The TMP girls won their ninth-straight MCAA title on Tuesday. The Hoisington boys dropped out of the Class 3A rankings, but won a league title of their own.
TMP
The Lady Monarchs have simply dominated the MCAA in basketball. Tuesday, the girls downed Hoisington 34-26 to take the league outright, making it nine consecutive years atop the league. The No. 9 Monarchs also beat Cimarron 43-36 on Friday, improving to 15-3 overall, 6-0 in the MCAA. Both teams struggled to score on Tuesday. TMP led 18-9 at the half. All-time leading scorer Rachel Jacobs hit two threes in the third quarter to push the lead to24-14. Hoisington took a point off the deficit in the fourth quarter but were without leading scorer Mallory Flagor, who was on the bench with five fouls. Jacobs paced the Monarchs with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The Monarch boys fell to Hoisington 53-48 to lose out on a share of the MCAA title. They rebounded to beat Cimarron 63-55 on Friday, improving to 10-7, 4-1. TMP took a 28-22 lead into the half against Hoisington, but the formerly-ranked Cardinals put up 21 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Monarchs 31-20 in the second half to take the win. Jacob Fouts led the team with 15 points. Taylor Pfeifer added 15 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
Hoisington
The Cardinal boys dropped out of the Class 3A rankings for the first time all year last week. They also picked up two more wins, including an MCAA-decisive 53-48 win at TMP on Tuesday. The squad followed that with a 38-37 win against Hutchinson Trinity, moving to 15-4 overall, 4-1 in the MCAA. Just four players scored in the TMP win on Tuesday. The Cardinals overcame a six-point halftime deficit to win that one. Derrick Kaiser was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to finish with 27 points. Cody Stetler struggled from the field but went 9-of-10 from the free throw line to add 15 points and 14 rebounds. Ryan Becker scored six points, and Anthony Broeder five points.
The Lady Cardinals were still in the hunt for a share of the MCAA title. Those hopes came to a close Tuesday as the girls lost to nine-time conference champion TMP 34-26. Hoisington followed that with another meager offensive output but a 26-21 against Trinity on Friday. They are now 14-5, 3-2. The Cardinals scored just nine points in the first half Tuesday, trailing the Monarchs 18-9. Mallory Flagor scored seven of the eight Hoisington points in the third quarter but fouled out. The Cardinals still managed to outscore TMP in the fourth quarter but could not make up the 24-14 deficit from the third quarter. Flagor missed just one shot from the field to finish with 11 points. Jordin Greer added seven points. Savannah Rose led the team with seven rebounds, also adding four points.
Ellinwood
The Eagle boys overcame a big deficit early to knock off Larned in overtime during Tuesday’s Homecoming match. Friday, the squad traveled to Ell-Saline where they fell 50-32. Larned took a 16-4 lead midway through the first quarter before the Eagles slowly chipped away at things, tying the game at 42 by the end of the third quarter. The Eagles (7-12, 2-4) eventually took a 50-44 lead before the Indians used two free throws in the final two seconds to force overtime. Ellinwood never trailed in the extra frame where they outscored the Indians 12-5 for the win. Kyle Blakeslee had a career night with 30 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the outside. He also led the team with 13 rebounds. Freshman Gavin Vink added 14 points in his second start. Kale Clawson finished with 11 points, and Cody Isern 10 points.
The Lady Eagles (6-12, 2-4) dominated Larned 54-28 on Tuesday, then fell to No. 10 Ell-Saline 52-42 on Friday. The girls took a 14-2 lead into the second quarter against the Indians, then continued to pull away with a 39-19 lead after three quarters. Sophie Hayes led the team with 14 points. Darri Beckwith added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the outside in limited playing time. Kelsea Ward added eight points, and Kenzie Corbett eight points. Lindsey Zink finished with five points and 11 boards.
Larned
The Indians could not take advantage of a hot start in a 70-63 overtime loss at Ellinwood on Tuesday. They did rebound to improve to 4-15 with a 72-58 win against Ellsworth on Friday. Tuesday, Larned hit five of its first six shots, including three three-pointers en route to a 16-4 lead. Jahman Hill hit three triples in the first quarter but could not get another one to fall all night, finishing with 19 points. Friday, the Indians trailed 12-10 after one quarter before turning it on to outscore the Bearcats 42-27 over the next two quarters. Easton Palmer paced the squad with 23 points and eight rebounds. Cameron Brown added 17 points, and Hill finished with 11 points and six steals.
The Lady Indians dropped both of their games last week, falling to 2-16. They lost to Ellinwood 54-28 on Tuesday, then fell to the Bearcats 42-33 on Friday. The Lady Indians fell behind 14-2 after a quarter on Tuesday. Trailing 22-2 in the second quarter, Larned did get as close as 24-12 before the Lady Eagles pulled back away for the big win. Danette Unruh and Roxy Foster each scored six points in the loss.
