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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- The Hayden girls bounced back from a semifinal defeat at the hands of eventual Class 3A champion Silver Lake to claim third-place honors at the state tournament in Hutchinson Saturday.
Hayden celebrates its third-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament Saturday in Hutchinson. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden poses for a team picture after finishing third in the Class 3A state tournament Saturday in Hutchinson. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
The Wildcats took down back-to-back defending champion Goodland in a low-scoring battle in the third-place game, winning the consolation game, 50-39.
Hayden scuffled to just three points in the first period, but slowed Goodland to just eight in the same period. Then the Wildcats got untracked to score 16 in the second period, grabbing a 19-14 halftime advantage.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Washburn Rural girls made an improbable run from the seventh seed to reach the Class 6A state title game for the third consecutive season.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after finishing second in the Class 6A state tournament, the Junior Blues' third straight trip to the championship game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But the Junior Blues couldn’t overcome top-seeded Shawnee Mission South, losing 47-37 Saturday afternoon at Wichita State University.
The Raiders entered the game with a 23-1 record and had a plan to take away Washburn Rural’s standout freshman Maddie Vickery.
Vickery scored 24 points in back-to-back games to lead the Junior Blues to the final. There she was faced by two athletic senior posts, both standing over six feet tall, that the Raiders used to bottle her up in the paint and get a hand in her face on the perimeter. Vickery scored 11 points, but they came on 16 shot attempts.
Senior Zoe Canfield led Washburn Rural with 18 points, incuding four 3-pointers, in Saturday's 47-37 loss to SM South in the Class 6A title game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Freshman Maddie Vickery capped a big state tournament performance for Washburn Rural with 11 points in Saturday's 47-37 loss to SM South in the Class 6A title game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Zoe Canfield did her best in the second half to keep the Junior Blues in the fight. She hit four long 3-pointers after halftime, but her 18 points weren’t quite enough.
“They were trying to jam Zoe and Maddie, and unfortunately we didn’t get anybody else open to get shots,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. “We needed to be more aggressive with the other kids, at least initiating some things. We just didn’t do that well enough.
“We’re a team that depends on those two. Zoe was hitting unbelievable 3s, but we needed more kids to get involved. That’s my fault as a coach. I didn’t coach them that way.”
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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.''
