Several girls' basketball teams in the HOA played host to tournament fields in week eight. Only Hutchinson Trinity managed to win a title though a few teams came close.
Marion
The Warrior basketball teams took some time off before traveling to Council Grove on Friday. The host Braves pulled off the upset in the boys’ game, handing the Warriors just their second loss of the year in a 54-49 battle. Marion outscored Council Grove in each of the first two quarters to lead 21-15 at the half. The Braves took the lead in the third quarter and outscored the Warriors 39-28 in the second half for the win. Marion (11-2) led 49-47 after two Taylor Heidebrecht free throws with 2:28 to play, but Council Grove scored the final seven points of the game. Jordan Hett led all scorers with 23 points in the loss. Jacob Harper added 13 points.
The Lady Warriors stayed with the Braves early on, eventually falling to 3-10 with a 60-34 loss. Council Grove used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to open up a 20-10 lead. Corey Shields paced the Warriors with 10 points.
Hutch Trinity
With No. 1 seed Fairfield out of the way at last week’s Sedgwick tournament, the Lady Celtics just need to get by Inman on Saturday for the championship. They did just that, barely, outscoring the Teutons 19-16 in the second half for a 39-24 win. Thursday, the girls got by Remington 44-37. The opened the tournament with a 58-37 win against Belle Plain. In Saturday’s title game, sophomore Brooke Racette led all scorers with 18 points. Kayla Mesh added eight points. Racette led the team with 13 points in Thursday’s win, and Mesh added eight points. Mariah Hammersmith and Madison Watson each scored eight points.
The Trinity boys lost their one game of the week to Sacred Heart 48-38.
Berean Academy
The No. 7 Lady Warriors came within a point of winning their own tournament last week. The girls cruised to a 48-14 win against Stafford on Monday, and a 40-21 win against Goessel on Thursday. That set up a championship match against Wichita Trinity Academy where the Warriors fell 38-37. In that game, Berean (10-2) led 8-5 after one quarter. Trinity slowly turned that into its own 31-30 lead with just a quarter remaining. The teams played even in the final frame sealing second place for the home team. Wynette Sommerfield was the lone Lady Warriors to reach double-figures with 10 points. Kassie Claasen finished with eight points, and Abbi Landis and Xannie Quiring each scored five points.
Sedgwick
Inman made an improbable run to the championship game of the Sedgwick tournament last week. The host Lady Cardinals were the Teutons’ first victim in a 51-46 loss. From there, Sedgwick (5-8) finished the brackets out on a positive note, downing Canton-Galva 48-34 on Thursday, and beating Independent 49-38 in Saturday’s fifth-place game. In that final win, the Cardinals jumped to a 13-5 lead after one quarter, but hung on to just a 35-29 lead heading into the final quarter. Sedgwick was able to pull away for an 11-point win. Senior Annabelle Little controlled the game with 28 points and 23 rebounds. Sixteen of those boards came on the offensive end. Senior Jamie Lovett added nine points in the win. Little also had a nice game against Canton-Galva with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Audrey Bebermeyer scored 11 points in that win, and Riley McGinn grabbed 10 rebounds but did not score.
Moundridge
The Lady Cats finished third at the Wildcat Classic in Haven. Thursday, the girls opened the tournament with a 62-18 thrashing of Nickerson. In Friday’s semifinals, Moundridge fell to Buhler 49-18. In Saturday’s consolation match, the Cats downed Conway Springs 45-30 to improve to 10-3 on the year. In Friday’s loss, Moundridge outscored Buhler 12-9 in the final frame to get within one before coming up short. MacKenzie Suderman led the team with 13 points, followed by 12 points from Michelle Schrag, and 10 points from Brooke Holloway.
The No.6 Wildcat boys picked up another win with a 70-35 doubling-up of Goessel on Friday. Moundridge cruised to a 39-18 halftime lead, then outscored Goessel 11-0 in the final eight minutes. Daniel Ratzlaff led all scorers with 27 points. Tyler Kaufman finished with 13 points.
Inman
The Lady Teutons could not take advantage of an unexpected run to the Sedgwick tournament championship game. Entering the tournament with just three wins, the girls knocked off the host Cardinals 51-46 in round one. Then Inman handed Fairfield just its second loss in a 48-41 contest on Thursday. Saturday, the girls finally fell in a 39-34 battle against Hutch Trinity. Inman (5-8) dominated Fairfield through three quarters, leading 19-14 by halftime and 35-20 after three quarters. Kaitlynn Goalden scored 18 points and grabbed eight boards in the win. Abby Ropp and Naomi Williams each scored 10 points.
Ell-Saline
The Lady Cardinals hosted a round-robin tournament last week, going 2-0 to set up a virtual championship game against Lyons. Ell-Saline struggled early in that game, falling behind 14-0 before finding the bottom of the net with less than a minute to play in the opening stanza. Lyons went on to win 37-29. Prior to that, the Lady Cardinals (9-3) beat Little River 53-39, and downed Bennington 54-32. In Friday’s championship game loss, Ell-Saline held the Lady Lions to just three third quarter points to cut the gap to 25-18. Lyons was able to find its offense again in the final frame to get the win. Darianne Wikoff scored 11 points to lead the Cardinals. Aubrey Wilson added seven points.
Remington
The Lady Broncos picked up two wins at the Sedgwick tournament last week to finish in third place. Remington (7-5) opened the tourney with a 51-43 win against Independent. After a 44-37 loss to eventual champion Hutch Trinity on Thursday, the squad bounced back to beat a suddenly struggling Fairfield team 53-45. Tuesday, the Lady Broncs were led by the duo of Kylee Schunn and Kristyn Wedel who each poured in 17 points. The sophomore Wedel grabbed 12 rebounds, and the junior Schunn added seven boards. Schunn paced the team with 13 points in the Trinity loss.
Canton-Galva
The Lady Eagles entered the Sedgwick tournament with just one win on the year. Three games later, Canton-Galva sits at 1-12 following an 0-3 showing. The Eagles opened against top-seeded Fairfield, which picked up its only win of the tournament against Canton-Galva in a 53-30 contest. The Eagles then fell to the host Cardinals 48-34, and lost to Belle Plaine 46-35 in Saturday’s seventh-place game. Tuesday, the first quarter all but did the Lady Eagles in as they fell behind 17-2. Fairfield went on to lead 42-20 with a quarter to play. Cassidy Enns scored eight points in the loss, and Sierah Pennington finished with six points.
Bennington
The Lady Bulldogs entered the Ell-Saline round-robin tournament with just two wins. They nearly spoiled big plans for two teams. Tuesday, Bennington kicked off things with a 54-48 overtime loss to reigning champions Lyons, who went on to win a second-straight tournament. After a 54-32 loss to the host Cardinals on Thursday, the Bulldogs nearly downed Little River but came up just short in a 37-34 loss. In Tuesday’s loss, Bennington outscored Lyons 17-11 in the fourth quarter to force the extra frame. The Lady Bulldogs managed just two points in the overtime. Lindsey Curl paced the team with 11 points on Tuesday. Elise Vishnefske and Jamie Sloan each added eight points.
