The Conway Springs Cardinals were ahead 31-27 and in prime position to capture the championship of the Haven Wildcat Girls Classic.
But Moundridge outscored the Cardinals 12-2 down the stretch for a 39-33 championship victory Saturday. The Wildcats made eight free throws and scored two inside baskets in the final four minutes.
Moundridge kept attacking inside and converted 17 of 20 free throws and outscored the much-shorter Cardinals 17-0 from the free throw line. Moundridge (10-3) features three returning starters from last year’s Class 2A state champion. The Wildcats will shift to Class 3A this year.
“We won that championship with our defense,” said Moundridge coach Kenroy Wilson. “Conway Springs was an extremely difficult team to defend because their guards could drive to the basket and shoot the 3-pointer. We improved as a team this week. Winning back-to-back games against Haven and Conway Springs was a terrific challenge.”
There were nine lead changes and five ties in the hotly-contested showdown. Alyssa Smith’s basket gave the Cardinals a 31-27 lead with four minutes left.
Wildcat Abby Flickner passed to Michelle Schrag for a score and Tiffany Fisher’s inside basket tied the score at 31. All-tournament Brooke Holloway made the first of eight Wildcat free throws for a 33-31 lead.
Renae Stucky and MacKenzie Suderman each made three throws in the final 42 seconds. Holloway made the game’s biggest play with a hustling offensive rebound off a miss that led to a 37-33 lead.
All-tournament Fisher (11), Schrag (10) and Holloway (10) scored in double figures.
“It’s always nice to get that type of balanced scoring,” Wilson said. “That’s a sign the girls are gaining confidence.”
The diminutive trio of 5-2 Stacy Sones, 5-4 Abby Koester and 5-2 Chelsea Ebenkamp kept the Cardinals ahead with their hustling defense, ballhandling and scoring. At one point, the Cardinals went 12 minutes without a turnover in the second half.
All-tournament choice Smith scored 10 points. Sones scored nine points and all-tournament pick Ebenkamp added six.
“Our guards did a great job. They understand how they have to play to compete and that’s using their quickness defensively and taking advantage in transition,” said Conway Springs coach Ryan Rusco. “We played with a great deal of heart and intensity.”
Rusco said the game swung when Moundridge made their free throws and grabbed the one key offensive rebound in the late going.
“It was back-and-forth, anybody’s game until the final minute,” Rusco said. “We played a great defensive game against a really good offensive team. We improved this week.”
The Wildcats’ physical man-to-man defense and height advantage kept the Cardinals from getting quality inside shots.
“We were shooting contested shots and Moundridge attacked inside and got some close shots. That helped them get to the free throw line,” Rusco said.
After trailing 10-8 at halftime, Wilson adjusted his offense to establish two post players inside and the Wildcats screened the defense better.
“We had some nice entry passes and kept attacking inside,” Wilson said. “Getting to the line was big for us.”
Named to the Haven Wildcat Classic All-Tournament team were Moundridge’s Tiffany Fisher and Brooke Holloway; Abby Koester and Chelsea Ebenkamp for Conway Springs; Hailey Davis, Haven; Kaylea Britton, Ulysses; Taylor Needham, Cheney; Katelynn Martine, Kingman; Ashley Almquist, Nickerson; and Alyssa Talbott, Halstead.
HAVEN 54, ULYSSES 19
Haven’s Ashley Rogers scored 21 points and drilled seven consecutive 3-pointers in an amazing shooting display in the third-place game. Hailey Davis added 11 points for Haven (10-3).
Haven’s fullcourt pressure defense paved the way for easy transition baskets. The Wildcats led 17-7 after one quarter and 33-13 at halftime.
Kaylea Britton led Ulysses (3-10) with six points.
CHENEY 38, KINGMAN 35
Cheney (9-4) rallied from an eight-point deficit to outscore Kingman 14-3 in the fifth-place game. Taylor Needham led Cheney with nine points and Sydney Peitz added eight points. Katelynn Martine scored 15 points and Dani Molitor had 11 for Kingman (6-7).
NICKERSON 50, HALSTEAD 48
Nickerson outscored Halstead 24-14 in the fourth quarter to earn its first victory of the season. Ashley Almquist led the Panthers (1-12) with 19 points and Paige Stewart added a career high 17 points. Almquist scored eight points and Stewart seven in the final period.
Halstead (3-10) was paced by Alyssa Talbott with 12 points.
