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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- A four-year uphill climb ended at the pinnacle for the Silver Lake seniors.
Senior Makenzie McDaniel hoists the championship trophy as she celebrates the Class 3A girls title with her teammates after Saturday's 66-61 win over Hesston. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Silver Lake poses for a team picture after capping a perfect 26-0 season with Saturday's 66-61 win over Hesston in the Class 3A state title game. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
After coming up short three times in their quest for a state championship, the Eagles won the Class 3A girls title by defeating Hesston 66-61 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Saturday night.
The group of five Silver Lake seniors were part of teams that finished third two years ago and fourth last season. The group had not played in a championship game until Saturday.
It was a brawl.
End-to-end action and physical play kept the outcome in question until the final seconds.
Silver Lake survived a five-point run in the final 30 seconds that pulled the Swathers to within one possession. But the Eagles were the ones holding the trophy when the buzzer sounded.
“The amount of work and dedication that our ladies put into the game of basketball, for these seniors to finish with a state championship is something special,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. “I’m just glad that we got the mission accomplished.”
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Silver Lake senior Makenzie McDaniel. “We’ve worked so hard to get to this. Coming short two years in a row really stings, so it was something we put in the backs of our heads to work for every day in practice. This has been our goal since Day 1, so it’s great to have been able to achieve it.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Matt Tinsley and his Seaman Vikings decided they had waited long enough.
Seaman's lone seniors, Taylin Stallbaumer (with championship trophy) and Elinore Stallbaumer (12) celebrate with fans after Saturday's 54-41 win over Maize South in the Class 5A state championship game at Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman is presented the Class 5A state championship trophy after Saturday's 54-41 win over Maize South at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A night after earning Seaman's first championship-game berth in 23 seasons, Tinsley's Vikings captured the school's first girls state basketball championship in 33 years Saturday night at White Auditorium, rolling to a wire-to wire 54-41 victory over Maize South.
"I'm just thankful to be their coach,'' Tinsley said as the Vikings' players and fans celebrated all over the court. "They work hard and they're special people and I feel like good things happen to special people.
"We talked about it every day, you've got to be a champion -- on the floor, off the floor, bringing that consistency to practice. And when you have a team that buys in like that, I'm just in awe. I really don't know what to say. I'm just so proud of the girls.''
Seaman set the tone when it jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Mavericks and the Vikings never trailed (one tie at 8-8) en route to capping a 23-2 campaign.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- The 2023-2024 season didn't end the way Highland Park wanted it to, but after a tough three-point overtime semifinal loss, it ended the best way it could.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Scots capped a 23-2 season with a 66-55 win over Maize South in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson is congratulated by his teammates after a big play late in Saturday's 66-55 win over Maize South. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Highland Park trailed Maize South for much of Saturday's third-place game, including an eight-point deficit late in the third quarter and a seven-point deficit with about six and a half minutes left, but the Scots stepped up their game a few notches when it counted the most, ending the game with a 20-4 run to take a 66-55 win over the top-seeded Mavericks at White Auditorium.
"We finished great,'' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. "Maize South has eight seniors and a winning pedigree, so we knew those kids weren't going to come in here and not take the game seriously and we knew that we also had to match that level.
"We kind of fell short of that a little bit early on but the heart, grit, toughness and determination of our guys showed through over the course of the game.''
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Washburn Rural girls will be playing in the Class 6A state championship at Wichita State University for the third year in a row on Saturday. They earned their spot in the title game by defeating Derby 69-62 in overtime Friday night.
Seeded seventh in the tournament, Washburn Rural had to defeat second seed Wichita Heights and third seed Derby to reach the 6A final.
Washburn Rural celebrates Friday's 69-62 overtime win over Derby in Friday's Class 6A state semifinal. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Rural came back from an early deficit to take a second-half lead. But they couldn’t stop Derby’s Macayla Askew, who almost singlehandedly kept the Panthers in the game. She tied the game at 58-58 with 18 seconds left in regulation.
Washburn Rural drew up a play for senior Zoe Canfield, but her attempt on the right baseline was blocked right before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
“When they had all the momentum and tied it up at the end of the game, we didn’t get a good possession,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. “I looked at our faces and I thought, ‘I don’t know where we are at mentally.’ But man, we took off.”
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- A much-anticipated meeting between Silver Lake and Hayden finally happened Friday in a Class 3A state semifinal in Hutchinson.
A tight battle gradually shifted in favor of Silver Lake, with the Eagles winning 64-49 to advance Saturday's state title game.
Silver Lake senior Makenzie McDaniel scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Eagles advanced to the Class 3A title game with a 64-49 win over Hayden. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Silver Lake preserved their undefeated record at 25-0 and will face Hesston on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. The Eagle seniors will be taking their fourth crack at a title. They finished third two years ago and fourth last year.
Hayden and Silver Lake traded leads back and forth throughout the first half, the biggest lead coming when Hayden pulled out to a five-point advantage late in the second period. But Silver Lake responded with a 10-3 run to close out the period with a 29-27 lead.
Amelia Ramsey was Hayden’s top weapon in the first two periods, battling to 11 first-half points. Silver Lake was led in the first half by Kaibryn Kruger with nine.
“Hayden played extremely well,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “They have some extremely skilled bigs who can not only kill you inside but also stretch you outside. You saw that with Ramsey tonight. I thought she was phenomenal.
“First half, I thought we gave up some easy second-chance points. From then on, we did limit their second-chance opportunities. That was big.”
Silver Lake stretched its lead to 46-38 in the third period and the Eagles owned the early part of the fourth period, starting with a 12-0 run and finishing with a 64-49 win.
Silver Lake recorded 19 assists on their 23 baskets.
“The second half belonged to (us playing) team basketball,” Porter said. “With our team, you can’t just stop one player. When teams over-compensate and put two on one, we’ve got to be able to find the open man and finish. And they’ve been able to do that for four years.”
