Dodge City, Kan.—
All week they have done nothing but upset higher ranked opponents. The championship was no different. After battling with No. 1 Ingalls Lady Bulldogs, No. 7 Spearville Lady Lancers defeated them in overtime 48-45.The girls’ SPIAA championship was a rollercoaster. Although Spearville finished the first three quarters ahead it never really had the lead. The Lady Bulldogs would quickly regain the lead and vice versa. Spearville senior Sarae Kistler said it was like they could not get a good grip on Ingalls.
“At the beginning of the game we were really working hard to get a good lead on them,” she said.
Lady Lancer head coach Lorie Stein said she expected the game to be like this.
“We stayed with them,” she said. “We never got behind too much to where we couldn’t get back into the game. We had too many turnovers and had we not had that towards the end of the first half I think we would have gone into the half with more than a two point lead.”
The Lady Lancers kept their lead until the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Fouls and free throws dominated the game. Kistler said it was the most physical game she has ever played in.
“I’m not really used to going up against, well, I kind of am, but I don’t usually have to play Elle,” she said. “Those girls were everywhere on the court so having to play two huge girls compared to me was different.”
The physicality on the court led to both teams being tied at 40 as the buzzer sounded. The championship went into overtime. After Spearville sank two shots in the first minute Stein said she finally felt like they had hit a turning point.
“I was worried when we got into overtime but then we hit two shots right away to put us up by five and give us a little breathing room,” Stein said. “We got some rebounds, we got some turnovers going our way and then we got some free throw opportunities which definitely helped us out. At the very end Allison Helfrich got an offensive rebound and that sealed it. That sealed the win for us.”
One of those early shots was a three-pointer by Kistler. She also made two free throws to finish off overtime and assist in sealing the win.
“I just tried to keep calm when I was out there and not think about my shot,” Kistler said. “They were falling so I am really thankful for that. My free throws, I have been working on those a lot because I always miss my second one. So it was really good to make both of those when it was extremely critical.”
This was the third time the Lady Lancers have made it to the SPIAA championship; however Saturday night was the first time they won it 48-45.
The boys’ championship was a rematch. South Central fell to Ashland earlier in the season but on Saturday night the Timberwolves looked like a different team. They kept the Blue jays on their toes until Ashland took control of the fourth quarter to win 57-48.
South Central controlled the first half. The Timberwolves took away Ashlands strength: Its speed. Ashland head coach Kit Walker said a lot of their struggles in the first half were due to nerves.
“Last time we played them No.1 we were at home. No. 2 we were a little less tight for a championship game,” Walker said. “I think our kids were a little tight and it showed by the way they were shooting the ball tonight. They really wanted this. I think when we played them at home earlier in the year we were loose and we were ready to go on Christmas break. I think a lot of it was nerves tonight. It’s a good game for us to improve towards our ultimate goal.”
At halftime South Central was up 21-19. In the locker room the Blue jays were making adjustments to bring the game back to their speed.
“When you’re struggling from the field like we were and you’re not getting shots to drop, the only way we were going to really get our momentum going was to pick it up on the defensive end,” Walker said. “We picked them up full court and went man-to-man trying to speed the game up, get a lot of fast breaks and a lot of lay ups which were really the only shots we seemed to make tonight. The halftime speech was, ‘This is a gut check. They are a good team and we have to play well on the defensive end to come out victorious.’”
With three minutes left in the third quarter Ashland’s nine seniors started clicking again. Senior Austin Stebens came across the court to lay up a perfectly placed pass. His shot gave the Blue jays their lead back 29-28.
Senior Jay Leurman led the scoring attack for Ashland and contributed heavily to the Blue jays victory.
“In that zone I always flash to the low post and try to post up,” Leurman said. “They [my teammates] get me the ball down there and I score.”
After regaining the momentum and picking up the pace, the Ashland seniors revealed what makes them No. 1. It is about more than a leading scorer and the Blue jay seniors refuse to single out any player. They could have made passes with their eyes closed.
“When I talk to older folks from other towns they say our chemistry is the best,” Leurman said. “We’re so unselfish and we love each other so this is the best part of it all. I love playing with these guys.”
Walker said he has nothing to do with their team chemistry but when they play it’s obvious how in tune with each other they are.
“That group is a special class of seniors,” Walker said. “Saturday mornings as kids growing up and junior high, those kids were always playing basketball together. I think they know what the other person is going to do before they even do. I mean they just know. They know where Austin’s going to be, where Jay’s going to be, where Chance is going to be. They’ve played so long together and play so well together that they just read off of each other and now it’s a natural flow.”
That chemistry keeps them at No. 1 in the rankings and took them to a 57-48 victory over South Central as they also claimed the SPIAA league title.
The Lady Red Aces flew off to a good start against the Lady Timberwolves as they battled for third place. Although South Central kept their semi-final game interesting that was not the case as Bucklin sealed the win in the second half 48-30.
The boys’ third place game put Kiowa County up against No. 6 South Gray. The Mavericks stayed on the heels of the Rebels throughout the first half. At halftime the Rebels were up 23-21. The third quarter was not much different but South Gray pulled away in the fourth to win 44-37.
