WICHITA – Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick was pretty sure his junior center Brooklyn DeLeye's preparation for the Class 6A girls basketball championship game began on the final Saturday in October.
That was the day DeLeye, a star outside hitter for Bordewick's Junior Blues volleyball squad, and her teammates fell short in their bid to win a 6A title.
"We won 41 in a row and didn't show up on championship Saturday," Bordewick said as his basketball players celebrated a 40-23 victory over Derby on Saturday at Koch Arena. "And she's still feeling that. I think that just showed up today.
"There's an inner fire in her. I'm really proud of how they all competed, and she just really had some grit to her."
With a black knee brace wrapped around her right leg, the 6-foot-2 DeLeye scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Rural win its fifth state basketball championship and second in four years. The Junior Blues capped a 23-2 season with their second 17-point victory over Derby in six weeks, holding the Panthers far below their 55.4-point scoring average.
Washburn Rural's Zoe Canfield delivers a pass while moving toward
the basket Saturday. Canfield scored 12 points in Rural's victory.
It soothed some of the disappointment from the fall sports season, when Blue Valley West spoiled Rural's volleyball title bid in the 6A semifinals, then Olathe Northwest defeated the Junior Blues for third place.
"We really wanted that state championship in volleyball, and right after the season ended – it didn't end as we wanted it to – I was like, 'Yeah, we're getting it in basketball,'" DeLeye said. "Especially for these seniors who have been with us for my three years here, it's just unbelievable, and I'm glad to do it for them as well."
Sophomore Zoe Canfield added 12 points for Rural, which dealt Derby its first and only loss prior to Saturday, 54-37, in Free State's Firebird Winter Classic semifinals on Jan. 28. Derby (23-2) played that game without junior standout Addy Brown, who scored 14 and 16 points in the Panthers' first two state tournament games.
With DeLeye drawing the primary assignment of guarding Brown in the rematch, Rural held Derby to 21% shooting (9 of 42), forced 13 turnovers and outrebounded the Panthers 36-30. The Junior Blues stung Derby with points off turnovers and second-chance points, outscoring them 13-2 in both.
"I feel like we could never catch up," said Brown, who scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting. "We went on a run, they matched our run, and so it was just a chase the whole game. We didn't do the little things we need to do and that cost us the game."
Derby made one significant run in the low-scoring contest, getting close-range baskets from Maryn Archer and Naomi White to cut the Junior Blues' five-point halftime lead to 15-14. But Rural broke contact with an 11-0 run over the next 3½ minutes. DeLeye scored five of those with a basket off a Derby turnover and a follow shot 3-point play.
When Brown stopped the run with the Panthers' lone 3-pointer – Derby hit just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc – Canfield matched it with a second-chance 3-pointer to put Rural up 29-17 wit 2:37 to play in the third.
"We've been working the whole season for this and our whole lives, quite frankly," said Canfield, who made 10 of 19 3-pointers in the tournament. "This is what you dream of when you're little, so to see it all come together and the way that we played today was just amazing."
DeLeye's potential impact on the tournament was in question after she landed awkwardly while going up for a rebound during Rural's 47-27 sub-state final victory over Manhattan. Against Derby, she covered Brown and helped thwart the Panthers' pick-and-roll attempts by dropping off inside and using her reach to knock away passes.
"I saw where she went down in the game she got hurt, and I didn't think she was going to be able to play," Derby coach Dan Harrison said. "I thought she was a difference maker because I was counting on her not being able to pivot and make a move on one leg."
DeLeye fell to the court and went to the bench early in the fourth quarter of the championship game. But she returned within a minute and scored her final points off a feed from MaRyah Lutz that pushed Rural's lead to 35-21 with 2:31 to play.
"I knew right away that it wasn't what my (other) injury was," DeLeye said. "I kind of just got dead leg and so I was like I think I'll be fine to go back in. I told Coach, 'I'm good, I'm good,' but I had to come out for a safety check. I went back in there and still fought hard."
With guard Emma Krueger the lone senior starter, Rural entered the season with a roster largely intact from last year, when it finished 18-3 after a 20-point loss to Topeka in the sub-state finals. While Topeka handed Rural both of its losses this season, Bordewick said the Junior Blues were focused on not allowing the postseason to end a similar way.
"We kind of worked on that mentality a little bit over the summer that we're not going to be denied no matter what this year," Bordewick said.
BLUE VALLEY 48, OLATHE NORTH 46, 3 OT
One day after losing a double-overtime semifinal to Derby, Blue Valley went beyond regulation again to avenge a loss to Olathe North and win the third-place game.
Sophomore Jadyn Wooten scored a game-high 23 points, including 11 of 13 free throws, for Blue Valley, which finished 21-4. Wooten scored 68 points in the tournament.
Missouri State signee Sania Copeland scored 18 points and Yiibari Nwidadah added 10 for Olathe North, which dropped its final two games to finish 23-2. The Eagles defeated Blue Valley 48-44 to win Basehor-Linwood's Bobcat Invitational in late January.
Washburn Rural players celebrate their fifth state basketball championship and second in four seasons after their 40-23 victory over Derby in Saturday's championship.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
WASHBURN RURAL 40, DERBY 23
Derby … 8 … 7 … 18 … 7 – 40
Washburn Rural … 4 … 6 … 9 … 4 – 23
Derby (23-2) – Hopson 0-3 0-0 0, Archer 1-6 2-2 4, Brown 5-14 0-0 11, White 2-13 0-2 4, Boettjer 1-5 0-0 2, D. Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Yager 0-0 0-0 0, Karel 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Boyer 0-0 0-0 0, Demel 0-0 0-0 0, M. Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-42 4-6 23.
Washburn Rural (23-2) – Lutz 1-5 2-2 5, Krueger 1-6 1-5 3, Canfield 4-7 2-2 12, Ingram 2-5 0-1 4, DeLeye 5-13 3-5 13, Bagshaw 1-1 1-2 3, Carlgren 0-0 0-0 0, Brogan 0-0 0-0 0, Whitmore 0-0 0-0 0, Schuler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-40 9-17 40.
3-point goals – Derby 1-11 (Brown 1-6, Hopson 0-1, White 0-2, Boettjer 0-2); Washburn Rural 3-11 (Canfield 2-4, Lutz 1-4, DeLeye 0-3). Rebounds – Derby 30 (Brown 8), Washburn Rural 36 (DeLeye 10). Assists – Derby 6 (Archer 2), Washburn Rural 8 (Canfield, DeLeye 2). Total fouls – Derby 15, Washburn Rural 8. Fouled out – None.
CONSOLATION GAME
BLUE VALLEY 48, OLATHE NORTH 46, 3 OT
Blue Valley … 10 … 9 … 11 … 4 … 5 … 0 … 9 … – 48
Olathe North … 6 … 13 … 5 … 10 … 5 … 0 … 7 … – 51
Blue Valley (21-4) – Deveney 3-7 0-1 7, C. Bax 2-6 1-2 6, E. Bax 1-7 2-5 4, Wooten 6-18 11-13 23, Daniels 0-0 1-4 1, Lister 1-2 0-0 2, T. Simmons 2-4 1-3 5, Rinamam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 16-28 48.
Olathe North (23-2) – S. Simmons 3-10 0-0 7, Landry 0-2 0-0 0, Copeland 6-15 1-2 18, Nwidadah 5-8 0-3 10, Alloway 2-4 0-0 4, Stanford 2-10 0-0 6, L. Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, Triscornia 0-1 1-3 1, Cousin 0-0 0-0 0, Workman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 2-8 46.
3-point goals – Blue Valley 2-19 (C. Bax 1-4, Deveney 1-5, T. Simmons 0-1, Wooten 0-4, E. Bax 0-5); Olathe North 8-29 (Copeland 5-13, Stanford 2-9, S. Simmons 1-6, Triscornia 0-1). Rebounds – Blue Valley 38 (Daniels 6), Olathe North 32 (Nwidadah 10). Assists – Blue Valley 8 (Wooten 4), Olathe North 11 (Landry, Copeland). Total fouls – Blue Valley 10, Olathe North 26. Fouled out – S. Simmons, Alloway.