By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Looking at Friday's 55-24 final score it would appear that the fourth-ranked Washburn Rural girls had an easy time with Emporia.
But the winless Spartans got Rural's attention with a solid first-half performance and Junior Blues coach Kevin Bordewick got his team's attention by putting four starters on the bench for the bulk of the first quarter before the hosts took control over the final 17 minutes to improve to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Centennial League.
Washburn Rural sophomore Maddie Vickery scored a game-high 17 points in Friday's 55-24 win over Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Kate Hinck scored 16 points and led Washburn Rural's defense in Friday's 55-24 win over Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Emporia, which fell to 0-7 and 0-2, jumped out to an 8-0 lead, including six early points in Friday's opening quarter, prompting Bordewick to make mass substitutions about two minutes into the game, with sophomore Brooklyn Rutherford the lone Junior Blue starter to stay in the game.
"They know better and we've talked about it,'' Bordewick said of the slow start. "We got off to a zero to eight start against Hayden on Friday and we talked all week about being the aggressor, being smarter with the ball, running your offense and we did none of what we had worked on in practice.
"I did think Brooklyn did what she was supposed to do and that's why she stayed and it was just the little things that she was doing that I didn't feel like the other four were. Above all, we're kind of known as a team that plays hard and we get that from how hard we work in practice. I thought we had really good practices this week and then it doesn't show up and that drives me insane, so obviously I'm the link that's not connecting the two and somehow I've got to figure out how to get that message across from the start.''
Emporia led 10-6 at the end of the first quarter and was still tied at 16-all with 1:06 left in the half before sophomore Maddie Vickery scored on a follow shot and junior Ella Hirchi hit a 3-pointer to give Rural a 21-16 halftime advantage.
The Junior Blues then scored the first 14 points of the second half and outscored the Spartans 22-5 in the third to take a commanding 43-21 advantage into the final stanza.
Vickery scored six straight points to put Washburn Rural up 49-21 and junior Josie Carlgren scored with 1:01 remaining to force a running clock.
Vickery scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Junior Blues while senior Kate Hinck added 16 points and was a force defensively as Rural allowed just 8 second-half points.
Freshman Jayde Aguirre led Emporia with 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Washburn Rural will play a makeup non-league game at Olathe North on Monday.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 55, EMPORIA 24
Emporia 10 6 5 3 -- 24
Washburn Rural 6 15 22 12 -- 55
Emporia (0-7, 0-2) -- Aguirre 2-6 2-2 8, Wiltz 2-2 0-0 4, Davis 2-6 0-4 4, B'Hymer 1-3 0-0 2, Heffner 2-2 2-4 6, Howe 0-1 0-0 0, Hins 0-1 0-0 0, Farrell 0-1 0-0 0, Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0, Moreo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-26 4-9 24.
Washburn Rural (5-2, 1-1) -- Hinck 6-11 3-4 16, Rutherford 0-4 0-0 0, Vickery 6-11 4-6 17, Lemke 2-6 0-3 4, Bunck 1-3 0-0 3, Hirschi 1-4 0-0 3, Hayes 1-7 0-0 3, Walker 1-3 0-0 2, Carlgren 2-4 0-0 5, Petersen 1-1 0-0 2, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 7-13 55.
3-point goals -- Emporia 2 (Aguirre 2), Washburn Rural 6 (Hinck, Hirschi, Hayes, Vickery, Bunck, Carlgren). Total fouls -- Emporia 13, Washburn Rural 14. Fouled out -- Heffner. Technical foul -- none.
