When Nickerson High’s Oakley Meadows and Ashley Almquist scored to open the second half, the Panthers had forged a 17-17 tie with the Kingman Eagles.
But Kingman’s aggressive defense forced several turnovers that swung the momentum with 12 consecutive points for a 29-17 lead.
Nickerson’s hustle delivered one final run. Marissa Stewart passed to Paige Stewart for a score and Almquist added a basket and free throw to get within 29-22. But the Panthers lost a golden opportunity to draw closer when they missed five consecutive free throws.
Kingman’s Katelynn Martine finished the job with 18 points to spark the Eagles’ 39-29 Central Kansas League basketball victory Tuesday. Nickerson’s Paige Stewart and Brittany Adelhardt held Martine in check the first half.
The Eagles (8-12, 2-7 CKL) posted their third victory of the season against Nickerson, which didn’t resemble a 1-19 basketball team at its final home game.
“It took us a long time to get going, but we played a lot better the second half,” said Kingman coach Justin Batt. “We sometimes struggle to score points. Once we got going, we kept the momentum the second half. Katelynn got her offensive game going the second half. We got to the free throw line and capitalized.”
The Eagles’ tandem of Sammi Ybarra and Darrian Pickering combined to slow down Almquist, who made 3 of 10 field goals in an 8-point effort against the man-to-man defense.
“Sammi and Darrian are both tough defenders who did a great job,” Batt said. “Ashley is a great offensive player. We wanted to limit her open shots and make her work for everything. We drew a charge on her and tried to frustrate her.”
Dani Molitor scored nine points for Kingman, which made 16 of 22 free throws. Kingman converted 16 of 22 free throws. The Eagles will be sixth seed and will play Douglass Tuesday in the Class 3A Douglass substate.
Nickerson (1-9, 0-9 CKL) has competed favorably despite a one-win season. Paige Stewart added seven points for Nickerson. After starting 9 of 10 from the free throw line, the Panthers made 2 of 10 free throws down the stretch.
“We had worked pretty hard to stay in the game and we had made our free throws, but all of a sudden we missed our free throws,” said Nickerson coach Lynn Vick. “It wasn’t the type of season that we wanted. But the girls kept playing hard and gave us good effort.”
Vick said she’s been proud that the girls have stuck together through a tough season and have kept trying to play the game the right way.
Nickerson will play at top-seeded McPherson (18-1) Monday in the first round of the Buhler Class 4A substate.
