By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake girls' 59-54 comeback overtime win in Saturday's Class 3A sub-state final was a game that will long be remembered.
“This game was special because we were the toughest when it mattered the most,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. “We showed a ton of resiliency. We talk a lot about just playing the next play and staying in the moment.”
ilver Lake's girls pose with their Class 3A sub-state championship trophy Saturday night after pulling out a 59-54 overtime win over Nemaha Central. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Nemaha Central had a nine-point lead over Silver Lake with 5:31 left in the game.
In fact, the Thunder had held a lead since the 4:32 mark of the second quarter, with things not going well for Silver Lake for the majority of Saturday night’s thriller.
With a state ournament berth on the line, the Lady Eagles had to fight for their basketball lives. It was time to rally.
“It was tough but I had to pull through and move on from the emotions,” Silver Lake's Taylor Ross said. “The next play is a whole new play with many different opportunities. I feel like as a team, we all did a great job moving on from calls that didn’t go our way. We can’t dwell on anything that we can’t control.”
Six different players would score the basketball in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Eagles kept digging away at the Thunder after Ross hit a clutch basket underneath the rim with 58.9 seconds to go.
Silver Lake would force the turnover on the other side of the court. With two Nemaha Central players in McKinley Kruger’s face, she stepped back and hit a clutch 3-point shot to tie the game, 49-49, with 37.6 seconds to go in regulation, sending the game to overtime.
Silver Lake knew that sophomore center Makenzie McDaniel had the height advantage over Central’s posts so she was given the ball right away after a critical time out taken with 3:37 to go in the overtime, McDaniel converted.
With McDaniel getting a hefty amount of attention, Ross would be awarded several open opportunities. Ross would be fouled after the McDaniel bucket and would convert both of her free throws.
With the momentum and the score finally on Silver Lake’s side, they would be sent to the free throw line knowing that the game was intact.
Silver Lake girls basketball coach Kyle Porter talks to his team during a time out in Saturday's Class 3A sub-state final. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Silver Lake had to face more adversity than they have seen all season long.
“It was good for us to face this adversity,” McDaniel said. “The way we communicated as a team worked for us tonight when it mattered the most. I felt like we were always there for each other, even when times got bad. Pulling through and winning this type of game was a real confidence booster for us as a team.”
Multiple Silver Lake players told TopSports.news that they didn’t let the fear of losing creep in the back of their heads.
“I never had that feeling of doubt and I didn’t feel like we were going to lose,” Kaibryn Kruger said. “We’ve done pressure sets in practice. That was the tensest and most pressured moment we have had all season. I trusted my teammates and our coaches that we were going to pull through and go to the (state) tournament.
“I am very happy that we executed what we have worked on all season. We have our ups and downs, but we can keep finding ways to win. We are always there for each other when situations are tough. Having the trust that we have in each other is a special thing. We need to keep getting the job done and never giving up.”
A team that doesn’t have quite the same chemistry as Silver Lake probably doesn’t win that game.
“We are very close with each other,” McDaniel said. “This didn’t happen overnight. This trust and success was something that we had to build together as a team. We’ve played with each other for a while.
“It’s going to keep getting stronger since we will all be back next year.”
Last year, Silver Lake didn’t have the opportunity to travel to Hutchinson for the state tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles saw their season end in a quarterfinal loss to Sabetha last season.
“I am finally excited to play basketball at Hutchinson,” Ross said. “Last year we couldn’t go to Hutchinson with all of the COVID stuff. I will finally be able to be in that big college atmosphere. I’m beyond excited to get a feel for what that is like.”
“Three days of preparation will be extremely important for us,” Porter said. “As a team, we are going to learn from this past weekend and have three days to get better.”
“We look to play our best basketball next week.”
Silver Lake’s opening round opponent in the Class 3A state tournament is currently to be determined. The Lady Eagles will compete on Thursday at the Hutchinson Community College Sports Arena.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 59, NEMAHA CENTRAL 54
Silver Lake 10 9 12 18 10 – 59
Nemaha Central 14 12 13 10 5 – 54
Silver Lake (22-1) – Farmer 2 2-2 6, McDaniel 5 0-0 10, K. Kruger 4 0-0 12, M. Kruger 4 2-4 12, Ross 4 4-5 12, Wehrli 0 4-4 4, Deiter 1 1-4 3
Nemaha Central (17-6) – Henry 1 2-4 5, Ganstrom 2 1-2 5, Larkin 8 4-7 20, Holthaus 9 2-5 20, Honeyman 0 0-1 0, Rethman 1 0-0 2, Gerety 1 0-0 2.
3-point goals – Silver Lake 6 (K. Kruger 4, M. Kruger 2), Nemaha Central 1 (Henry). Team fouls – Silver Lake 18, Nemaha Central 16. Fouled out – Silver Lake, K. Kruger, Nemaha Central, Holthaus. Technical fouls – none.
