WICHITA – At 5-foot-3, Molly Numrich might perfectly personify what Blue Valley Northwest girls basketball has become in March.
 
The eye doesn’t usually track to the diminutive senior guard when she’s on the court – until it’s too late.
 
And as far as Numrich and her teammates are concerned, if you didn’t consider them as a potential Class 6A state tournament title contender heading into the week, well, it’s getting late.
 
Numrich’s three 3-pointers and 15 points on Thursday complemented the 23-point, 16-rebound effort of fellow senior Regan Becker, as Blue Valley Northwest earned its first berth in the 6A title game with a 54-49 semifinal victory over Wichita East at Koch Arena.
 
The Huskies evened their record at 13-13 – the first time they’ve been at .500 since they were 4-4 after a Jan. 10 road victory at Piper – and will play Shawnee Mission South at 12:30 p.m. Saturday for the championship.
 
“My heart was racing,” said Numrich, who hit her final 3-pointer from the right wing midway through the third quarter to put Northwest ahead to stay at 36-33. “Regan hit a lot of big free throws and we got rebounds at the end, which we really had been struggling with during the game. So that was big for us.”
 

The closing seconds left a bitter taste for Wichita East, which, like Northwest, was seeking its first championship game experience. The Blue Aces (21-6) cut their deficit to 51-49 on freshman Miya Respress’ follow shot. She was fouled on the play and banked in the ensuing free throw, but an official ruled she crossed the foul line too soon, nullifying the point.
 
East coach Willie Davis received a technical foul a few seconds later, and Becker hit the free throws to make it a two-possession game.
 
“I don’t even know what the heck I did for a tech, honestly,” Davis said. “I said, ‘What?’ I didn’t cuss, nothing.
 
“We put ourselves in that position. We weren’t consistent all game. We went on small spurts and didn’t always follow the game plan.”
 
The Aces also struggled early with Becker, who scored seven points in the first two minutes and 13 by halftime as the Huskies led for all but a few seconds before the break.
 
East found some offensive rhythm early in the second half, taking its first lead at 26-25 on Ty’Leeah Lucas’ 3-pointer. The teams swapped the lead six times in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
 
During that stretch, Numrich and reserve guard Isabella Eils started made their marks from beyond the arc. After Numrich hit a baseline 3 to put Northwest up 30-29, Eils knocked one down for a 33-31 advantage. East got it tied one more time, but Numrich countered with the go-ahead shot that sparked an 8-2 run to end the quarter.
 
“I noticed that Regan was getting double-teamed a lot,” Numrich said. “She was trying to help us get open shots and I noticed they were sinking down toward her. I was kind of just trailing the perimeter and waiting for the ball to get swung. And then when I did, I was willing to shoot it.”
 
Numrich’s approach and her understated role for the Huskies drew Becker’s praise.
 
“I think Molly is such a low-key sniper,” Becker said. “She’s sort of underrated. I think when she gets hot, she can bury two or three in a row, and she did that today when it was needed.
 
“I think people lose her because of her size. You’ll see her cutting through the paint and it’s like, ‘Oh, there she is,’ and she makes a layup. It’s so great for us because she’s just somebody who flies under the radar.”
 
The Huskies have done that themselves, taking their lumps against out-of-state competition, where they went 2-7. Northwest also lost to the likes of Blue Valley North, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. James Academy – and even Shawnee Mission South.
 
But of those in-state losses, only one – a 52-42 loss to St. James – was by double digits. The Huskies will try to avenge a 51-48 loss to Shawnee Mission South when the teams meet Saturday.
 
“We’ve always viewed postseason like everyone is 0-0 and everyone is starting on the same line,” Numrich said. “Anyone can upset anyone, it doesn’t matter what their record is or what their seed is. And so that was kind of our mindset.
 
“We come into games knowing we’ve played great competition in the (Eastern Kansas League). Our losses have been very close and we’ve gotten better as the season progressed.”
 

SHAWNEE MISSION SOUTH 69, DERBY 57 – Shawnee Mission South opponents can thank Raiders coach Mark Western’s old boss for the defensive fury his team has unleashed this season.
 
Capitalizing on a stable of talented athletes, Western implemented a chaos-causing, pressuring man defense that the Raiders have used with great effectiveness. They’ve taken it all the way to the 6A title game after forcing 27 turnovers Thursday in their victory over Derby.
 
With eight players playing between 14 and 25 minutes, Shawnee Mission South rattled the Panthers enough to earn a shot at their second state title in three seasons. Seniors Micah Kirkwood and Laila Johnson-Berndt led South’s balanced attack with 13 points each as the Raiders improved to 23-3.
 
South is using many of the same defensive concepts that Jeff Neal, current girls coach at Northglenn High in the Denver metro area, installed when Western served as his assistant in the mid-2000s at Summit and Golden high schools in Colorado. The two remain in contact.
 
“He’s been on me to do this for a long time and I just haven’t had the depth,” Western said. “We actually met this summer and I told the girls what we were going to do, and they were all in.”
 
The Raiders’ style can be a ball handler’s nightmare, with traps and scrambling the norm.
 
“It took a little while to get used to it because we didn’t do that sophomore year or junior year,” said Johnson-Berndt, a starter on South’s 2024 championship team. “We just had the bodies to do it this year. It’s definitely exciting just being able to be all over the floor and on the ball.
 
“Defense is one of our best suits, and it fits us.”
 

Derby, looking to return to the title game after falling to Blue Valley North in the final last season, got 11 points from Maya Harris and 10 from Siaunna Carter. The game was a mixed bag for Panther senior standout Macayla Askew, who scored nine points with 11 rebounds and six assists. But she also committed 10 turnovers and was plagued by foul trouble, drawing her fifth with 4:13 remaining.
 
“When they lose Askew and Carter and you take two good kids like that off the court, you’ve got a good situation,” Western said. “The foul situation definitely benefited us. It’s too bad because I don’t know that she did anything more than we did. We were pressuring and bumping people, too.
 
“It kind of went against her, and she’s a heck of a player. We had a lot of respect for her – the whole team, really – but Askew in particular.”
 
The Raiders’ defense ignited damaging runs throughout the game. South led 13-3 in the first quarter on a follow shot by Amiyah Carter, a freshman who set South’s school record for steals this season.
 
After Derby pulled within six early in the third quarter, South countered with a 9-2 run to push its lead to 45-32. The Raiders held their biggest lead at 66-50 shortly after Askew fouled out.
 
“I felt like in the first half particularly, they were able to get it over the top,” Western said. “Obviously, their game plan was to try to stretch us. They’ve got the height and athleticism, and some of those throws were just perfect. But eventually there’s a breaking point, and that’s what we were hoping for.”


CLASS 6A GIRLS SEMIFINALS
 
BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST 54, WICHITA EAST 49
 
Blue Valley Northwest … 16 … 7 … 18 … 13 … – … 54
Wichita East … 12 … 7 … 16 … 14 … – … 49
 
Blue Valley Northwest (13-13) – K. Becker 1-4 0-0 2, Edwards 0-8 0-0 0, R. Becker 9-18 4-6 23, Numrich 5-8 2-4 15, Domazet 1-3 1-2 3, Eils 4-5 0-0 11, Dahl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 7-12 54.
 
Wichita East (21-6) – Lucas 3-7 0-0 8, Galbert 2-7 0-2 4, J. Davis 6-18 1-1 15, Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Respress 7-12 0-0 15, Landrum 0-4 0-0 0, Selmon 1-2 0-0 3, Kates 0-2 0-2 0, A. Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 1-5 49.
 
3-point goals – Blue Valley Northwest 7-18 (Numrich 3-4, Eils 3-4, R. Becker 1-4, K. Becker 0-1, Edwards 0-5); Wichita East 6-21 (J. Davis 2-5, Lucas 2-6, Respress 1-1, Selmon 1-2, Kates 0-1, Landrum 0-2, Galbert 0-4). Rebounds – Blue Valley Northwest 37 (R. Becker 16); Wichita East 27 (Respress 9). Assists – Blue Valley Northwest 10 (K. Becker, Numrich 3); Wichita East 8 (J. Davis 3). Turnovers – Blue Valley Northwest 18, Wichita East 11. Total fouls – Blue Valley Northwest 7, Wichita East 14. Fouled out – None. Technicals – Wichita East coach.
 
 
SHAWNEE MISSION SOUTH 69, DERBY 57
 
Shawnee Mission South … 18 … 16 … 18 … 17 … – … 69
Derby … 12 … 16 … 13 … 16 … – … 57
 
Shawnee Mission South (23-3) – Kirkwood 5-8 2-4 13, Slaven 3-4 3-4 9, Potts 2-8 0-0 5, Jack 2-6 4-4 9, Johnson-Berndt 6-11 1-2 13, Kramer 1-10 4-4 7, Carter 5-10 0-0 11, Jouras 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 14-18 69.
 
Derby (23-4) – Demel 1-2 2-2 5, Fox 3-5 2-4 8, Dinsmore 4-7 0-0 8, Carter 3-8 4-4 10, Askew 4-11 1-3 9, Harris 4-5 0-0 11, Graham 2-8 2-2 6. Totals 21-46 11-15 57.
 
3-point goals – Shawnee Mission South 5-21 (Potts 1-1, Kirkwood 1-3, Jack 1-3, Carter 1-4, Kramer 1-7, Slaven 0-1, Johnson-Berndt 0-2); Derby 4-14 (Harris 3-4, Demel 1-1, Carter 0-1, Askew 0-4, Graham 0-4). Rebounds – Shawnee Mission South 34 (Jack 8); Derby 33 (Askew 11). Turnovers – Shawnee Mission South 17, Derby 27. Total fouls – Shawnee Mission South 18, Derby 20. Fouled out – Derby: Carter, Askew.