. It was really fun seeing them all step up and hit shots and rebound and play solid on defense.”
One of the team’s three senior returners, Vega chipped in 13 points. She said the team responded when Emmot left early in the second period.
“I think all of us, with KK being out, we made sure we were spreading the floor and then each of us was able to drive the lane and do what we’re good at,” Vega said. “In practice, we’ve really worked on spreading out of offense because we tend to get really tight.”
The T-Bird offense had a very efficient night, hitting 23-51 field goal attempts and 12-15 free throws. Baum contributed three of the team’s six three-pointers.
“It helped that our girls were mentally prepared that (De Soto) was going to come out and try to be physical and try to hang on to us when we were cutting and doing things like that,” Wells said. “It didn’t get to us. We played through it and kept playing hard.”
After dropping three tough games in the first two weeks of the season, the T-Birds have won four straight.
“I feel like the season is getting better,” Vega said. “I feel like we’re on the rise and we’re going to keep going from there.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 64, De Soto 46
De Soto 9 5 13 19 -- 46
Shawnee Heights 7 25 18 14 -- 64
De Soto (2-4, 1-2) – Emmot 1-9 0-0 2, McGlory 5-8 2-2 14, Carter 6-12 7-9 19, Baum 5-9 2-2 15, Vega 6-12 0-0 13, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 1-2 1, Brees 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-51 12-15 64.
Shawnee Heights (5-3, 4-1) – C. Leis 1-5 0-4 2, O’Brien 4-7 1-3 10, Cinotto 0-0 2-2 2, M. Leis 3-10 7-7 14, Chappel 3-6 1-1 8, Bush 1-3 0-0 3, Gulley 1-2 0-0 2, Stapp 1-1 0-0 2, Green 1-1 0-0 3, Major 0-2 0-0 0, Reiswig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-37 11-17 46.
3-point goals – De Soto 5 (O’Brien 1, M. Leis 1, Chappel 1, Bush 1, Green 1), Shawnee Heights 6 (McGlory 2, Baun 3, Vega 1). Total fouls – De Soto 16, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
