BY JOEL MUHS
Tournament Correspondent
BY JOEL MUHS
Tournament Correspondent
CHENEY GIRLS 60, SABETHA 54
Sabetha opened up its State 3A championship game against Cheney with a layup from Leah Renyer for an early 2-0 lead. Cheney’s Kylee Scheer responded immediately with a triple for the game’s first lead change at 3-2. After another 3-ball from Cheney, Renyer continued to impress by scoring the first six points for the Lady Jays, which led to a 6-6 tie. The Mustangs broke the tie with a 5-0 run to end the first quarter, which included a 3-pointer from Korri Lies for a 11-6 advantage after the first quarter.
Cheney continued to extend its lead after Lexi Cline hit her first 3-pointer of the game, giving the Mustangs a 14-6 lead. Cheney pushed its lead to double-digits at 19-9, but Sabetha clawed back into with an and-1 layup from Mary Lukert and a triple from Renyer, which cut the Cheney lead to 22-18 with less than three minutes remaining in the half. Scheer would then go on a quick 6-0 run of her own to help the Mustangs take a 29-20 lead into half.
Coming out of the half, Cheney left the door open for a Sabetha comeback after not scoring 3:45 into the third quarter, but could only muster one point during that stretch and Cheney lead 29-21 with 4:15 left in the quarter. The Lady Jays finally started making some ground on the undefeated Mustangs with a scoring outburst from Renyer that kept Sabetha within five points, 35-30, heading into the last quarter.
Melinna Schumann helped cut the Cheney lead to a one possession game after a layup to start the fourth quarter, but Cheney pushed it back to a five point lead after Campbell Hague dropped in two free-throws. Cheney kept Sabetha at arms-length for most of the quarter, but the Lady Jays kept fighting. Schumann drilled a deep 3-ball after a missed free-throw by Sabetha, which cut the lead to 51-45 with 2:40 remaining, and Lukert hit a corner three with 1:32 left to make it a four-point game. However, Cheney made its free-throws late in the game to pull out a 60-54 win.
Both teams shot a respectable percentage for the game, Sabetha at 40.9% and Cheney at 41.9%, but the free-throws killed the Lady Jays. Cheney made 17-23 of its free-throws, while Sabetha only went 10-19 from the line. Scheer was Cheney’s only double-digit scorer with 25 in the game. Sabetha had two double-digit performances from Renyer (24 points) and Schumann (18 points).
HESSTON BOYS 45, GALENA 36
Hesston (23-1) edged past Galena 45-36 for the 3A state title. Cason Richardson scored 16 points. Galena (23-3) was paced by Brett Sarwinski with 19 points.
It was a hot start for the Hesston Swathers in the 3A State championship game, as they jumped out to 8-0 lead on the Galena Bulldogs. Galena finally got its first points of the game nearly halfway through the opening quarter with a 3-ball from Brett Sarwinski. Sarwinski turned that into a personal 6-0 run with an and-1 layup that brought the Hesston lead down to 8-6 with 3:38 remaining. Hesston’s Jake Proctor pushed the lead back up to five after a 3-pointer, which ultimately gave Hesston an 11-6 lead after the first quarter.
Both teams struggled popping the lid off the basket in the second quarter, as the teams shot a combined 3-15 from the floor in the second period. Casen Richardson finally got things going in the second quarter for the Swathers with a driving layup that extended Hesston’s lead to 13-6, but that would be Hesston’s only points of the quarter. Galena’s Tyler Little got the Bulldogs in the scoring column in the second quarter with a layup with 2:20 left in the quarter that cut the Hesston lead back down to five. Maverick Harmon hit a 3-pointer with under one minute left in the half for Galena, as the Bulldogs only went into the locker room trailing 13-11.
The scoring drought was only temporary, as the teams put up a combined 29 points in the third quarter, the most out of any quarter in the game, which also led to a combined 11-17 from the floor (63.9%). Hesston got out to a five-point 19-14 lead after Jackson Humphreys got into the scoring column with his first and only 3-pointer of the game. Sarwinski helped cut that lead down to two at 19-17 after hitting one of his four 3-pointers in the game. Hesston swelled the lead back up to six after Richardson put in a Fastbreak layup with a nice spin move with 3:58 left in the quarter. After leading by much as eight in the quarter, Hesston saw its lead cut down to five again after Sarwinski hit a buzzer-beating 3-ball at the end of the third quarter, making it a 29-24 Swathers advantage.
The Swathers took control in the last period. Richardson converted an and-1 layup with 3:58 remaining to give Hesston a 36-27 lead and Brayden Schilling scored a lay-in that gave Hesston its first double-digit lead of the game at 38-27. Galena’s Deacon Henson responded with a 3-pointer that cut the lead back down to eight and Tyler Little hit a layup with 48.1 seconds left, but the late charge wasn’t enough, as Hesston took the crown 45-36.
Galena shot 38.7% from the floor for the game, while Hesston made 42.5% of its shots. Richardson provided Hesston’s only double-digit game with 16 points and four rebounds. Galena also only had one double-digit performance from Sarwinski, with 19 points (6-18 from the floor) and two rebounds.
3A GIRLS
CHENEY 60, SABETHA 54
Cheney’s Kylee Scheer scored 25 points for an unbeaten 25-0 season. Scheer hit nine free throws and two 3-pointers. Leah Renyer scored 24 points for Sabetha (23-3). Melinna Schumann had 18 points and nine rebounds.The high school girls 3A State Semifinals got off to a furious start for the Frontenac Raiders in the first quarter. Frontenac jumped out to an early 8-1 lead over the Cheney Cardinals behind two 3-pointers from Sydney Frankenbery and Hattie Pyle. The early storm from the Raiders induced an early timeout from Cheney. After the timeout, Cheney revved up its defense and forced a total of six turnovers and cut Frontenac’s lead down to 14-11, as Brynn McCormick hit a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the first quarter.
Cheney continued to flip the script on Frontenac in the second quarter. The Cardinals kept their defensive foot on the gas pedal and held the Raiders to 1-11 shooting (9.1%) and just four points in the quarter. Cheney tied the game at 15-15 with 5:22 left before half, but Frontenac responded with a layup to give the Raiders a 17-15 edge. That was the last lead Frontenac would see, as Cheney’s Kylee Scheer drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give Cheney a 21-17 lead, which ultimately turned into a Cardinal 31-18 halftime advantage.
Coming out of half, Scheer knocked down another 3-pointer to open the scoring, as she continued to stroke it from deep. However, Frontenac showed signs of life on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball in the third quarter. The Raiders outscored the Cardinals 22-13 in the third, which helped Frontenac cut the Cheney lead down to 44-40 heading into the last period.
Frontenac hung with Cheney halfway through the fourth quarter, but Cheney grabbed a double-digit lead with 3:25 remaining and swelled that lead to 60-46 with 56.3 seconds left in the game.
The game looked to be tight all the way through, but Cheney imposed its dominance in the second quarter and never looked back. Neither team shot the ball well, but Cheney still owned that category by shooting 36.7% from the floor, compared to Frontenac’s 30.8%. Cheney’s Kylee Scheer led all scorers with 23 points, while Heather Arnett led Frontenac with 14 points
Cheney moves on to the championship game Saturday against Sabetha.
SABETHA 57, HUGOTON 55
The Sabetha Lady Jays got off to a strong start in their semifinal game against the Hugoton Eagles, with a 10-2 run to open the game. Sabetha’s Melinna Schumann headed that run by scoring six of the 10 points. Hugoton’s Mikyn Hamlin cut the lead to 10-8 after her first 3-ball of the game. Sabetha and Hugoton each traded one more bucket, as the Lady Jays took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter.
Hugoton took advantage of a slow start by Sabetha to start the second quarter with the help of Hamlin. Within a 20 second period, Hamlin knocked down a 3-pointer and tracked down a loose ball for a transition layup, which gave the Eagles its first lead at 15-14 with 5:16 left in the second. After the Eagles stretched the lead to 17-14, the Lady Jays bounced back with a layup and then back-to-back triples from Schumann and Leah Renyer, which resulted in a 22-19 Sabetha lead with 1:36 left in the half. Sabetha continued that momentum for a 27-22 halftime lead.
Hugoton’s McKenna Hamlin dropped in a triple to open the Eagles scoring in the second half to cut the lead to 25-28. However, Sabetha pounced on Hugoton after the Eagles struggled to four points in the first four minutes of the third quarter, which opened up the Lady Jays first double-digit lead at 38-26 from a 3-ball by Schumann. Sabetha maintained that double-digit lead by taking a 43-32 advantage into the fourth.
The Eagles didn’t go quietly, as they put on a major rally in the fourth quarter. After a controversial tie-up call that went Sabetha’s way, Hugoton put on a full-court press and stole the ball back for a layup to cut it to single digits, 36-45. After two 3-balls from Mikyn Hamlin that cut it to a one-score game, Sabetha’s Mary Lukert converted an and-one layup to push the lead back to 48-42. After tying it at 48-48, Hugoton’s Jordyn Beard put in a transition layup for a 50-48 lead, which eventually swelled to a 54-50 Eagles lead with 2:21 left in the game. Renyer played hero for the Lady Jays, as she drained a game-tying three with less than 10 seconds left at 55-55 after Hugoton’s Summya Adigan missed the front end of a 1-and-1. After an Eagle’s turnover, Renyer made the game-winning buzzer-beating layup from an assist from Schumann to win it 57-55.
After letting go of multiple double-digit leads, Sabetha leaned on Renyer and Schumann to get the job done. Renyer led the Lady Jays with 21 points, while Schumann chipped in 20 of her own. Mikyn Hamlin led all scorers with 22 points off of 8-19 shooting.
Sabetha will play Cheney in the championship game.
HESSTON BOYS 64, HAYS TMP 55
Hesston’s Cason Richardson opened the Swather’s 3A State semifinal game against Hays TMP with a lay-in and the first points of the game. After Hesston opened up a slight lead, Hays’ Gavin Unrein converted an and-1 layup with 53.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter to tie it at 14-14. Richardson fired back for Hesston with an and-1 of his own but missed the free-throw and the quarter ended with a 16-14 Swathers lead.
Both teams continued a fast-paced game and steady scoring in the second quarter. Richardson, much like the first quarter, got the ball rolling for Hesston with a layup to start the second quarter, but that would prove to be the Swather’s only points the first 4:23 into the second. The Monarchs turned Hesston’s scoring drought into a 22-18 lead behind an 8-0 run that included two 3-balls from Lucas Lang. Hesston fought back behind the strong play of Richardson and took a 30-27 advantage into the break.
Jackson Schulte heated up in a hurry for Hays by scoring the team’s first eight points of the second half, which helped the Monarchs to a 35-32 to lead. Coming back from a deficit two times in as many quarters, Hesston battled for its largest lead of the game at 43-35 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter and stayed in front 44-37 heading into the last period.
Richardson and Schulte traded buckets to open the fourth quarter and Hesston’s lead remained at seven. After trailing by five or more points most of the quarter, Hays cut into Hesston’s lead after Jace Wentling canned two free-throws with 5:00 left in the game to make it 46-44. That was as close as Hays would get, as Richardson and the rest of the Swathers silenced the Monarch’s run by closing it out with a 64-55 win.
It was a quick yet well-played game between two really good teams. Hesston shot a near 50% clip from the floor with an overall 47.7% outing. Hays also eclipsed the 40% mark by hitting 43.2% of its shots. Richardson led the game with a 36-point, 12-18 from the floor performance. Schulte was the Monarchs leading scorer with a 23-point, 8-21 night.
Hesston plays Galena for the 3A title.
HESSTON 64, TMP-MARIAN 55
Hesston 16 14 14 20 — 64
TMP Marian 14 13 10 18 — 55
Hesston (22-1) — Schilling 1-5 0-0 5, Richardson 12-18 2-6 36, Arnold 4-6 1-2 10, Humphreys 2-5 0-1 6, Bollinger 0-3 0-1 0, Schroeder 1-3 0-2 4, Proctor 1-3 1-3 3. Totals 21-44 4-15 64.
TMP-Marian (21-5) — Lang 5-11 3-9 14, Wentling 1-3 0-0 4, Seib 1-2 0-0 5, Schulte 8-21 5-12 23, Werth 2-3 5-12 4,Unrein 1-2 0-0 3, Harris 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 19-44 8-21 55.
3-point goals— Hesston 4-15 (Richardson 2-6, Arnold 1-2, Humphreys 0-1, Bollinger 0 0-1, Schroder 0-2, Proctor 1-3). TMP 8-21 (Lang 3-9, Schulte 5-12)
GALENA BOYS 48, ROCK CREEK 41
The Rock Creek Mustangs and Galena Bulldogs got off to a steady start by going a combined 7-16 from the floor (43.75%) and 19 points between the two. The score favored Rock Creek early, as they grabbed a 6-3 lead after Dawson Zenger nailed a pull-up jumper. Galena’s Hadley Price responded for the Bulldogs by hitting two triples for an 11-6 lead. Zenger proceeded to hit another jumper with just three seconds left in the first quarter to cut the Galena lead down to three heading into the second.
Galena maintained its lead halfway through the second quarter behind five points from Brett Sarwinski and four points from Tyler Little in the quarter. Two deep-balls from the Mustangs by Charlie Killingsworth and Zenger gave them a 20-18 lead, but Little from the Bulldogs evened the score with a put-back layup that sent both teams into the locker rooms tied at 20-20.
The Mustangs opened the second half with an and-1 from Brooks Whaley, but Kenyon Martin from Galena knotted things back up at 23-23 with a 3-ball. Deacon Henson kept things going from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs by hitting a three to make it 28-25, then Sarwinski dumped a beautiful lob pass to Little for a quick 5-0 Bulldog run and 30-25 lead. Zenger kept Rock Creek in it by cutting the Galena lead to three on multiple occasions, including a steal that led to a buzzer-beating layup that cut the lead to 38-35 at the end of the third quarter.
After setting up a promising fourth quarter, both teams scored just 16 points combined. Rock Creek cut it to two after a Fastbreak layup by Whaley and eventually tied it up at 41-41 after Zenger drained two free-throws with 2:34 remaining in the game. However, Little was too much for the Mustangs, as he put in two more layups that bolstered the Bulldog’s lead to four with under a minute to play. Maverick Harmon sealed it for Galena at the line by hitting two more free-throws with 27.5 seconds left. Rock Creek couldn’t deal any more damage and Galena pulled out a 48-41 victory.
Even though Galena turned it over nine more times than Rock Creek, Galena moved the ball better by putting up five more assists than Rock Creek while shooting an efficient 51.5% from the floor. Zenger led all scorers with 21 points, while Killingsworth had 11 points. Little and Sarwinski led the charge for the Bulldogs, as Little had a team-high 16 points and Sarwinski had 12 points.
Galena will square off with Hesston for the boys 3A state title.
GALENA 48, ROCK CREEK 41
Galena 11 9 18 10 — 48
Rock Creek 8 12 15 6 — 41
Galena (23-2)—Sarwinski 4-12 3-3 12, Meartin 1-2 1-2 4, Little 7-10 2-3 16, Henson 2-5 1-3 6, McGlothlin 1-1 0-0 2, Harmon 0-0 2-2 2, Price 2-3 0-0 6, Totals 17-33 9-13 48.
Rock Creek (22-3)—Zenger 8-23 4-5 21, Sturdy 0-2 0-0 0, Whaley 4-9 1-1 9, Killingsworth 3-6 4-4 11, Vinduska 0-0 0-2 0, Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 15-41 9-12 41.
3-point goals—G 5-13 (Sarwinski 1-4, Martin 1-2, Henson 1-4, Price 2-3), RC 2-10 (Zenger 1-6, Sturdy 0-2, Killingsworth 1-2). Rebounds—G 29 (Sarwinski 10), RC 18 (Vinduska 9)
