EMPORIA — Blood on her jersey. Gauze packed in both nostrils. A swollen nose that made it hard to breathe. 

None of it was enough to keep Skylar Douglas off the floor — or from delivering the biggest shots in Sacred Heart girls basketball history. 

The senior guard returned from a bloody third-quarter injury to bury two clutch 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, lifting the Knights to a 43-34 victory over Ellinwood on Saturday at White Auditorium in Emporia and captured the program’s first-ever Class 2A state championship.

“It feels great,” Douglas said. “Going into it, we knew we were going to have a big crowd and everyone came to support us. It felt really good. I know that our team wanted it and our coaches are super proud of us too. We worked hard all season.” 

Sacred Heart (25-4) completed an incredible run through the state tournament bracket, knocking off three of the tournament’s top teams along the way. The Knights opened with a win over No. 3 St. Mary’s Colgan in the quarterfinals, followed it with a semifinal victory over No. 2 Moundridge — the defending state champion — before finishing off top-seeded Ellinwood for the title. 

“I told the girls there are very few days more special than this,” Sacred Heart coach Carl Hines said. “This is every kid’s dream when they are little and it is every coach’s dream to get here to experience it. To go through it like we did this year is just unreal. This is really one of those euphoric moments. I am so happy for those young ladies and they deserve it.” 

The championship game was a defensive battle from the start as both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm early. Ellinwood led 10-8 after the first quarter before Sacred Heart began to settle in during the second period. 
 

The Knights used a strong defensive stretch and timely baskets to outscore the Eagles 14-9 in the second quarter and carry a 22-19 lead into halftime. 

Sacred Heart extended the lead in the third quarter and pushed the margin to as many as 12 points. But early in the period came a frightening moment for the Knights. 

Douglas took a hard shot to the nose and immediately began bleeding heavily, forcing her to leave the game while trainers and medical staff worked to stop the bleeding. The delay lasted several minutes as she was treated in the locker room. 

“I wasn’t worried about the game,” Hines said. “I was worried about Skylar and how she was going to be. Anytime you have a player go out like that you are concerned for her well-being.” 

Douglas eventually returned to the game in the fourth quarter with gauze stuffed in both nostrils and her nose visibly swollen. Breathing was difficult, but not playing was never an option. 

“I was a little scared that I wasn’t going to be able to come back in,” Douglas said. “But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. We were going to get that bleeding stopped one way or another and I was not going to sit out, that is for sure.” 
 

Meanwhile, Ellinwood (27-2) had clawed its way back into the game. The Eagles trimmed Sacred Heart’s once double-digit lead down to just three points with about five minutes remaining. 

That’s when Douglas delivered the biggest moment of the afternoon. 

She knocked down a 3-pointer to push the Knights’ lead back to six. After Ellinwood answered on the other end, Douglas struck again from the left corner, drilling another 3-pointer that swung the momentum firmly back to Sacred Heart. 

“I looked at the score and I knew that we needed to start hitting some shots,” Douglas said. “I felt confident and I just let it rip.” 

“She is a big part of what we do,” Hines said. “To come back in and have the fourth quarter that she had speaks volumes about her toughness. Her will to not be denied in that moment is something I will talk about for the rest of my life. You put Skylar in the left corner and you might as well say goodnight.” 

 

Sacred Heart’s defense took care of the rest. The Knights held Ellinwood scoreless over the final three minutes of the game and limited the Eagles to just 12-of-54 shooting for the contest — 22 percent from the field.  

Julia Schlessiger led Ellinwood on the inside with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Mette Maxwell added seven points in the loss. 

Adelyn Lee led Sacred Heart with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, while Douglas added 10 points.  

Freshman Emerson Lee delivered a standout performance as well, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds despite standing just 5-foot-4 against Ellinwood’s much taller lineup. Nicole Richards added 10 rebounds as the Knights battled on the glass throughout the game.  

“Emerson is just tenacious,” Hines said. “She has guarded the best player on every team all year and then to come out and attack the basket like she did was key for us. She was just stellar.” 
 

Hines also credited the play of reserves Holly Bonilla and Brynn Bechard, who stepped up with key minutes while Douglas was being treated. 

The championship capped a season that exceeded even the Knights’ own expectations. 

“At the beginning of the year our goal was just to make it to state,” Douglas said. “We don’t have many players and we play like six to eight players every game, so we just worked really hard all season. The coaches were great to us and we scouted every team well. 

“We knew every game at state was going to get harder and harder, but we weren’t going to let that stop us.” 

 

CLASS 2A GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 

SACRED HEART 43, ELLINWOOD 34 

Ellinwood… 10 … 9 … 6 … 9 … -- … 34 
Sacred Heart… 8 … 14 … 10 … 11 … -- … 43  

Ellinwood (27-2) – Widdner 0-2 1-2 1, Maxwell 2-15 1-2 7, Widener 1-12 2-2 4, Schlessiger 6-11 0-2 12, Batchman 2-10 1-2 5, Joiner 1-4 2-2 4, Ritchie 0-0 1-2 1, Stickney 0-0 0-0 0, Panning 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-54 8-14 34.  

Sacred Heart (25-4) – A. Lee 4-15 5-6 15, Douglas 4-10 0-0 10, Richards 1-3 0-2 3, Sharpton 1-2 0-0 2, E. Lee 3-13 3-7 9, Bonilla 0-0 0-0 0, Bechard 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 15-46 8-15 43.  

3-point goals – Ellinwood 2-24 (Maxwell 2-13, Widener 0-7, Batchman 0-3, Joiner 0-1); Sacred Heart 5-20 (A. Lee 2-10, Douglas 2-4, Richards 1-3, E. Lee 0-3). Rebounds – Ellinwood 45 (Schlessiger 12); Sacred Heart 31 (Richards 10). Assists – Ellinwood 9 (Maxwell 4); Sacred Heart 7 (A. Lee 3, E. Lee 3). Turnovers – Ellinwood 12, Sacred Heart 7. Total fouls – Ellinwood 21, Sacred Heart 12. Fouled out – None.