KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When two of the top teams in Class 4A met Tuesday at Kansas City Kansas Community College, it had all the intensity and feel of a state championship game.
In the end, Bishop Miege had just enough firepower to survive it.
The No. 6 seed Stags hit several key shots in the closing minutes — including a dagger 3-pointer from star guard Mary Grant — to pull away from No. 3 seed Eudora for a 61-48 victory in the Class 4A girls state quarterfinals.
For a program that has captured 25 state championships, the stage was nothing new for Bishop Miege. But Eudora, a program still searching for its first title, made sure the Stags had to earn every bit of the win.
“Eudora is a great basketball team that is well-coached and has a lot of good guards,” Miege coach Mike Allen said. “They play really hard and we knew we were going to be in for a battle. I was proud of the way we responded in the first quarter when we started to get our butt kicked a little bit.”
Eudora controlled the early momentum as the Cardinals focused their defensive attention on Miege’s standout duo of Grant and post presence Jayla McClinton. The strategy paid off early, as Eudora built a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
While the Cardinals limited the Stags’ two stars early, Miege found offense elsewhere.
Finley Lemay helped keep Miege within striking distance by scoring eight points — all in the opening quarter — to halt an early Eudora surge. Scarlett Singleton also stepped up, scoring 12 points with several coming in the second half to help loosen the Cardinals’ defense.
“We talk to our other players that they don’t have to make six 3’s or something like that,” Allen said. “But they do need to make a shot to relieve some of that pressure for Mary and Jayla. In the first half, Finley did a great job for us hitting shots when Mary was struggling and Eudora was going on their run. Scarlett really hit some big shots for us too when we needed them.”
Bishop Miege point guard Mary Grant led the Stags with a game-high 24 points Tuesday at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Eventually, the Stags’ stars began to break through.
Grant finished with a game-high 24 points and delivered the game’s biggest moment late in the fourth quarter.
After Eudora cut the deficit to six on a three-point play from freshman Payton Lewis, Miege called timeout. Coming out of the break, Grant launched a long 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to nine with 1:09 remaining — effectively sealing the victory.
“That was huge,” Allen said. “That was a longer shot than what she normally makes and that was not the play we drew up during the timeout. We wanted her to try and get downhill, but Eudora did a good job against it. That shot was a backbreaker for sure.”
McClinton added 17 points and 13 rebounds to record a double-double and reach a major personal milestone. After the game, teammates celebrated as she surpassed 1,500 career points. Just a few weeks earlier, Grant was honored as the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“It was cool,” Allen said. “We tried to downplay it as much as we could. A couple weeks ago Mary broke the school scoring record and now with Jayla’s milestone, it was cool to have both of those things happen.”
Despite the loss, Eudora battled throughout.
Sophomore Avah Dye led the Cardinals with 18 points, while Lewis added 13 and junior point guard Brynn Deterding finished with 11 points and five assists.
Eudora sophomore Avah Dye goes up for two of her team-high 18 points Tuesday against Bishop Miege.
“We are blessed to have a bunch of kids that really care and compete their tails off at all times,” Eudora coach Brandon Parker said. “They really wanted this. We had some good looks that didn’t go in, but they didn’t stop.”
Both coaches agreed the matchup felt worthy of a championship stage.
“Mike Allen and I both said beforehand that this could have very well been the state championship game,” Parker said. “After the game was over, nothing changed our opinion. That is two teams going at it and one team just made a few more shots.”
Eudora, which finished 21-4 and won the Frontier League title, relied on defense to keep the game close but faced a difficult matchup against the size of McClinton as it doubled and sometimes triple-teamed the post.
“They have two players that are very unique at the high school level,” Parker said. “We aren’t very big and they have a size difference, but for the most part I thought we did a good job on her.”
While the loss stung, Parker emphasized the Cardinals’ season was about much more than one result.
“Our kids are hurting right now because they really wanted this,” Parker said. “But I don’t want that feeling to be the feeling of this season. These girls are 21-4, undefeated Frontier League champs and they showed up every day to compete and represent Eudora.”
Meanwhile, Miege (18-8) moves one step closer to adding another championship to its storied program as it will square off with No. 2 seed Rock Creek in the state semifinals Thursday.
“This group just loves each other,” Allen said. “That’s helping us a lot right now.”
WELLINGTON 51, CONCORDIA 43 – The Crusaders’ hopes of repeating as 4A champions were in serious jeopardy at halftime at Friends University, but Wellington erased a deficit that swelled to 15 points early in the third quarter to advance to the semifinals.
Junior Dru Zeka scored a game-high 20 points and senior Lyndi Barton added 14 for Wellington, which improved to 23-1 despite arguably its worst half of the season. The Crusaders trailed 26-13 at halftime, missing all 10 of its 3-point attempts and connecting on 3 of 9 free throws.
Wellington, which defeated Concordia in late January in the third-place game of the Colby Orange and Black Classic, launched its comeback after the Panthers opened the second half with their lone basket of the third quarter. The Crusaders scored 16 straight points to take the lead, doing so on Kirstyn Gregory’s steal and layup in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Concordia (14-10), which got 16 points from junior Jaylin Roush, pulled within two with under two minutes remaining. But the Crusaders sealed the victory with 6-of-6 free-throw shooting in the final minute to cap a 26-point fourth quarter.
Kylee Frazee (right) scored 24 points to lead Rock Creek past league rival Chapman in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
ROCK CREEK 62, CHAPMAN 53 -- Facing North Central Kansas League rival Chapman for the third time this season, Rock Creek shook off a somewhat sluggish start and fought off the Irish down the stretch to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Chapman stole a page out of Rock Creek's playbook, using sharp shooting from beyond the arc to jump on the Mustangs early and put a little bit of a scare into them late in their quarterfinal at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina. Callie Cook opened the game with a 3-pointer and that set the tone for the night as the Irish finished with nine 3-pointers overall, nearly doubling the five made by the Mustangs.
A 19-10 advantage in the second quarter turned an 8-7 deficit at the end of the first period into a 26-18 halftime lead and Rock Creek grew the lead to 16 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter and still held that margin going into the fourth quarter. But the Baer sisters got hot beyond the arc in the final period to put a little heat on the Mustangs.
Josie Baer conneccted on back-to-back 3s to start the quarter and help cut the Rock Creek lead in half. After buckets by Rory Pitzer and Kylee Frazee restored a 12-point advantage for the Mustangs, Avery Baer knocked down a pair of threes herself to pull the Irish within 7.
Pitzer scored her second straight basket to make it 54-45 but Avery Baer scored on a short jumper and then Jai Rogers got a steal and layup to make it a five-point game iwth 1:33 left. Forced to foul, the Irish sent Frazee to the line on four straight trips down the floor and she hit 5 of 8 free throws in that stretch and 8 of 11 in the last 1:25 to seal the win.
Frazee finished the night 11 of 16 at the free throw line on her way to a game-high 24 points. Pitzer added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Chapman, which finished its season 16-10, put four players in double figures -- Cook with 14, Avery Baer with 13 and Josie Baer and Rogers getting 10 apiece.
HAYDEN 54, ANDALE 37 -- Two weeks ago, Hayden set a state record for made 3-pointers in a game with 19 against Junction City.
It was not one of those kind of nights for the Wildcats. In fact, it might have been their worst showing beyond the arc all year as they went just 1 of 14.
But while Hayden's shooting touch may not have traveled to Emporia's White Auditorium, its defense did. Hayden forced Andale into 29 turnovers and after trailing 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats clamped down on the Indians the rest of the way, pulling away for the 17-point win.
Hayden got up nearly twice as many. shots as Andale thanks to the forced turnover. And while the Wildcats were just 21 of 61 overall and just 11 of 26 at the free throw line, they held a comfortable lead throughout the second half.
Hailey Schmidtlein scored 14 to lead Hayden (20-6) while Blakely Walter and Sophia Wichman each added 11.
Andale, which finished its season 17-7 was led by 12 points from Abby Winter and 11 from Brooke Grimes while Mayla Spexarth grabbed a whopping 17 rebounds.
CLASS 4A GIRLS QUARTERFINALS
WELLINGTON 51, CONCORDIA 43
Concordia … 13 … 13 … 2 … 15 … – … 43
Wellington … 4 … 9 … 12 … 26 … – … 51
Concordia (14-10) – VanMeter 3-6 0-2 6, Weaver 2-5 1-3 5, Jessup 0-3 2-2 2, Cash 1-4 7-8 9, Roush 5-10 4-5 16, Trost 1-1 0-0 2, Kueker 0-2 0-0 0, Abitz 0-0 0-0 0, Lister 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 13-33 14-20 43.
Wellington (23-1) – Barton 6-14 2-6 14, Zeka 7-15 4-7 20, Wright 2-7 1-3 5, Cornejo 0-3 4-4 4, Kir. Gregory 3-10 2-3 8, Ginter 0-1 0-0 0, Newman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 13-23 51.
3-point goals – Concordia 3-13 (Roush 2-3, Lister 1-2, Cash 0-1, Kueker 0-1, VanMeter 0-2, Weaver 0-2, Jessup 0-2); Wellington 2-18 (Zeka 2-8, Wright 0-1, Ginter 0-1, Newman 0-1, Cornejo 0-3, Kir. Gregory 0-4). Rebounds – Concordia 34 (Cash 9); Wellington 26 (Barton, Zeka 5). Assists – Concordia 9 (Cash 7); Wellington 8 (Wright 4). Turnovers – Concordia 30, Wellington 15. Total fouls – Concordia 21, Wellington 16. Fouled out – None.
BISHOP MIEGE 61, EUDORA 48
Bishop Miege… 13 … 14 … 15 … 19 … -- … 61
Eudora… 15 … 8 … 14 … 11 … -- … 48
Bishop Miege (18-8) – Lemay 3-5 0-0 8, Singleton 4-10 2-2 12, Grant 9-20 4-4 24, McClinton 8-14 1-3 17, Erskine 0-3 0-0 0, Switzer 0-0 0-0 0, Calderon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 7-9 61.
Eudora (21-4) – Lewis 5-9 1-1 13, Deterding 5-11 0-0 11, Brunkow 0-6 0-0 0, Dye 8-15 2-3 18, Colter 1-6 4-4 6, Warren 0-0 0-0 0, Bourne 0-0 0-0 0, Owens 0-0 0-0 0, Fulks 0-0 0-0 0, Mulvihill 0-0 0-0 0, Sarber 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 7-8 48.
3-point goals – Bishop Miege 6-22 (Lemay 2-4, Singleton 2-7, Grant 2-6, Erskine 0-3, Calderon 0-2); Eudora 3-13 (Lewis 2-4, Deterding 1-4, Colter 1-4, Brunkow 0-2, Dye 0-1). Rebounds – Bishop Miege 37 (McClinton 13); Eudora 23 (Deterding 7). Assists – Bishop Miege 13 (Lemay 4); Eudora 7 (Deterding 5). Turnovers – Bishop Miege 9, Eudora 8. Total fouls – Bishop Miege 11, Eudora 10. Fouled out – None.
ROCK CREEK 62, CHAPMAN 53
Chapman … 8 … 10 … 12 … 23 … -- … 53
Rock Creek … 7 … 19 … 20 … 16 … -- … 62
Chapman (16-10) – Cook 4-13 3-4 14, J. Baer 3-6 1-2 10, Rogers 4-8 2-6 10, Kirkpatrick 3-5 0-0 6, A. Baer 5-10 0-0 13, Scholz 0-0 0-0 0, Gaston 0-3 0-0 0, Beck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 6-14 53.
Rock Creek (23-3) – Martinie 3-9 2-2 9, Frazee 6-9 11-16 24, Friess 1-4 0-0 2, Pitzer 8-14 2-3 18, Hake 2-5 0-0 6, Whaley 1-2 0-0 3, Adkins 0-3 0-0 0, Lies 0-1 0-0 0, E. Liby 0-0 0-0 0, K. Liby 0-0 0-0 0, Buessing 0-0 0-0 0, Kadavy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 15-21 62.
3-point goals – Chapman 9-21 (Cook 3-7, J. Baer 3-5, A. Baer 3-7, Rogers 0-1, Kirkpatrick 0-1); Rock Creek 5-14 (Hake 2-4, Martinie 1-4, Frazee 1-1, Whaley 1-2, Friess 0-2, Adkins 0-1). Rebounds – Chapman 30 (Rogers 7); Rock Creek 31 (Pitzer 12). Assists – Chapman 10 (J. Baer 5); Rock Creek 9 (Martinie 3). Turnovers – Chapman 13, Rock Creek 9. Total fouls -- Chapman 24, Rock Creek 16. Fouled out – Chapman: A. Baer.
HAYDEN 54, ANDALE 37
Andale … 13 … 9 … 7 … 8 … -- … 37
Hayden … 12 … 15 … 16 … 11 … -- … 54
Andale (17-7) – M. Aouad 0-1 0-0 0, May. Spexarth 1-5 2-4 4, Grimes 2-8 7-9 11, Ab. Winter 5-9 0-0 12, Stolz 1-5 2-2 4, Orth 2-5 0-0 4, Rau 0-0 0-0 0, R. Winter 0-1 0-0 0, Al. Winter 0-1 0-0 0, Mal. Spexarth 0-0 0-0 0, B. Aouad 0-0 0-0 0, Stanhope 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 12-38 11-15 37.
Hayden (20-6) – Walter 4-10 2-2 11, Schmidtlein 5-18 4-9 14, Foster 0-4 1-4 1, Huscher 1-2 0-1 2, Watts 2-2 3-6 7, Wichman 5-8 1-2 11, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Slyter 0-0 0-0 0, Borjon 1-3 0-2 2, Wrench 0-0 0-0 0, Connell 3-11 0-0 6. Totals 21-61 11-26 54.
3-point goals – Andale 2-11 (Ab. Winter 2-3, Grimes 0-5, M. Aouad 0-1, R. Winter 0-1, Al. Winter 0-1); Hayden 1-14 (Walter 1-3, Schmidtlein 0-2, Foster 0-4, Huscher 0-1, Wichman 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Connell 0-2). Rebounds – Andale 43 (May. Spexarth 17); Hayden 33 (Three players with 5). Assists – Andale 5 (Ab. Winter 2); Hayden 9 (Three players with 2). Turnovers – Andale 29, Hayden 11. Total fouls -- Andale 18, Hayden 13. Fouled out -- none.