By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake girls looked so good in the first half, the fact Rossville made the second half tense is a credit to both teams. Silver Lake ultimately won 69-53, but the War on 24 revealed the talent on both sides of the rivalry.
Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter (23) puts up a shot over Rossville's Nora Burdiek (22) and Shailee Hubbell (21) in Tuesday's 69-53 Silver Lake win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Eagles dominated the second period, reeling off 18 straight points before Rossville finally scored with 2:06 before halftime. Prior to the drought-ending basket, Silver Lake led 33-9 and appeared headed for a blowout win. Seven Eagles got in the scoring column in the first half, which the home team led 41-15.
But it was Rossville’s turn after halftime to light up the scoreboard. Behind eight third-quarter points from Rylee Dick and Nora Burdiek, the Bulldawgs outscored the Eagles 20-9 to get back into the game.
“We came out pretty slow and they came out good, and it was hard for us to wake back up and find our groove again,” said Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni. “But props to Rylee and Nora. They played really well that second half.”
Rossville pulled to within 10 points with 4:40 remaining in the game but could draw no closer. Burdiek and Dick finished with 23 and 20 points, respectively, but they couldn’t match the balanced scoring of Silver Lake.
Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni scored 12 points in Tuesday's Silver Lake 69-53 win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Silver Lake sharpshooters Karys Dieter and Savanah Wende dropped in 18 and 17 points, respectively, with Hanni adding 12.
“Rossville is a team that we knew we were going to get their best shot,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “We talked at halftime that it’s a 0-0 ballgame in the third quarter, and (Rossville) played with a lot of confidence and punched us in the mouth that third quarter.
“Now, with that said, I am proud of how we responded. Fortunately, we made a lot of shots that second half that helped us extend the lead. But they forced us to get better that second half.”
Porter probably would have preferred to rest his starters with a comfortable lead in the second half, considering the challenge that lies ahead.
With just one day of rest, the Eagles will be tested at the Flurry on Flush tournament at Rock Creek High School. They begin the tournament on Thursday with a rematch with Hesston, a team Silver Lake defeated 65-58 in the Class 3A State semifinals last season. If the Eagles win, they will face Hays, the fourth-ranked team in 5A. If they lose to Hesston, the Eagles will draw Hayden, the second-ranked team in 4A. Other teams in the field are Manhattan CHIEF, Buhler, Eudora, Goodland and the host Rock Creek.
Silver Lake improved to 4-0 on the season and picked up its first win in the Big East League Tuesday. A leader of the state title team in 2024 and the runnerup in 2025, Hanni knows something about building a winning team. She sees this group taking on a personality of its own.
“I would say it’s definitely been a process,” Hanni said. “Since the summer, we’ve been working really hard at trying to find who we are as a team. We’re really guard-heavy and so we’re trying to work with our guards and work it in to Paige (Heiman, the team’s 5-foot-10 post). I found that a couple of times our guards would be dribbling around and Paige would be wide open because they’re just so focused on our guard work.
“I think we get a little too stagnant on offense and so that’s something I think we could get better at – better ball movement and attacking.”
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 69, ROSSVILLE 53
Rossville 9 6 20 18 -- 53
Silver Lake 15 26 9 19 -- 69
Rossville (2-3, 0-1) – R. Dick 6-15 5-9 20, M. Sanders 1-2 3-3 5, Hubbell 0-1 0-0 0, Burdiek 9-18 5-5 23, Miller 1-4 2-4 4, B. Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Bunck 0-2 0-0 0, E. Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Perine 0-0 1-2 1, T. Miller 0-0 0-0 0, P. Dick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-42 16-23 53.
Silver Lake (4-0, 1-0) – Ka. Hanni 5-13 1-1 12, Whitehead 3-7 0-1 6, Heiman 3-7 1-1 6, Deiter 6-13 4-4 18, Wende 6-9 0-0 17, Ky. Hanni 1-2 1-1 3, Erb 1-2 0-0 2, Thompson 1-2 0-0 3, Eisenbarth 0-0 0-0 0, May 0-0 0-0 0, Day 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 7-8 69.
3-point goals – Rossville 3 (R. Dick 3), Silver Lake 10 (Wende 5, Deiter 2, Ka. Hanni, Heiman, Thompson). Total fouls – Rossville 8, Silver Lake 18. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
