When Silver Lake went 26-0 and captured the Class 3A state championship in 2024, it was about as dominant of a season as there could be.
 
That season, the Eagles had only one game decided by less than double figures, that a 66-61 win over Hesston in the state championship game. Silver Lake won more than half of its games by 30 or more points and its first two state tournament games by a combined 52 points.
 
So when Eagle coach Kyle Porter throws out a superlative description about this year’s undefeated Silver Lake team, well, he’s got a pretty good idea of what he’s comparing it to.
 
“This is about as connected of a group as we’ve had on both ends of the court,” Porter said. “Every player plays their role to a high level and we’re pretty tough to beat when everybody’s doing their part. The special thing about this group is it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, they show up and they bring it.”
 
And that’s a scary thought for the rest of Class 3A, especially given how Silver Lake brought it at last week’s Burlington Invitational. In a tournament that featured five teams ranked No. 7 or higher in their respective classification going into the week, the Eagles left no doubt that their No. 1 ranking in Class 3A was more than justified.
 
Silver Lake steamrolled its way to a fourth straight tournament championship, winning its three tournament games by an average of 28.3 points. The Eagles opened with a 61-28 rout of Paola before squaring off in the semifinals with 3A No. 5 Girard, which returned four starters from last year’s 3A state tournament team.
 
After beating the Trojans by just 11 in the state quarterfinals a year ago, Silver Lake cruised to a 57-30 semifinal win at Burlington, setting up a showdown with the tourney hosts, who were ranked No. 6 in 3A and also returned four starters from last season. But the Wildcats were no match as Silver Lake rolled to a 60-35 win in the title game.
 
“The Burlington Tournament was as good as it’s been in my six years at Silver Lake,” Porter said. “You had ranked teams in Ottawa, Girard, us, Burlington, Independence. So we knew were going to face good and quality competition and I was pretty happy with how we performed down there.
 
“I don’t think we lost a four-minute segment the entire tournament except for maybe when we had some subs in in the fourth quarter. I think it’s a testament to how connected to how consistent our players play on both ends of the floor and how connected they play.”
 
The tournament title was the second impressive crown for the Eagles this season. In December, Silver Lake won the inaugural Flurry on Flush Tournament at Rock Creek, along the way beating Hesston (56-38), Hays (62-41) and Eudora (72-44). That’s the only loss that Hays, No. 3 in Class 5A, has suffered with the Indians winning the Colby Orange and Black Tournament last week. Eudora is ranked No. 6 in Class 4A.
 
“That tournament gave us a lot of confidence being able to play bigger schools, ranked schools right out the gate,” Porter said. “To be able to compete with them at a high level kind of showed us we’re able to compete with anybody in the state. This past week kind of solidified that.”
 
A driving forced behind all four of Silver Lake’s Burlington Invitational title teams is senior point guard Kailyn Hanni, who has started at the point since her freshman season. At this year’s tournament, Hanni averaged 17 points and 7 assists per game, including a stellar performance in the title game where she had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals. Sophomore Karys Deiter, who missed the semifinals and finals of last year’s Burlington tourney with an injury, had a big tourney this year averaging 16.3 points and 9 rebounds per game, going for 23 points against Paola and added 12 points and 9 rebounds in the title game.
 
Both were all-tournament picks. Paige Heiman added 10 points and 5 rebounds in the semifinal win over Girard.
 
Silver Lake’s closest victory this season was an 11-point win over defending Class 1A Division I champion Centralia, which won its third straight Twin Valley League Tournament title last week. The Eagles have won nine of their last 10 games by 21 or more points, giving off vibes of that 2024 championship team. 
 
“That was a different team,” Porter said of the 2024 title team. “That team maybe had a little more skill than what we have this year, probably better on the offensive end. But where we’ve hung our hat, and this is a credit to my assistant Mark Johnson who runs our defense, we’ve been about as dominant defensively as I’ve had. We were a really good team defensively a couple years ago, but I think we’ve taken it to another level. That’s kind of scary because we really didn’t shoot it well this past weekend and we were still able to win by significant margins.
 
“Now the key for us moving forward is that’s in the past and we have to stay focused on getting better and improving. I think teams start to separate themselves in February. Teams have a tendency to either get better or worse in February so our focus has to be on continuing to stay hungry and find an edge.”
 
Finding that hunger hasn’t been a problem. Poised to defend its 2024 state title a year ago at state, Silver Lake came up short as the Eagles fell to Halstead 48-45 in the 2025 state championship game. Silver Lake led by 15 points in the third quarter of the title game and by six going into the fourth quarter, but struggled offensively down the stretch as the Dragons rallied for the upset.
 
“I don’t know if we would have been as hungry this year if that didn’t happen to us,” Porter said. “There’s a lot for us to play for, especially this senior class. They’ve been incredible in setting the tone in practice every day. The hunger is there and our focus is just getting better every day. The competition will continue to show up and we’ll have to find a way to beat their best every night.”
 

 
DEFENSE CARRIES WABAUNSEE TO FIRST FLINTHILLS SHOOTOUT TITLE
 
It was hardly the way Wabaunsee wanted to go into the Christmas break.
 
After cruising past its first five opponents of the season by an average of 32 points per game, the Chargers got quite an eye-opener in its final game of 2025. Taking on Osage City for what turned out to be the decisive game in the Flint Hills League regular-season race, Wabaunsee got blitzed with the Indians rolling to a 68-37 win.
 
“To be honest, we really didn’t play great competition until we got to Osage,” Wabaunsee coach Jerod Schultz said. “But since then, we’ve played tougher teams and after Christmas we realized that we were just going to have to rely on our defense with the personnel we have. We’ve got long, athletic girls that can get out and pressure and get us in transition. The girls have really bought in.”
 
It wasn’t like Wabaunsee’s defense wasn’t a strength before the loss to Osage as the Chargers held each of its first five foes under 30 points and two under 20. Since the loss, however, Wabaunsee has been almost as stingy against the tougher end of its league schedule.
 
And at last week’s Flinthills Shootout in Emporia, that defense keyed Wabaunsee’s run to its first-ever league tournament title. The Chargers held all three foes to 32 points or less and in a 45-21 championship game win over Mission Valley, Wabaunsee allowed just five first-half points.
 
“It’s a big deal for the girls,” Schultz said. “It was a pleasant surprise. We didn’t play who we thought we were going to play (in the finals), but the girls still came out and executed like they needed to.”
 
Wabaunsee opened the tourney with a 55-26 romp past West Franklin and then got past Lyndon 43-32 in the semifinals. Expecting a rematch with Osage City in the finals, the Chargers instead saw Mission Valley upset the Indians 45-32.
 
Wabaunsee had take a hard-fought 44-36 win over the Vikings in the final game before the league tournament, but used its pressure defense to suffocate Mission Valley in the championship game.

 
Wabaunsee’s combo of Grace Zeller and Talen Orton led the way at the tourney with Orton averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game and Zeller adding 14 points and 9 rebounds a contest.
 
The Chargers are averaging forcing 24 turnovers per game while only committing 10 themselves.
 
“We played great defense and the girls understand that’s the key for us,” Schultz said. “They like to get out in transition and I think they realize they can’t get in transition if they don’t force turnovers. They’re doing a great job of it.”
 
Runner-up at its Class 2A sub-state each of the past two seasons – falling by two points to Valley Heights in 2024 and by four to Doniphan West last year – Wabaunsee is hungry to end its state drought. But it’s a new landscape that awaits the Chargers in the postseason this year as Wabaunsee has dropped to Class 1A Division I.
 
And with how the geography fell for the assignments for the four sub-state quadrants, Wabaunsee is in a region that’s flat-out loaded. Included in the grouping is defending state champion Centralia, which captured its third straight Twin Valley League Tournament last week as well, along with Lyon County League regular-season champion Olpe, among others.
 
Wabaunsee’s remaining regular-season schedule includes games against both programs as well as clashes with Big East League member Riley County and Jefferson West and an Axtell team having its best season in more than a decade.
 
“The rest of the way, out schedule is loaded,” Schultz said. “We’ve got nine games left and it’s the toughest part of our schedule. Until someone beats Centralia, they’re the reigning champ. Olpe’s good, Troy, others. Going into tournament week, I think six or seven teams in our (quadrant) had three or fewer losses. Dropping to 1A everybody thinks that’s easy, but it’s not.
 
“Part of our maturity process has been knowing we have to play together and looking at our schedule, that’s the only way we can get it done. For us to continue what we’ve done – focus on the rebounding and defense, play together and when bad things happen, turn it around. Most of these girls have started for two or three years and they realize now is the time to step up.”
 

 
CENTRALIA WINS THIRD STRAIGHT TVL TITLE WITH NEW IDENTITY
 
For the past four seasons, and in particular the past two, Centralia has had an alpha dog capable of putting the team on her back and carrying them to great heights.
 
But when Oen Deters graduated after leading the Panthers to an undefeated Class 1A Division I state championship last March, it left a gaping hole. And it left Centralia looking for a new identity this season.
 
After a couple early hiccups, Centralia has settled in and established itself as a contender once again in 1A Division I. Following a 2-2 start, the Panthers have won nine straight games.
 
The last three of those victories came last week in Washington County as the Panthers captured their third straight Twin Valley League Tournament championship, beating Linn 57-41 in the championship game.
 
“It’s really special because it seems like this year we had to work a lot harder for it,” Centralia junior Josie Haverkamp said. “Losing our main player (from last year), we had to find new roles. It just feels a lot more special to us because we’ve put even more work into it.
 
“We went through some tough times. But after Christmas, we’ve really put things together and now after this tournament we’ve figured things out.”
 
Coming off last year’s championship season, Centralia not only lost Deters – an All-State Top 5 selection – but fellow starting guard Tatum Kramer. Even with three starters returning – Haverkamp, Tava Gibbs and Hayden Kramer – the Panthers were going to have a feeling put process when the season started as those returners shifted from supporting roles to starring ones.
 
And Centralia’s early schedule, as well as an injury to Gibbs that kept her out of the first four games, made that transition somewhat of a tougher one. After wins over Nemaha Central and St. Marys to start the season, the Panthers fell in back-to-back games to Class 3A No. 1 Silver Lake and 2A league rival Valley Heights to go into the Christmas break 2-2.
 
Since the turn of the calendar, however, the Panthers have been on a roll. Gibbs returned to give Haverkamp a complementary post presence and that’s opened things up for the Panther guards. During their nine-game win streak, the Panthers have won each of those games by double figures with an 11-point win over Clifton-Clyde to start the streak the closest contest.
 
“I think the girls are starting to realize they can do some things,” Centralia coach Dusty Thompson said. “I said at the beginning of the year, we’ve got girls that can take a shot with three seconds left to win a game, but didn’t have one that could go find the basketball with three seconds left like Oen could. But we’re starting to get there and they’re finding they’re roles and spot on this team.
 
“We’ve got a group of girls that realize on any given night, any one of them can step up and lead the team. We learned some roles in those four games without Tava and then kind of had to re-learn those roles once she came back. We’re starting to get to that point where we understand what makes us go.”
 
Centralia was dominant at the TVL Tournament, opening the tourney with a 69-35 rout of Doniphan West, which was runner-up in Class 2A last year. Kramer scored 22 in the game while Gibbs had 19.
 
Instead of having to face top-seeded Hanover in the semifinals, Centralia got Blue Valley-Randolph, which had upset the Wildcats in the quarterfinals. The Panthers quickly eliminated any hopes the Rams had of a second straight upset, jumping out to a 26-5 halftime lead en route to a 45-11 victory as Kramer hit four 3-pointers and led the way with 20 points.
 

 
Gibbs and Haverkamp combined for just 10 points in the semifinal win, but set the tone for the Panthers’ win over Linn in the title contest. Haverkamp scored six of Centralia’s 11 first-quarter points while Gibbs added three in the period and by halftime, the duo had combined for 15 points.
 
Haverkamp then scored 10 in the third quarter alone as Centralia turned a 23-17 halftime lead into a 45-29 advantage going into the fourth quarter, and the junior post finished with 20 points. Gibbs finished with 11 and Malayna Becker added 12 points, doing most of her damage in the post as Centralia cruised despite making just one 3-pointer in the game.
 
“Beating a team like Linn is a big confidence booster,” Haverkamp said. “We had an advantage in the post (against Linn). The first two games of the tournament, our guards really did a lot of hard work and tonight they weren’t hitting so Tava and I knew we had to take over.”
 
Thompson said the title was big for the Panthers to show they were still a force even after losing Deters.
 
“It was really good for us,” he said. “I was nervous tonight. Linn’s got some athletic girls and can create some match-up problems. They got in our face and that’s what we’ve done to people for the past three weeks. We didn’t like it for a little bit, but we adjusted.
 
“We can get that pressure out front and girls defensively do a great job and that allows us to settle in offensively. It’s a great mix.”
 
While Centralia won its third straight tourney title, the other three teams that reached the semifinals enjoyed their best tournament finishes in years.
 
Linn’s runner-up showing was its highest league tourney finish since finishing runner-up in 2014. Baleigh Peters averaged 14.3 points per game at the tourney, including 21 against Clifton-Clyde in the quarterfinals. Four different Bulldogs had double-digit scoring games in the tourney.
 
Blue Valley-Randolph edged Axtell 45-44 in the third-place game, giving the Rams their highest finish since taking second in 2008. Brynlyn Brockman had 25 points in the Rams’ quarterfinal upset of top-seeded Hanover.
 
Axtell’s fourth-place showing was its best since taking third in 2015. Katelyn Detweiler averaged 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals per game, including a 22-point game in a quarterfinal upset of Valley Heights.
 

 
ROSSVILLE GETS JUST WHAT IT NEEDS WITH JCN TOURNEY TITLE
 
Going into the Jefferson County North Invitational, Rossville needed a little bit of a pick-me-up.
 
Not necessarily in terms of how it’s played. The Bulldawgs have been able to score just about every night out, scoring 50 or more points in eight of their 10 games going into the tournament.
 
No, it was more about seeing some Ws to go with that offensive output. Despite its prolific scoring, Rossville was just 3-7 going into last week’s tourney at Jefferson County North – four of those losses by less than 10 points.
 
Rossville wound up getting exactly what it needed in winning the JCN tourney title for the third time in four years. The Bulldawgs went 3-0, beating Oskaloosa 59-51 in the championship game.
 
“It was a big week for us,” Rossville coach Derek Dick said. “We needed to fix some things and get some confidence and momentum going into the second half of the season. We had blown three 10-point leads this year, so it was good to win a couple of tight ones.”
 
Rossville opened the tourney with a 60-22 blowout win over the tourney host Chargers. Facing a Perry-Lecompton team in the semifinals it had lost to in its game just before the tournament, the Bulldawgs pulled out a 54-44 victory to set up the title game with Oskaloosa.
 
Rylee Dick and Nora Burdiek each made the all-tournament team with Dick averaging 19.3 points per game at the tourney and Burdiek averaging 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. With her tournament scoring – which included a 27-point outing on the strength of 7 3-pointers against North – Dick moved to No. 2 on Rossville’s career scoring chart with 1,310 career points.
 
Burdiek scored 20 points in the title game while Dick added 15 and Bristol Miller had 14. Maggie Sanders had a career-high 10 points in the semifinal win over Perry.
 
Rossville is now 6-7.
 

 
ROCK CREEK WINS INAGURAL GIRLS EDITION OF NEMAHA CENTRAL THUNDER CLASSIC
 
With its boys having joined the field at the Nemaha Central Thunder Classic a year ago, it only made sense for the Rock Creek girls to do the same this year when a girls tournament was added to the mix.
 
The Mustangs had quite a debut, too. Rock Creek followed up a record-setting shooting night in the semifinals with a hard-fought 43-33 win over previously undefeated Hiawatha in the championship game to bring home the inaugural tourney title.
 
“This tournament means something, but it’s a checkpoint, not the destination,” Rock Creek coach Trevor Keller said. “We’ll enjoy it, learn from it and get back to work. Our group is starting to understand that defense and togetherness win in February and March. I was proud of their maturity and we had a lot of different players contribute and they didn’t get caught up in the moment. They seem to have really bought into our philosophy of playing one possession at a time.”
 

 
After crushing Holton 77-33 in the quarterfinals, Rock Creek had a lot of fun possessions in a 58-33 semifinal win over Troy. Rylie Friess set the tone for the night, hitting a school-record 7 3-pointers in the game helping Rock Creek set a team record for made 3-pointer with 13. Friess finished with 23 points in the game after getting 15 against Holton, while Kylee Frazee added 16, matching her total against Holton.
 
The threes weren’t falling at the same rate in the finals, but the Mustang defense showed up, holding Hiawatha to its lowest point total of the season. Frazee led the scoring with 10 and Lucy Martinie, who earlier this season had set the school record for 3-pointers made with 6, added 10.
 
Frazee and Friess were both all-tournament team picks along with Hiawatha’s Kenzie and Kylie Nelson, Troy’s Harper Whetstine, Marysville’s Kacy Roesch and Jackson Heights’ Chesnea Cochran.
 
Rock Creek, No. 7 in Class 4A, is now 11-2 on the season with both losses coming at its home tournament in December to Eudora and Hays.
 

 
RIVERSIDE CONTINUES DOMINANCE AT MCLOUTH INVITATIONAL
 
After seeing its run of McLouth Tournament titles come to an end a year ago, Riverside was on a mission to get back on top this year.
 
But it was going to take some doing. The Cyclones went in as the No. 4 seed.
 
After cruising past Maranatha 57-28 to start the tourney, however, Riverside wasn’t going to be denied. The Cyclones knocked off top-seeded Kansas City Christian 49-47 in a back-and-forth affair and then took down Maur Hill 43-32 in the title game to win the tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
 
“Winning this tournament seems to boost our team’s confidence,” Riverside coach Craig Burnes said. “Especially after defeating KC Christian, the top seed, and Maur Hill, which beat us last year at their place. Hopefully our performance in this tournament will carry over to the rest of the season.”
 
A defensive switch keyed Riverside’s semifinal win over KC Christian. After seeing Panther Anna Stetler burn his team for 15 first-half points, Burnes put Niahla Duncan on Stetler for the second half. Duncan held her to just four points after halftime and the Cyclones were able to take control of the game in the third and hold KC Christian off in the fourth.
 
Defense was the key in the finals as well as Kennedy Griffin and Ella Wisler were tasked with shutting down Maur Hill stars Capri Koechner and Kaitlyn Folsom. The Cyclones held Maur Hill to its second-lowest point total of the season.
 
Riverside was led in scoring by a different player in each tourney game. Wisler scored 15 and had 12 rebounds against Maranatha while Kayahana Hewins also had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Kennedy Griffin scored 11 and then had 19 in the semifinal win while Tori Ortega added 11. In the finals, Trinity Jackson scored 11 and Griffin had 9.
 
Duncan, Griffin and Wisler were named all-tournament along with Maur Hill’s Koechner and Folsom, Horton’s Kansas Keo and Pleasant Ridge’s Maggie Lance.
 

 
SOUTHEAST OF SALINE FINALLY CLAIMS ELUSIVE STERLING INVITATIONAL TITLE
 
For each of the past four years, Southeast of Saline has been right there to win the Sterling Invitational championship. But in each of those four seasons, it was just out of reach.
 
The Trojans took second in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and third in 2023. Last year’s title loss was agonizing, a 46-43 loss to Scott City.
 
Needless to say, the Trojans were ready for a breakthrough. And this year, it happened, and what a breakthrough it was.
 
Southeast of Saline took out its close-but-not-quite frustrations on the field this year, winning its three tournament games by an average of over 31 points. After crushing Hutchinson Trinity 79-28 in the quarterfinals, the Trojans got revenge on Scott City in the semifinals with a 45-23 win. In the finals, they rolled past Hugoton 43-21.
 
“This was one of our goals for the season since it seems like the last few years we have come up short,” Southeast coach Shauna Smith said. “We looked really good throughout the tournament having five scoring options on the court almost all of the time. I felt like we played really good team basketball throughout the three days.”
 
Five different Trojans enjoyed double-figure scoring games at the tournament with Kyiah Samuelson in double figures all three games, including 12 in the championship game, and averaged 13.7 points per game at the tourney.
 
Taryn Goetz and Vade Durfee each had 14 points in the win over Trinity while Abigail Pearson had 13 points and 8 rebounds in the semifinals. Reese Heinrich added 10 points in the title game.
 
Southeast is now 11-3 on the season, all three losses by less than 10 points.