Senior-led Bucklin rolls past Dighton | Class 1A Division II Girls Quarterfinals

3/11/2026 12:17:13 PM

By: Rick Peterson Jr. and KSHSAA Covered staff

Bucklin’s senior class made sure to put a few more miles on its final ride for the Red Aces.

Bucklin’s senior-laden lineup showed its experience, rolling to a 55-35 Class 1A Division II quarterfinal win over Dighton on Wednesday at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena.

The Red Aces start five seniors (Emmerson Kirk, Karlee Evans, Isabel Bowman, Tristan Stout and Rebecca Durler), four of whom have played significant minutes since their freshman season, when the Red Aces took third at state. After first-round exits in the previous two seasons, Bucklin is back in the semifinals this year.

Bucklin will meet Linn, last year’s state runner-up, in Friday’s 3:30 p.m. semifinal at White Auditorium. The Red Aces will be looking to reach the state title game for the first time in program history.

“You're seeing the end of the story here, but it's all the ups and downs in the middle of the story that made this group what it is,” Bucklin coach Craig Bowman said. “It’s very comforting to have the group of girls that we have.”

Kirk, one of the state’s top point guards, helped the Red Aces gain separation with big shots in the third quarter on the way to a 23-point effort. She finished 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from 3-point range.

“[Kirk] started taking over the game,” Bowman said. “And she does it in a way that involves the others, because if you're going to guard her, our girls are so used to reading and reacting to her, they're going to get the open shot and she's going to find them.

“She hit some step-back 3s that really created that separation, which forced them to come out and get out on us even more, and that just played into what we're used to playing.”

Kirk is the sparkplug for the Red Aces, Bowman said.

“She's just a fiery personality,” Bowman said. “She's the best competitor I've been around. She really has upped everyone’s game to where they're really buying in, and I’m happy to have her leadership.”

Bowman credited Evans for her defense in the post against Dighton senior Lani Speer, who finished with 11 points.

“It started on the defensive end with the job that Karlee did on the Speer girl,” Bowman said. “[Speer] is an all-state player and tremendous athlete. With that height disadvantage, for [Evans] to be able to keep the ball out of her hands was real key on the defensive side, and our help side defense and being able to
rebound the ball as well as we did.”

Bucklin got the Hornets in foul trouble in the first half, going 15 of 18 from the foul line. Speer and Rielly James both picked up three fouls before halftime.

The Red Aces outscored the Hornets 14-3 in the third quarter to break away.

Evans and Stout joined Kirk in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Dighton finished 21-5. Four seniors were playing their last game for the Hornets – Lani and Carlie Speer, Rylee Myers and Kenzie Zimmerman.

LINN 60, ARGONIA 43 – Freshman Sophia Hiltgen soaked up the state tournament spotlight, coming off the bench to score 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting as Linn reached the semifinals for the second straight year.

Hiltgen made five 3-pointers for the Bulldogs, who surrendered the game’s first five points before going on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Senior Ella Oehmke’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Linn (22-5) a 20-7 lead.

Argonia (22-3), which got 13 points from senior Tori Morrison, trimmed its deficit to six points in the second quarter but fought an uphill battle most of the way. Linn forced the Raiders into 16 turnovers and maintained the upper hand with 54% shooting (25 of 46).

Geni Turk had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists for Linn, which will play Bucklin in Friday’s semifinals in Emporia. Gretchen Bott also scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added three assists for the Bulldogs.

HANOVER 71, MARAIS DES CYGNES VALLEY 61 – Hanover survived a 34-point game from Marais des Cygnes Valley’s Akyra Traver to outlast the Trojans and keep its four-peat hopes alive.

The three-time reigning champion Wildcats countered Traver’s huge game with 18 from Drew Bruna and 16 from Einslee Stallbaumer while Nora Heiman added 10.

Hanover will face top-seeded Hutchinson Central Christian at 1:30 p.m. in Friday’s semifinal at White Auditorium in Emporia.

Traver finished 12 of 18 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range for Marais des Cygnes Valley, which finished at 22-5. Gracen Stahl added 13 points for the Trojans.

HUTCHINSON CENTRAL CHRISTIAN 39, WALLACE COUNTY 28 – Central Christian outscored Wallace County 15-4 in the fourth quarter to win a defensive slugfest.

The Cougars held the Wildcats to 12 of 50 from the field and 2 of 18 from 3-point range.

Reese Swanson led Central Christian with 11 points while Ava Newcome added 9.

Hutchinson Central (25-2) will meet three-time reigning champion Hanover in Friday’s 1:30 p.m. semifinal in Emporia.

Wallace County (11-13) was led by Jersi Benisch’s 10 points.

CLASS 1A DIVISION II GIRLS QUARTERFINAL BOXSCORES

BUCKLIN 55, DIGHTON 35

Dighton … 6 … 14 … 3 … 12 … -- … 35
Bucklin … 9 … 15 … 14 … 17 … -- … 55

Dighton (21-5) – Myers 1-8 1-2 3, Ke. Zimmerman 3-13 0-0 7, L. Speer 4-7 3-5 11, C. Speer 2-3 0-0 4, R. James 0-8 0-2 0, L. Beach 2-3 1-2 6, N. Beach 1-2 0-0 2, M. James 0-1 0-0 0, Karsyn Zimmerman 0-0 2-2 2, Berndt 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 7-13 35.

Bucklin (22-2) – Stout 4-10 2-2 10, I. Bowman 1-6 4-6 7, Evans 2-5 7-8 11, Durler 0-2 4-4 4, Kirk 6-9 7-8 23, Hays 0-1 0-0 0, C. Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Woods 0-0 0-0 0, M. Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Pena 0-0 0-0 0, Stein 0-0 0-0 0, Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-33 24-28 55.

3-point goals — Dighton 2-17 (K. Zimmerman 1-8, L. Beach 1-2, Myers 0-3, Berndt 0-2, R. James 0-2). Bucklin 5-9 (Kirk 4-4, I. Bowman 1-2, Stout 0-2, Evans 0-1). Rebounds — Dighton 29 (L. Speer 6), Bucklin 31 (Evans 6). Assists — Dighton 6, Bucklin 5 (Kirk 2, I. Bowman 2). Turnovers — Dighton 15, Bucklin 12. Total fouls — Dighton 22, Bucklin 15. Fouled out — None.

LINN 60, ARGONIA 43

Linn … 20 … 9 … 16 … 15 … – … 60
Argonia … 7 … 9 … 18 … 9 … – … 43

Linn (22-5) – Ba. Peters 0-5 0-0 0, Bott 5-7 0-0 10, Turk 5-8 0-1 10, E. Oehmke 2-5 0-0 6, Meier 0-2 1-2 1, J. Oehmke 1-4 0-0 3, Br. Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Hiltgen 9-11 1-2 24, I. Rogge 3-3 0-0 6, A. Rogge 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-46 2-5 60.

Argonia (22-3) – Morrison 4-12 2-2 13, A. Coleman 1-8 0-0 2, L. Coleman 1-3 0-0 3, Jones 3-8 3-3 9, Haines 6-7 1-2 14, Greve 0-1 0-0 0, Kollmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-4 2-2 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Paxson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-43 8-9 43.

3-point goals – Linn 8-20 (Hiltgen 5-7, E. Oehmke 2-5, J. Oehmke 1-3, Turk 0-1, A. Rogge 0-1, Ba. Peters 0-3). Rebounds – Linn 29 (Turk 6); Argonia 23 (Morrison 7). Assists – Linn 14 (Turk 4); Argonia 9 (A. Coleman 5). Turnovers – Linn 15, Argonia 16. Total fouls – Linn 15, Argonia 8. Fouled out – None.

HANOVER 71, MARAIS DES CYGNES VALLEY 61

Hanover … 23 … 21 … 14 … 13 … -- … 71
MDC Valley … 16 … 17 … 11 … 17 … -- … 61

Hanover (24-3) – G. Bruna 2-7 0-0 6, Stallbaumer 6-11 1-4 16, D. Bruna 5-10 7-9 18, Schlabach 2-2 3-4 7, Jueneman 3-6 1-4 8, Cohorst 0-4 0-0 0, Scheele 2-8 0-0 6, Heiman 4-8 2-4 10. Totals 24-56 14-25 71.

Marais Des Cygnes Valley (22-5) – Criqui 3-16 1-2 9, Reed 0-0 1-2 1, Cormode 0-2 2-2 2, Traver 12-18 5-7 34, Stahl 5-7 3-5 13, Decavele 0-2 2-2 2, Rose 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 14-20 61.

3-point goals — Hanover 9-31 (Stallbaumer 3-7, G. Bruna 2-5, Scheele 2-7, D. Bruna 1-4, Jueneman 1-4, Cohorst 0-4). MDC Valley 7-21 (Traver 5-8, Criqui 2-10, Rose 0-3). Rebounds — Hanover 35 (Heimann 8), MDC Valley 30 (Traver, Cormode 8). Assists — Hanover 14 (G. Bruna 5), MDC Valley 9 (Criqui 4). Turnovers — Hanover 22, MDC Valley 25. Total fouls — Hanover 20, MDC Valley 20. Fouled out — None.

HUTCHINSON CENTRAL CHRISTIAN 39, WALLACE COUNTY 28

Central Christian … 6 … 12 … 6 … 15 … -- … 39
Wallace County … 9 … 6 … 9 … 4 … -- … 28

Central Christian (25-2) – Duft 1-6 0-0 3, Swanson 5-8 1-3 11, Losew 2-13 3-4 7, Kauffman 2-10 1-2 7, A. Newcome 2-5 5-9 9, Huff 1-2 0-0 2, H. Newcome 0-4 0-0 0, Lang 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 10-18 39.

Wallace County (11-13) – Poe 0-2 0-0 0, Funk 1-5 0-0 2, Richardson 4-10 0-2 9, Benisch 4-21 1-2 10, Woolf 2-5 0-0 4, Kuhlman 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-5 0-0 0, Wagoner 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 12-50 2-6 28.

3-point goals — Central Christian 3-17 (Duft 1-5, Kauffman 2-8, Losew 0-1, H. Newcome 0-3). Wallace County 2-18 (Benisch 1-10, Richardson 1-1, Funk 0-3, Johnson 0-4). Rebounds — Central Christian 28 (Swanson 10), Wallace County 44 (Benisch 10, Woolf 10). Assists — Central Christian 2, Wallace County 2 (Benisch 2). Turnovers — Central Christian 15, Wallace County 7. Total fouls — Central Christian 13, Wallace County 15. Fouled out — Richardson.

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