KANSAS CITY —

The Kansas City Royals have invited 21 non-roster players to Spring Training. Thirteen of those were originally signed or drafted by Kansas City.

58 Barlow, Scott R/R 6' 3" 210 12/18/92 New London, Conn.

57 Bolaños, Ronald R/R 6' 2" 230 8/23/96 Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba

87 Bowlan, Jonathan R/R 6' 6" 240 12/1/96 Arlington, Tenn.

59 Brentz, Jake L/L 6' 1" 205 9/14/94 Ballwin, Mo.

50 Bubic, Kris L/L 6' 3" 225 8/19/97 Cupertino, Calif.

45 Clarke, Taylor R/R 6' 4" 217 5/13/93 Ashburn, Va.

65 Coleman, Dylan R/R 6' 5" 230 9/16/96 Potosi, Mo.

49 Heasley, Jon R/R 6' 3" 225 1/27/97 Plano, Texas

43 Hernández, Carlos R/R 6' 4" 245 3/11/97 Guayana, Venezuela

56 Keller, Brad R/R 6' 5" 255 7/27/95 Snellville, Ga.

37 Kowar, Jackson R/R 6' 5" 200 10/4/96 Weddington, N.C.

52 Lynch, Daniel L/L 6' 6" 200 11/17/96 Richmond, Va.

23 Minor, Mike R/L 6' 4" 210 12/26/87 Chapel Hill, Tenn.

38 Payamps, Joel R/R 6' 2" 225 4/7/94 Santiago, DR

51 Singer, Brady R/R 6' 5" 215 8/4/96 Leesburg, Fla.

40 Snider, Collin R/R 6' 4" 195 10/10/95 Nashville, Tenn.

67 Speier, Gabe L/L 5' 11" 200 4/12/95 Santa Barbara, Calif.

63 Staumont, Josh R/R 6' 3" 200 12/21/93 La Habra, Calif.

31 Tapia, Domingo R/R 6' 3" 263 8/4/91 Santo Domingo, DR

46 Tillo, Daniel L/L 6' 5" 215 6/13/96 Sioux City, Iowa

64 Webb, Nathan R/R 6' 2" 215 8/20/97 Lee's Summit, Mo.

61 Zerpa, Angel L/L 6' 0" 220 9/27/99 Valle de la Pascua, Venezuela

53 Zuber, Tyler R/R 5' 11" 195 6/16/95 White Hall, Ark.

54 Brewer, Colten R/R 6’ 4” 222 10/29/92 Dallas, Texas

86 Cox, Austin L/L 6’ 4” 235 3/28/97 Macon, Ga.

74 Cuas, Jose R/R 6’ 3” 195 6/28/94 Santo Domingo, DR

76 Dye, Josh L/L 6’ 5” 180 9/14/96 DeLand, Fla.

60 Griffin, Foster R/L 6’ 3” 225 7/27/95 Orlando, Fla.

35 Peacock, Brad R/R 6’ 1” 207 2/2/88 Palm Beach, Fla.

95 Vines, Jace R/R 6’ 3” 215 9/4/94 Dallas, Texas

68 Vizcaíno, Arodys R/R 6’ 0’ 245 11/13/90 Yaguate, DR

36 Gallagher, Cam R/R 6' 3" 230 12/6/92 Lancaster, Pa.

1 Melendez, MJ L/R 6' 1" 190 11/29/98 Daytona Beach, Fla.

13 Perez, Salvador R/R 6' 3" 255 5/10/90 Valencia, Venezuela

48 Rivero, Sebastian R/R 6' 1" 210 11/16/98 Maracay, Venezuela

79 Cropley, Tyler R/R 5' 11" 185 12/10/95 Sioux City, Iowa

88 Emshoff, Kale R/R 6' 2" 228 5/2/98 Robstown, Texas

78 Fermin, Freddy R/R 5' 10" 200 5/16/95 Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela

98 Porter, Logan R/R 6' 0" 200 7/12/95 Phoenix, Ariz.

17 Dozier, Hunter R/R 6' 4" 220 8/22/91 Wichita Falls, Texas

11 Garcia, Maikel R/R 6' 0" 145 3/3/00 La Sabana, Venezuela

8 Lopez, Nicky L/R 5' 11" 180 3/13/95 Naperville, Ill.

15 Merrifield, Whit R/R 6' 1" 195 1/24/89 Florence, S.C.

27 Mondesi, Adalberto S/R 6' 1" 200 7/27/95 Los Angeles, Calif.

66 O'Hearn, Ryan L/L 6' 3" 220 7/26/93 Dunedin, Fla.

32 Pratto, Nick L/L 6' 1" 215 10/6/98 Huntington Beach, Calif.

26 Rivera, Emmanuel R/R 6' 2" 225 6/29/96 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

41 Santana, Carlos S/R 5' 11" 215 4/8/86 Santo Domingo, DR

71 Cancel, Gabriel R/R 6’ 0” 205 12/8/96 Manati, Puerto Rico

62 Castillo, Iván S/R 5’ 9” 179 5/30/95 Santiago, DR

90 Dungan, Clay L/R 6’ 1” 190 6/2/96 Muncie, Ind.

73 Pasquantino, Vinnie L/L 6’ 4” 245 10/10/97 Richmond, Va.

7 Witt Jr., Bobby R/R 6’ 1” 200 6/14/00 Colleyville, Texas

16 Benintendi, Andrew L/L 5' 9" 180 7/6/94 Cincinnati, Ohio

28 Isbel, Kyle L/R 5' 11" 190 3/3/97 Fontana, Calif.

14 Olivares, Edward R/R 6' 2" 190 3/6/96 Caracas, Venezuela

2 Taylor, Michael A. R/R 6' 4" 215 3/26/91 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

72 Blanco, Dairon R/R 6’ 0” 170 4/26/93 Florida, Cuba

96 Eaton, Nate R/R 5’ 11” 185 12/22/96 Chester, Va.

75 Hicklen, Brewer R/R 6’ 2” 208 2/9/96 Huntsville, Ala.

19 Jones, JaCoby R/R 6’ 2” 211 5/10/92 Chickasha, Okla.

KANSAS CITY —

The Kansas City Royals have invited 21 non-roster players to Spring Training. Thirteen of those were originally signed or drafted by Kansas City.PITCHERS58 Barlow, Scott R/R 6' 3" 210 12/18/92 New London, Conn.57 Bolaños, Ronald R/R 6' 2" 230 8/23/96 Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba87 Bowlan, Jonathan R/R 6' 6" 240 12/1/96 Arlington, Tenn.59 Brentz, Jake L/L 6' 1" 205 9/14/94 Ballwin, Mo.50 Bubic, Kris L/L 6' 3" 225 8/19/97 Cupertino, Calif.45 Clarke, Taylor R/R 6' 4" 217 5/13/93 Ashburn, Va.65 Coleman, Dylan R/R 6' 5" 230 9/16/96 Potosi, Mo.49 Heasley, Jon R/R 6' 3" 225 1/27/97 Plano, Texas43 Hernández, Carlos R/R 6' 4" 245 3/11/97 Guayana, Venezuela56 Keller, Brad R/R 6' 5" 255 7/27/95 Snellville, Ga.37 Kowar, Jackson R/R 6' 5" 200 10/4/96 Weddington, N.C.52 Lynch, Daniel L/L 6' 6" 200 11/17/96 Richmond, Va.23 Minor, Mike R/L 6' 4" 210 12/26/87 Chapel Hill, Tenn.38 Payamps, Joel R/R 6' 2" 225 4/7/94 Santiago, DR51 Singer, Brady R/R 6' 5" 215 8/4/96 Leesburg, Fla.40 Snider, Collin R/R 6' 4" 195 10/10/95 Nashville, Tenn.67 Speier, Gabe L/L 5' 11" 200 4/12/95 Santa Barbara, Calif.63 Staumont, Josh R/R 6' 3" 200 12/21/93 La Habra, Calif.31 Tapia, Domingo R/R 6' 3" 263 8/4/91 Santo Domingo, DR46 Tillo, Daniel L/L 6' 5" 215 6/13/96 Sioux City, Iowa64 Webb, Nathan R/R 6' 2" 215 8/20/97 Lee's Summit, Mo.61 Zerpa, Angel L/L 6' 0" 220 9/27/99 Valle de la Pascua, Venezuela53 Zuber, Tyler R/R 5' 11" 195 6/16/95 White Hall, Ark.54 Brewer, Colten R/R 6’ 4” 222 10/29/92 Dallas, Texas86 Cox, Austin L/L 6’ 4” 235 3/28/97 Macon, Ga.74 Cuas, Jose R/R 6’ 3” 195 6/28/94 Santo Domingo, DR76 Dye, Josh L/L 6’ 5” 180 9/14/96 DeLand, Fla.60 Griffin, Foster R/L 6’ 3” 225 7/27/95 Orlando, Fla.35 Peacock, Brad R/R 6’ 1” 207 2/2/88 Palm Beach, Fla.95 Vines, Jace R/R 6’ 3” 215 9/4/94 Dallas, Texas68 Vizcaíno, Arodys R/R 6’ 0’ 245 11/13/90 Yaguate, DRCATCHERS36 Gallagher, Cam R/R 6' 3" 230 12/6/92 Lancaster, Pa.1 Melendez, MJ L/R 6' 1" 190 11/29/98 Daytona Beach, Fla.13 Perez, Salvador R/R 6' 3" 255 5/10/90 Valencia, Venezuela48 Rivero, Sebastian R/R 6' 1" 210 11/16/98 Maracay, Venezuela79 Cropley, Tyler R/R 5' 11" 185 12/10/95 Sioux City, Iowa88 Emshoff, Kale R/R 6' 2" 228 5/2/98 Robstown, Texas78 Fermin, Freddy R/R 5' 10" 200 5/16/95 Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela98 Porter, Logan R/R 6' 0" 200 7/12/95 Phoenix, Ariz.INFIELDERS17 Dozier, Hunter R/R 6' 4" 220 8/22/91 Wichita Falls, Texas11 Garcia, Maikel R/R 6' 0" 145 3/3/00 La Sabana, Venezuela8 Lopez, Nicky L/R 5' 11" 180 3/13/95 Naperville, Ill.15 Merrifield, Whit R/R 6' 1" 195 1/24/89 Florence, S.C.27 Mondesi, Adalberto S/R 6' 1" 200 7/27/95 Los Angeles, Calif.66 O'Hearn, Ryan L/L 6' 3" 220 7/26/93 Dunedin, Fla.32 Pratto, Nick L/L 6' 1" 215 10/6/98 Huntington Beach, Calif.26 Rivera, Emmanuel R/R 6' 2" 225 6/29/96 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico41 Santana, Carlos S/R 5' 11" 215 4/8/86 Santo Domingo, DR71 Cancel, Gabriel R/R 6’ 0” 205 12/8/96 Manati, Puerto Rico62 Castillo, Iván S/R 5’ 9” 179 5/30/95 Santiago, DR90 Dungan, Clay L/R 6’ 1” 190 6/2/96 Muncie, Ind.73 Pasquantino, Vinnie L/L 6’ 4” 245 10/10/97 Richmond, Va.7 Witt Jr., Bobby R/R 6’ 1” 200 6/14/00 Colleyville, TexasOUTFIELDERS16 Benintendi, Andrew L/L 5' 9" 180 7/6/94 Cincinnati, Ohio28 Isbel, Kyle L/R 5' 11" 190 3/3/97 Fontana, Calif.14 Olivares, Edward R/R 6' 2" 190 3/6/96 Caracas, Venezuela2 Taylor, Michael A. R/R 6' 4" 215 3/26/91 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.72 Blanco, Dairon R/R 6’ 0” 170 4/26/93 Florida, Cuba96 Eaton, Nate R/R 5’ 11” 185 12/22/96 Chester, Va.75 Hicklen, Brewer R/R 6’ 2” 208 2/9/96 Huntsville, Ala.19 Jones, JaCoby R/R 6’ 2” 211 5/10/92 Chickasha, Okla.

Royals release Spring Training roster

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –&nbsp;Five players scored in double figures as top-seeded Kansas captured the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, defeating No. 3-seed Texas Tech 74-65 on Saturday evening at the T-Mobile Center.

The win marks the 12th Big 12 Tournament Championship for the Jayhawks and the first since 2018. Kansas improves to 12-3 all-time in title games while also improving to 28-6 on the year. With the win, Kansas earns the Big 12’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, with the bracket to be announced on Sunday, March 13.

David McCormack led the Jayhawks with his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 18 points while pulling down 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji had 16 points and seven rebounds while Christian Braun added 14. Jalen Wilson and Remy Martin added 12 points apiece. The game marked the fourth time this season that Kansas has had five players score in double figures.

For their efforts, Agbaji and Braun were selected to the All-Tournament Team, with Agbaji named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Play was back-and-forth in the first half, which featured five ties and 12 lead changes, and neither team led by more than four points. Kansas shot just 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes, but held a 37-36 lead at halftime, in large part due to hitting 11-of-15 free throws. Kansas got 10 points apiece from Martin and Braun in the half, while McCormack had nine points and five rebounds. Martin scored the final 10 points of the half for Kansas.

The second half followed a similar script early on, with neither team gaining an advantage of more than five points in the first 10 minutes. Texas Tech took the lead for the first time in the second half at the 11:49 mark and pushed the lead to three at 54-51, capping off a 7-0 run. Kansas had an answer, using a 12-2 run that spanned nearly five minutes and featured seven points from Wilson to take a 63-56 lead with 5:56 to play.

Texas Tech cut the deficit to four, 64-60, with 3:08 to play, but Kansas closed out strong, going on a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 74-62 with less than a minute to play before Tech scored the final three points.

Kansas hit five fewer field goals than Texas Tech in the game, but made up for it at the free throw line, hitting 25-of-32 (78.1 percent) attempts compared to just six made free throws for the Red Raiders. The rebounding battle was even at 34-all, while Tech had advantages over KU in second-chance points (13-5) and points in the paint (36-30).

Kansas receives the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will be making its 50th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. Since 1990, Kansas has made 31-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances which is the longest active streak in the nation and best all-time. The Jayhawks will learn its postseason destination and opponent on Sunday, March 13.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update. &nbsp; &nbsp;

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –&nbsp;Five players scored in double figures as top-seeded Kansas captured the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, defeating No. 3-seed Texas Tech 74-65 on Saturday evening at the T-Mobile Center.The win marks the 12th Big 12 Tournament Championship for the Jayhawks and the first since 2018. Kansas improves to 12-3 all-time in title games while also improving to 28-6 on the year. With the win, Kansas earns the Big 12’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, with the bracket to be announced on Sunday, March 13.David McCormack led the Jayhawks with his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 18 points while pulling down 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji had 16 points and seven rebounds while Christian Braun added 14. Jalen Wilson and Remy Martin added 12 points apiece. The game marked the fourth time this season that Kansas has had five players score in double figures.For their efforts, Agbaji and Braun were selected to the All-Tournament Team, with Agbaji named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.Play was back-and-forth in the first half, which featured five ties and 12 lead changes, and neither team led by more than four points. Kansas shot just 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes, but held a 37-36 lead at halftime, in large part due to hitting 11-of-15 free throws. Kansas got 10 points apiece from Martin and Braun in the half, while McCormack had nine points and five rebounds. Martin scored the final 10 points of the half for Kansas.The second half followed a similar script early on, with neither team gaining an advantage of more than five points in the first 10 minutes. Texas Tech took the lead for the first time in the second half at the 11:49 mark and pushed the lead to three at 54-51, capping off a 7-0 run. Kansas had an answer, using a 12-2 run that spanned nearly five minutes and featured seven points from Wilson to take a 63-56 lead with 5:56 to play.Texas Tech cut the deficit to four, 64-60, with 3:08 to play, but Kansas closed out strong, going on a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 74-62 with less than a minute to play before Tech scored the final three points.Kansas hit five fewer field goals than Texas Tech in the game, but made up for it at the free throw line, hitting 25-of-32 (78.1 percent) attempts compared to just six made free throws for the Red Raiders. The rebounding battle was even at 34-all, while Tech had advantages over KU in second-chance points (13-5) and points in the paint (36-30).Up NextKansas receives the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will be making its 50th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. Since 1990, Kansas has made 31-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances which is the longest active streak in the nation and best all-time. The Jayhawks will learn its postseason destination and opponent on Sunday, March 13.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update. &nbsp; &nbsp;

🏀 Kansas Tops Texas Tech to Claim Big 12 Tournament Title

Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recap

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Sterling coach Jill Rowland was hard-pressed in picking which state championship meant more and which was tougher to secure. But senior standout Kali Briar barely hesitated when posed with the same question. "I would definitely say this year's," Briar proclaimed following Sterling's 47-38 win over rival Garden Plain in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game at Bramlage Coliseum that gave the Black Bears their second consecutive title. "With all the stress and pressure from the outside noise, it just makes it so memorable." Make no mistake, each of Sterling's back-to-back Class 2A state championships will hold a special memory for the Black Bears. Last year's crown was the first in program history, coming after three previous runner-up finishes including one in 2019 when this year's senior class were freshmen. This year's title also was historic as Sterling went to wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in Class 2A, turning back every challenge they faced to finish with the program's first undefeated season at 26-0. "They're all hard to win, so they both mean so much," Rowland said. "I thought we handled the pressure all year. And we had a lot of pressure. People just expected us to come right back and it would be easy, and it wasn't. My kids grew a lot as people, as ball players and as a team. I couldn't be more proud of the girls this year."

Sterling coach Jill Rowland pumps her fist toward the Black Bear crowd after leading her team to a second straight Class 2A state championship. That Garden Plain was the opponent in Saturday's title game was fitting. The two have developed solid rivalry at the highest level ever since the Owls moved down to Class 2A in 2019 after winning the 2018 Class 3A state championship. Garden Plain denied the Black Bears the state title when they met in the championship game in 2019, taking a 47-40 victory. They met again in the 2020 state tournament, this time in the quarterfinals, and the Owls prevailed again, 54-48. Last year, it was another state showdown, this time in the semifinals. Sterling finally broke through with a 69-52 title, serving as a springboard to a 52-36 win over Pittsburg Colgan in the title game. So who else should Saturday's title game have come down to having to beat? "I did joke with (Garden Plain coach Kody) Kasselman that it's really not a state tournament unless we're playing Garden Plain," Rowland said. "I thought we actually might get them in the first round. It is very fitting that we continue to battle with them. Great program, great coach who has great competitors every single year. "For us to beat Garden Plain on any day is a great day. On this stage, it's just a great feeling." Garden Plain was more than up to the challenge of trying to spoil Sterling's perfect season early. The Owls hit their first three shots of the game – a 3-pointer from Ryleigh Stuhlsatz and consecutive baskets from semifinal hero Celia Puetz – to get out quickly. But after Carly Hitt scored midway through the quarter to give the Owls a 9-6 lead, Sterling flipped the switch. The Black Bears' defense swarmed, forcing Garden Plain into five straight turnovers and the offense fed off those Owl miscues. Kali Briar buried her second 3-pointer of the quarter to start a 13-0 Sterling run that saw the Black Bears get points from four different players. Makenna Linden mixed in Sterling's third 3-pointer of the quarter and Bennie Horsch capped the spurt with a putback as the Black Bears stormed to a 19-11 lead by the end of the period.

Sterling's Kali Briar (right) hit four big 3-pointers for a team-high 12 points in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game. "We wanted to go inside, but they were smothering Sadie and Bennie in there so we tweaked a few things," Rowland said. "We had to go inside-out a little bit. They did a great job of gunking it up on us inside, but we hit some outside shots that were big and that really loosened things up and opened things up for us." Though Garden Plain never really recovered from Sterling's first-quarter punch, the Owls also never let the Black Bears deliver a knockout blow until late. After getting down 11 early in the second quarter, Garden Plain fought back to within six midway through the period before Sterling stretched it back out to a nine-point halftime lead. The Owls opened the second half like they did the game, getting points in a hurry. Sydney Puetz followed a Brooke Hammond runner with a three-point play and then Madelyn Rolfs buried a 3-pointer to cut Sterling's lead to just two. But just as she had in the first quarter, Briar came up big. She drilled her third 3-pointer of the game to halt Garden Plain's momentum and Horsch followed with a basket to restore a seven-point lead. After the Owls closed back within four, Horsch stepped out and hit a 3-pointer.&nbsp;

Garden Plain's Madelyn Rolfs holds the follow-through on a 3-point attempt during Saturday's 2A title game. Rolfs hit two threes, but the Owls never got over the hump in falling 47-38 to Sterling.&nbsp; Sterling was just 6 of 16 from 3-point range in the game, but every make the Black Bears had from deep seemed to be killers for the Owls. "We were going to take our chance with them on the perimeter," Kasselman said. "That was our game plan. We were going to take away the middle as much as we could and take our chances on the perimeter other than Briar. And she still had some big ones." "I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Briar, who finished 4 of 9 from beyond the arc for all 12 of her game-high total. "They make it easy for me to get open and I spend a lot of time in the gym so I was just letting it fly." Briar's last 3-pointer came early in the fourth after Garden Plain once again pulled within five. That was the final dagger as Sterling answered every run the Owls made at them. It's something Rowland saw from her veteran team – five seniors start -- throughout the undefeated run, particularly in wins over Cheney and Southeast of Saline. In both of those contests, the Black Bears were trailing at key junctures of the game before finding a way to come back and get victories. "Both of those games, we had to battle and that's been very beneficial," Rowland said. "I thought our composure was really good both of those nights and we never got rattled. … I thought we did a good job of keeping our composure tonight because (Garden Plain's) a good team who was going to come at us."

Sterling's Kali Briar flashes a heart sign to the crowd after getting her state championship medal. The journey complete, Briar and her teammates soaked it all in, dogpiling near mid-court after the final buzzer sounded. "It was tough," Briar said. "You go into the season ranked No. 1, target's on your back and everybody would kill to beat you. It was definitely a lot of stress, but I think we handled it as a team really well. We went one game at a time. "It's so special. Us seniors have been playing together since we were in the third grade. I love those girls and I'd do anything for them." Horsch backed Briar with 11 points, while Beagley tallied nine and Linden eight. Celia Puetz led Garden Plain, which finished 19-7, with eight points and Rolfs and Hammond each had six, Hammond saddled with foul trouble for the bulk of the contest. "We just couldn't get over the hump," Kasselman said. "I'm proud of our kids and how they battled. I told them nobody expected them to be in the state finals and yet here we were." SMITH CENTER 44, BEREAN ACADEMY 37 After falling at the buzzer to Garden Plain in Friday's semifinals, Smith Center bounced back to top Berean Academy for third place to finish the season 21-5. The Redmen did the bulk of their damage at the free-throw line, going 20 of 31 at the stripe in the game. That included makes on 16 of their last 19 attempts as they fought off Berean. Ashlyn Long made 8 of 10 free throws and led the Redmen with 15 points while Tallon Rentschler added 13 points. Berean, which lost to someone other than Sterling for the first time this season, finished 23-3 and got 12 points from Tayton Smith and 11 points from Lillie Veer.

Sterling's bench prepares to erupt in celebration as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STERLING 47, GARDEN PLAIN 38 Garden Plain … 11 … 8 … 13 … 6 … -- … 38 Sterling … 19 … 9 … 11 … 8 … -- … 47 Garden Plain (19-7) – Stuhlsatz 2-5 0-0 5, C. Puetz 3-7 2-2 8, Dooley 1-5 0-0 3, Hammond 2-6 2-2 6, S. Puetz 1-7 2-4 4, M. Rolfs 2-8 0-0 6, Zogleman 0-0 1-2 1, Hoheisel 1-2 1-1 3, C. Roldfs 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Hitt 1-6 0-0 2, Miles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-46 8-11 38. Sterling (26-0) – Farney 1-1 1-2 3, M. Linden 3-10 1-2 8, Horsch 4-6 2-4 11, Briar 4-10 0-0 12, Beagley 3-11 3-6 9, Rowland 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 2-8 0-2 4, A. Linden 0-0 0-0 0, Ekart 0-0 0-0 0, Brownlee 0-0 0-0 0, Cornelius 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 7-16 47. 3-point goals – Garden Plain 4-19 (M. Rolfs 2-7, Stuhlsatz 1-3, Dooley 1-3, S. Puetz 0-3, Hammond 0-1, Hitt 0-2); Sterling 6-16 (Briar 4-9, M. Linden 1-5, Horsch 1-1, Rowland 0-1). Rebounds – Garden Plain 30 (Dooley, Hammond 5), Sterling 40 (Briar 9). Assists – Garden Plain 8 (C. Puetz, Hammond, S. Puetz 2), Sterling 5 (M. Linden 2). Turnovers – Garden Plain 15, Sterling 15. Total fouls – Garden Plain 15, Sterling 14. Fouled out – Garden Plain: Dooley, Hammond. CONSOLATION GAME SMITH CENTER 44, BEREAN ACADEMY 37 Smith Center … 12 … 4 … 9 … 19 … -- … 44 Berean Academy … 14 … 3 … 5 … 15 … -- … 37 Smith Center (21-5) – Hrabe 0-2 1-4 1, Long 3-9 8-10 15, Kattenberg 1-3 3-4 5, Hutchinson 1-3 2-4 4, Rentschler 5-8 2-2 13, Kirchhoff 1-3 3-5 5, Parsons 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 11-28 20-31 44. Berean Academy (23-3) – Morgan 1-4 0-0 3, Timken 1-5 1-4 4, Veer 4-8 1-2 11, Wine 1-9 0-0 2, Smith 2-8 8-8 12, Wiebe 0-0 0-0 0, Koontz 2-3 0-1 5, Mullins 0-4 0-0 0, Tucker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-41 10-15 37. 3-point goals – Smith Center 2-8 (Long 1-4, Rentschler 1-1, Hrabe 0-2, Kattenberg 0-1); Berean 5-14 (Veer 2-5, Morgan 1-2, Timken 1-4, Koontz 1-1, Wine 0-1, Mullins 0-1). Rebounds – Smith Center 23 (Long, Hutchinson, Kirchhoff 4), Berean 30 (Smith 9). Assists – Smith Center 9 (Hrabe 4), Berean 5 (Smith 2). Turnovers – Smith Center 18, Berean 20. Total fouls – Smith Center 15, Berean 23. Fouled out – Berean: Veer.

Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recapMANHATTAN, Kan. – Sterling coach Jill Rowland was hard-pressed in picking which state championship meant more and which was tougher to secure. But senior standout Kali Briar barely hesitated when posed with the same question. "I would definitely say this year's," Briar proclaimed following Sterling's 47-38 win over rival Garden Plain in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game at Bramlage Coliseum that gave the Black Bears their second consecutive title. "With all the stress and pressure from the outside noise, it just makes it so memorable." Make no mistake, each of Sterling's back-to-back Class 2A state championships will hold a special memory for the Black Bears. Last year's crown was the first in program history, coming after three previous runner-up finishes including one in 2019 when this year's senior class were freshmen. This year's title also was historic as Sterling went to wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in Class 2A, turning back every challenge they faced to finish with the program's first undefeated season at 26-0. "They're all hard to win, so they both mean so much," Rowland said. "I thought we handled the pressure all year. And we had a lot of pressure. People just expected us to come right back and it would be easy, and it wasn't. My kids grew a lot as people, as ball players and as a team. I couldn't be more proud of the girls this year." <figure>
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 </figure>Sterling coach Jill Rowland pumps her fist toward the Black Bear crowd after leading her team to a second straight Class 2A state championship. That Garden Plain was the opponent in Saturday's title game was fitting. The two have developed solid rivalry at the highest level ever since the Owls moved down to Class 2A in 2019 after winning the 2018 Class 3A state championship. Garden Plain denied the Black Bears the state title when they met in the championship game in 2019, taking a 47-40 victory. They met again in the 2020 state tournament, this time in the quarterfinals, and the Owls prevailed again, 54-48. Last year, it was another state showdown, this time in the semifinals. Sterling finally broke through with a 69-52 title, serving as a springboard to a 52-36 win over Pittsburg Colgan in the title game. So who else should Saturday's title game have come down to having to beat? "I did joke with (Garden Plain coach Kody) Kasselman that it's really not a state tournament unless we're playing Garden Plain," Rowland said. "I thought we actually might get them in the first round. It is very fitting that we continue to battle with them. Great program, great coach who has great competitors every single year. "For us to beat Garden Plain on any day is a great day. On this stage, it's just a great feeling." Garden Plain was more than up to the challenge of trying to spoil Sterling's perfect season early. The Owls hit their first three shots of the game – a 3-pointer from Ryleigh Stuhlsatz and consecutive baskets from semifinal hero Celia Puetz – to get out quickly. But after Carly Hitt scored midway through the quarter to give the Owls a 9-6 lead, Sterling flipped the switch. The Black Bears' defense swarmed, forcing Garden Plain into five straight turnovers and the offense fed off those Owl miscues. Kali Briar buried her second 3-pointer of the quarter to start a 13-0 Sterling run that saw the Black Bears get points from four different players. Makenna Linden mixed in Sterling's third 3-pointer of the quarter and Bennie Horsch capped the spurt with a putback as the Black Bears stormed to a 19-11 lead by the end of the period. <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/12/Sterling_sKaliBriar.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Sterling's Kali Briar (right) hit four big 3-pointers for a team-high 12 points in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game. "We wanted to go inside, but they were smothering Sadie and Bennie in there so we tweaked a few things," Rowland said. "We had to go inside-out a little bit. They did a great job of gunking it up on us inside, but we hit some outside shots that were big and that really loosened things up and opened things up for us." Though Garden Plain never really recovered from Sterling's first-quarter punch, the Owls also never let the Black Bears deliver a knockout blow until late. After getting down 11 early in the second quarter, Garden Plain fought back to within six midway through the period before Sterling stretched it back out to a nine-point halftime lead. The Owls opened the second half like they did the game, getting points in a hurry. Sydney Puetz followed a Brooke Hammond runner with a three-point play and then Madelyn Rolfs buried a 3-pointer to cut Sterling's lead to just two. But just as she had in the first quarter, Briar came up big. She drilled her third 3-pointer of the game to halt Garden Plain's momentum and Horsch followed with a basket to restore a seven-point lead. After the Owls closed back within four, Horsch stepped out and hit a 3-pointer.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/12/GardenPlain_sMadelynRolfs.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Garden Plain's Madelyn Rolfs holds the follow-through on a 3-point attempt during Saturday's 2A title game. Rolfs hit two threes, but the Owls never got over the hump in falling 47-38 to Sterling.&nbsp; Sterling was just 6 of 16 from 3-point range in the game, but every make the Black Bears had from deep seemed to be killers for the Owls. "We were going to take our chance with them on the perimeter," Kasselman said. "That was our game plan. We were going to take away the middle as much as we could and take our chances on the perimeter other than Briar. And she still had some big ones." "I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Briar, who finished 4 of 9 from beyond the arc for all 12 of her game-high total. "They make it easy for me to get open and I spend a lot of time in the gym so I was just letting it fly." Briar's last 3-pointer came early in the fourth after Garden Plain once again pulled within five. That was the final dagger as Sterling answered every run the Owls made at them. It's something Rowland saw from her veteran team – five seniors start -- throughout the undefeated run, particularly in wins over Cheney and Southeast of Saline. In both of those contests, the Black Bears were trailing at key junctures of the game before finding a way to come back and get victories. "Both of those games, we had to battle and that's been very beneficial," Rowland said. "I thought our composure was really good both of those nights and we never got rattled. … I thought we did a good job of keeping our composure tonight because (Garden Plain's) a good team who was going to come at us." <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/12/Briarheart.JPG" alt="" />
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 </figure>Sterling's Kali Briar flashes a heart sign to the crowd after getting her state championship medal. The journey complete, Briar and her teammates soaked it all in, dogpiling near mid-court after the final buzzer sounded. "It was tough," Briar said. "You go into the season ranked No. 1, target's on your back and everybody would kill to beat you. It was definitely a lot of stress, but I think we handled it as a team really well. We went one game at a time. "It's so special. Us seniors have been playing together since we were in the third grade. I love those girls and I'd do anything for them." Horsch backed Briar with 11 points, while Beagley tallied nine and Linden eight. Celia Puetz led Garden Plain, which finished 19-7, with eight points and Rolfs and Hammond each had six, Hammond saddled with foul trouble for the bulk of the contest. "We just couldn't get over the hump," Kasselman said. "I'm proud of our kids and how they battled. I told them nobody expected them to be in the state finals and yet here we were." SMITH CENTER 44, BEREAN ACADEMY 37 After falling at the buzzer to Garden Plain in Friday's semifinals, Smith Center bounced back to top Berean Academy for third place to finish the season 21-5. The Redmen did the bulk of their damage at the free-throw line, going 20 of 31 at the stripe in the game. That included makes on 16 of their last 19 attempts as they fought off Berean. Ashlyn Long made 8 of 10 free throws and led the Redmen with 15 points while Tallon Rentschler added 13 points. Berean, which lost to someone other than Sterling for the first time this season, finished 23-3 and got 12 points from Tayton Smith and 11 points from Lillie Veer. <figure>
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 </figure>Sterling's bench prepares to erupt in celebration as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STERLING 47, GARDEN PLAIN 38 Garden Plain … 11 … 8 … 13 … 6 … -- … 38 Sterling … 19 … 9 … 11 … 8 … -- … 47 Garden Plain (19-7) – Stuhlsatz 2-5 0-0 5, C. Puetz 3-7 2-2 8, Dooley 1-5 0-0 3, Hammond 2-6 2-2 6, S. Puetz 1-7 2-4 4, M. Rolfs 2-8 0-0 6, Zogleman 0-0 1-2 1, Hoheisel 1-2 1-1 3, C. Roldfs 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Hitt 1-6 0-0 2, Miles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-46 8-11 38. Sterling (26-0) – Farney 1-1 1-2 3, M. Linden 3-10 1-2 8, Horsch 4-6 2-4 11, Briar 4-10 0-0 12, Beagley 3-11 3-6 9, Rowland 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 2-8 0-2 4, A. Linden 0-0 0-0 0, Ekart 0-0 0-0 0, Brownlee 0-0 0-0 0, Cornelius 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 7-16 47. 3-point goals – Garden Plain 4-19 (M. Rolfs 2-7, Stuhlsatz 1-3, Dooley 1-3, S. Puetz 0-3, Hammond 0-1, Hitt 0-2); Sterling 6-16 (Briar 4-9, M. Linden 1-5, Horsch 1-1, Rowland 0-1). Rebounds – Garden Plain 30 (Dooley, Hammond 5), Sterling 40 (Briar 9). Assists – Garden Plain 8 (C. Puetz, Hammond, S. Puetz 2), Sterling 5 (M. Linden 2). Turnovers – Garden Plain 15, Sterling 15. Total fouls – Garden Plain 15, Sterling 14. Fouled out – Garden Plain: Dooley, Hammond. CONSOLATION GAME SMITH CENTER 44, BEREAN ACADEMY 37 Smith Center … 12 … 4 … 9 … 19 … -- … 44 Berean Academy … 14 … 3 … 5 … 15 … -- … 37 Smith Center (21-5) – Hrabe 0-2 1-4 1, Long 3-9 8-10 15, Kattenberg 1-3 3-4 5, Hutchinson 1-3 2-4 4, Rentschler 5-8 2-2 13, Kirchhoff 1-3 3-5 5, Parsons 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 11-28 20-31 44. Berean Academy (23-3) – Morgan 1-4 0-0 3, Timken 1-5 1-4 4, Veer 4-8 1-2 11, Wine 1-9 0-0 2, Smith 2-8 8-8 12, Wiebe 0-0 0-0 0, Koontz 2-3 0-1 5, Mullins 0-4 0-0 0, Tucker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-41 10-15 37. 3-point goals – Smith Center 2-8 (Long 1-4, Rentschler 1-1, Hrabe 0-2, Kattenberg 0-1); Berean 5-14 (Veer 2-5, Morgan 1-2, Timken 1-4, Koontz 1-1, Wine 0-1, Mullins 0-1). Rebounds – Smith Center 23 (Long, Hutchinson, Kirchhoff 4), Berean 30 (Smith 9). Assists – Smith Center 9 (Hrabe 4), Berean 5 (Smith 2). Turnovers – Smith Center 18, Berean 20. Total fouls – Smith Center 15, Berean 23. Fouled out – Berean: Veer.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update. &nbsp; &nbsp;

🏀 Class 2A girls championship: Sterling turns back rival Garden Plain to complete undefeated season

HUTCHINSON, Kan- The Hesston boys want to clear one thing up -- as great as back-to-back state championships are, they aren't even the first basketball team in school history to do that. Coach Greg Raleigh and senior forward Brayden Schilling mentioned it Friday, and senior guard Cason Richardson brought it up Saturday that the Hesston girls already had consecutive state titles. These Swathers still made history, as their 51-41 win over Royal Valley on Saturday at the Sports Arena wrapped up the Swathers' second straight Class 3A title, joining the Hesston girls, who won in 2014 and 2015.&nbsp;

Hesston's Cason Richardson (14) hoists the Class 3A state championship trophy after the Swathers won their second straight title Saturday in Hutchinson. "It's amazing. Incredible," said Richardson, who came back from a torn ACL in January to help Hesston win another title. "It feels great," said Raleigh, who has now won three titles in 12 years at Hesston. "It never gets old." Hesston returned a strong group from last year's winning team, but that may have been the only problem for Hesston in its quest to repeat - the pressure and expectations of doing so. "We've played good teams, and they were effective," Raleigh said. "But I feel we've been a little tight all year. They wanted to win a second (title) all year, and they knew they would have a tough substate. Maybe getting to the final made them relax." Hesston had one of its most complete games of the season, shooting 47.1% while holding Royal Valley to 39%. The Swathers outrebounded Royal Valley by three, had four more assists and turned it over one less time. "We knew they only played big guys, and our mentality all year is to get up and play in a way that makes them uncomfortable," Richardson said. "All year, they walked the ball up the court, and we didn't want them to do that today." Hesston used a strong first half to build a 28-15 lead, and that advantage swelled to 19 in the second half. "I would say their size," said Royal Valley senior guard Nahcs Wahwassuck about the challenge Hesston presented. "We hadn't played a team like that all year. That's a good team, so props to them for getting it done." The Panthers, playing in their first state championship game in team history, made a run. Behind a strong game from the lightning-quick and savvy Wahwassuck, who had 22 points, five assists and four steals, Royal Valley got as close as seven points in the second half. No other Panther had more than eight points.&nbsp;

Nahcs Wahwassuck scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to deliver Royal Valley the first state title in school history. The Panthers still posted their best state finish ever, taking second to Hesston after a 51-41 loss in Saturday's title game. "We subbed some guys in to defend him," Raleigh said. "We ran some double on him around the basket, and we didn't want to foul him." Hesston steadied after a Richardson basket, and then he swished a couple of free throws. From that point, it was just a matter of time before Hesston could celebrate another title, the fifth in program history. "I think a lot of people thought we were a thing of the past, but we came out and showed we were the best team in 3A," Richardson said. The best in 3A. Again. SOUTHEAST OF SALINE&nbsp;57, TMP-MARIAN&nbsp;44 Behind a balanced attack and 51.1% shooting, Southeast of Saline earned a third-place trophy. Eli Sawyers and Nakari Morrical-Palmer had 12 points each for Southeast of Saline, two of eight Trojans who scored.&nbsp;The Trojans also enjoyed a plus-one advantage on the boards, had six more assists, eight more steals and three more blocked shots. Jace Wentling had a game-high 17 points for TMP, which struggled shooting, making just 17 of 43 from the floor and 2 of 8 from 3-point range. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HESSTON 51, ROYAL VALLEY 41 Hesston ... 20 ... 8 ... 9 ... 14 ... -- ... 51 Royal Valley ... 12 ... 3 ... 10 ... 16 ... -- ... 41 Hesston (25-1) -- Schroeder 2-6 5-8, Werner 0-0 0-0 0, Proctor 4-11 1-2 11, Schilling 4-4 5-5 13, Waltner 0-0 0-0 0, Richardson 4-9 3-4 12, Arnold 2-4 2-5 6. Totals 16-34 16-24 51 Royal Valley (24-2) -- Murata 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-7 0-0 8, Coleman 0-0 0-0 , Wahwassuck 8-20 6-8 22, Kelly 1-1 0-0 3, Klotz 2-7, 0-0 4, Miller 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 16-41 6-8 41 3-point goals -- Hesston 3-10 (Proctor 2-6, Richardson 1-3, Arnold 0-1). Royal Valley 3-14 (Thomas 2-5, Kelly 1-1, Klotz 0-1, Miller 0-1, Wahwassuck 0-6). Rebounds -- Hesston 24 (Schroeder 6), Royal Valley 21 (Miller 9). Assists -- Hesston 9 (Richardson 4), Royal Valley 5 (Wahwassuck 5). Total fouls: Hesston 14, Royal Valley 20. Fouled out -- Thomas CONSOLATION GAME SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 57, TMP-MARIAN 44 TMP-Marian ...&nbsp;8 ... 14 ... 8 ... 14 ... -- ... 44 Southeast of Saline ... 13 ... 13 ... 18 ... 13 ... -- ... 57 TMP-Marian (20-6) -- Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Mindrup 0-0 0-0 0, Schumacher 0-1 0-0 0, Scwhartz 1-2 0-0 2, Wentling 5-9 7-7 17, Unrein 4-10 1-2 10, Ginther 1-5 0-0 3, Balthazor 0-0 0-0 0, Seib 1-5 0-0 2, Rome 0-0 0-0 0, Werth 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 17-43 8-9 44 Southeast of Saline (22-4) -- Sawyers 6-14 0-0 12, Morrical-Palmer 5-7 2-2 12, Augustine 2-4 4-6 8, Kejr 3-5 0-0 8, Richardson 0-3 0-0 0, J. Gebhardt 1-1 0-0 3, Lilley 1-3 0-0 2, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, L. Gebhardt 4-7 0-0 9, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Isaacson 1-1 0-0 3, Heller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 6-8 57 3-point goals: TMP 2-8 (Ginther 1-5, Unrein 1-2, Schwartz 0-1). Southeast of Saline 5-15 (Kejr 2-4, J. Gebhardt 1-1, L. Gebhardt 1-1, Isaacson 1-1, Lilley 0-1, Sawyers 0-2, Morrical-Palmer 0-2, Richardson 0-3). Rebounds -- TMP 23 (Wentlin 8), Southeast of Saline 24 (Morrial-Palmer 8). Assists -- TMP 11 (Unrein, Harris 3), Southeast of Saline 17 (Sawyeres 6). Total fouls -- TMP 12, Southeast of Saline 15.

Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recapHUTCHINSON, Kan- The Hesston boys want to clear one thing up -- as great as back-to-back state championships are, they aren't even the first basketball team in school history to do that. Coach Greg Raleigh and senior forward Brayden Schilling mentioned it Friday, and senior guard Cason Richardson brought it up Saturday that the Hesston girls already had consecutive state titles. These Swathers still made history, as their 51-41 win over Royal Valley on Saturday at the Sports Arena wrapped up the Swathers' second straight Class 3A title, joining the Hesston girls, who won in 2014 and 2015.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/13/Hesston_vs_Royal_Valley_3_.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Hesston's Cason Richardson (14) hoists the Class 3A state championship trophy after the Swathers won their second straight title Saturday in Hutchinson. "It's amazing. Incredible," said Richardson, who came back from a torn ACL in January to help Hesston win another title. "It feels great," said Raleigh, who has now won three titles in 12 years at Hesston. "It never gets old." Hesston returned a strong group from last year's winning team, but that may have been the only problem for Hesston in its quest to repeat - the pressure and expectations of doing so. "We've played good teams, and they were effective," Raleigh said. "But I feel we've been a little tight all year. They wanted to win a second (title) all year, and they knew they would have a tough substate. Maybe getting to the final made them relax." Hesston had one of its most complete games of the season, shooting 47.1% while holding Royal Valley to 39%. The Swathers outrebounded Royal Valley by three, had four more assists and turned it over one less time. "We knew they only played big guys, and our mentality all year is to get up and play in a way that makes them uncomfortable," Richardson said. "All year, they walked the ball up the court, and we didn't want them to do that today." Hesston used a strong first half to build a 28-15 lead, and that advantage swelled to 19 in the second half. "I would say their size," said Royal Valley senior guard Nahcs Wahwassuck about the challenge Hesston presented. "We hadn't played a team like that all year. That's a good team, so props to them for getting it done." The Panthers, playing in their first state championship game in team history, made a run. Behind a strong game from the lightning-quick and savvy Wahwassuck, who had 22 points, five assists and four steals, Royal Valley got as close as seven points in the second half. No other Panther had more than eight points.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/13/Hesston_vs_Royal_Valley_5_.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Nahcs Wahwassuck scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to deliver Royal Valley the first state title in school history. The Panthers still posted their best state finish ever, taking second to Hesston after a 51-41 loss in Saturday's title game. "We subbed some guys in to defend him," Raleigh said. "We ran some double on him around the basket, and we didn't want to foul him." Hesston steadied after a Richardson basket, and then he swished a couple of free throws. From that point, it was just a matter of time before Hesston could celebrate another title, the fifth in program history. "I think a lot of people thought we were a thing of the past, but we came out and showed we were the best team in 3A," Richardson said. The best in 3A. Again. SOUTHEAST OF SALINE&nbsp;57, TMP-MARIAN&nbsp;44 Behind a balanced attack and 51.1% shooting, Southeast of Saline earned a third-place trophy. Eli Sawyers and Nakari Morrical-Palmer had 12 points each for Southeast of Saline, two of eight Trojans who scored.&nbsp;The Trojans also enjoyed a plus-one advantage on the boards, had six more assists, eight more steals and three more blocked shots. Jace Wentling had a game-high 17 points for TMP, which struggled shooting, making just 17 of 43 from the floor and 2 of 8 from 3-point range. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HESSTON 51, ROYAL VALLEY 41 Hesston ... 20 ... 8 ... 9 ... 14 ... -- ... 51 Royal Valley ... 12 ... 3 ... 10 ... 16 ... -- ... 41 Hesston (25-1) -- Schroeder 2-6 5-8, Werner 0-0 0-0 0, Proctor 4-11 1-2 11, Schilling 4-4 5-5 13, Waltner 0-0 0-0 0, Richardson 4-9 3-4 12, Arnold 2-4 2-5 6. Totals 16-34 16-24 51 Royal Valley (24-2) -- Murata 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-7 0-0 8, Coleman 0-0 0-0 , Wahwassuck 8-20 6-8 22, Kelly 1-1 0-0 3, Klotz 2-7, 0-0 4, Miller 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 16-41 6-8 41 3-point goals -- Hesston 3-10 (Proctor 2-6, Richardson 1-3, Arnold 0-1). Royal Valley 3-14 (Thomas 2-5, Kelly 1-1, Klotz 0-1, Miller 0-1, Wahwassuck 0-6). Rebounds -- Hesston 24 (Schroeder 6), Royal Valley 21 (Miller 9). Assists -- Hesston 9 (Richardson 4), Royal Valley 5 (Wahwassuck 5). Total fouls: Hesston 14, Royal Valley 20. Fouled out -- Thomas CONSOLATION GAME SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 57, TMP-MARIAN 44 TMP-Marian ...&nbsp;8 ... 14 ... 8 ... 14 ... -- ... 44 Southeast of Saline ... 13 ... 13 ... 18 ... 13 ... -- ... 57 TMP-Marian (20-6) -- Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Mindrup 0-0 0-0 0, Schumacher 0-1 0-0 0, Scwhartz 1-2 0-0 2, Wentling 5-9 7-7 17, Unrein 4-10 1-2 10, Ginther 1-5 0-0 3, Balthazor 0-0 0-0 0, Seib 1-5 0-0 2, Rome 0-0 0-0 0, Werth 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 17-43 8-9 44 Southeast of Saline (22-4) -- Sawyers 6-14 0-0 12, Morrical-Palmer 5-7 2-2 12, Augustine 2-4 4-6 8, Kejr 3-5 0-0 8, Richardson 0-3 0-0 0, J. Gebhardt 1-1 0-0 3, Lilley 1-3 0-0 2, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, L. Gebhardt 4-7 0-0 9, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Isaacson 1-1 0-0 3, Heller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 6-8 57 3-point goals: TMP 2-8 (Ginther 1-5, Unrein 1-2, Schwartz 0-1). Southeast of Saline 5-15 (Kejr 2-4, J. Gebhardt 1-1, L. Gebhardt 1-1, Isaacson 1-1, Lilley 0-1, Sawyers 0-2, Morrical-Palmer 0-2, Richardson 0-3). Rebounds -- TMP 23 (Wentlin 8), Southeast of Saline 24 (Morrial-Palmer 8). Assists -- TMP 11 (Unrein, Harris 3), Southeast of Saline 17 (Sawyeres 6). Total fouls -- TMP 12, Southeast of Saline 15.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update. &nbsp; &nbsp;

🏀 Class 3A boys championship:Hesston carves out own history with 3A repeat

DODGE CITY, Kan. – A little more than four months earlier, the Pretty Prairie Bulldogs had watched a state volleyball championship slip away against Spearville at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp; On Saturday night, many of those same volleyball players made amends in a big way, holding off previously unbeaten Centralia, 37-35, to capture the Class 1A Division I&nbsp;girls state basketball title and in the process securing the school's first girls' crown in the sport.&nbsp; It was, in the words of senior post McKenna Vogl, one of those Bulldogs who had the heartbreak in late October, nothing but a surreal feeling to come away with the championship in such dramatic fashion.&nbsp; "It's about like a dream come true," said Vogl, who finished with a team-high 10 points to go with 10 rebounds for a career-ending double-double. She will head to Barton Community College next fall to keep her basketball days alive. "We wanted to get the ball inside but then we got into foul trouble so we had to go to our outside players and they came through. Just amazing. Just amazing."&nbsp; Centralia freshman sensation Oen Deters, who finished with 16 points, had the game's final shot just before the buzzer on a desperation 3-pointer from the right wing that bounced off the rim as time expired that would have been the game-winner.&nbsp; "She's probably the best freshman in the state of Kansas," said winning Bulldog coach Scott Goering, capping off his fourth season at the helm. "We told the girls we had to dog them on defense for 32 minutes and it took every minute and second to accomplish that."&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pretty Prairie's Aubrey Young is congratulated by teammate McKenna Vogl after winning the Class 1A Division I state title. While the younger Deters did a credible job off 5-of-11 shooting (2-of-6 from 3-point range), it was the difficulty in finding shots either from behind the arc or from her patented drive to the basket.&nbsp; "We were trying to our best to lock down their best players," said senior guard Abigail White. "There was no help for me on (No.) 15, so I just had to keep myself in front of her. It feels great to accomplish this. This was the big one we've been shooting for all season."&nbsp; White, in fact, was not on that volleyball team in late October. She, instead, was running cross country.&nbsp; But she will forever be remembered as the Bulldog who scored her team's final five points, knocking down a 2-pointer with 3:01 left to give her team a 34-32 lead. That quickly disappeared in less than a minute, trailing 35-34 at the 2:53 mark on a driving layup by the younger Deters.&nbsp; White then canned what would become the game-winner, draining a deep trey from the top of the key at 1:20 on the clock. It would prove to be just enough.&nbsp; The Bulldogs overcame two turnovers in the final 30 seconds to survive. Jorah Harbaugh missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4 seconds showing and the Panthers had the final possession to either tie or win the game.&nbsp; The older Deters sister, Avery, grabbed game-high honors with 17 points, hitting 3-of-6 treys. But the rest of the Panthers accounted for only two points as they struggled against the Bulldogs' tenacious defense. They managed only 11 of 45 from the field for 24.4 percent, including a bone-chilling 4-of-24 in the final 16 minutes.&nbsp; "We scored 37 and average 60, and they're about the same," Goering said. "It was a real battle out there. Very physical and somehow we managed to make enough plays. It's an amazing feeling."&nbsp; The early portion of the game was like a see-saw chess match.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie went to its 6-0 senior post Vogl as she got three early close-in baskets before leaving near the end of the first saddled with her second foul.&nbsp; The first quarter ended with Centralia up by the thread of one point, 13-12.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie claimed the biggest first-half advantage of four points twice, 19-15 and 22-18 before a late 3-pointer by the Panthers' Avery Deters that sliced the deficit to the three-point halftime score of 24-21, Bulldogs. The elder Deter drained a trio of treys in the opening half and led the Panthers with 13 points.&nbsp; Both teams ended the season at 25-1. Centralia had been pursuing the school's sixth state title and first since 2016. In 2020, the Panthers had won their quarterfinal opener when 1A was still just one division and were slated to face Olpe. But COVID ended that match-up and they had to wait two years for another shot. And they were just that close.&nbsp; BURLINGAME 55, HODGEMAN COUNTY 45&nbsp; Burlingame's Bearcats had never made a trip to a state basketball tournament in its girls' program history.&nbsp; They will go home with the third-place trophy after an emotional 55-45 victory over Hodgeman County's Longhorns on Saturday at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp; The Bearcats led from start to finish, jumping out to an early lead and owned quarter advantages of 11-8, 25-20, 37-32 before closing out the fourth quarter with an 18-13 margin.&nbsp; The Bearcats' top two players – sophomore Kaylin Noonan and senior Daelyn Winters – once again provided the scoring punch with 25 and 22 points, respectively.&nbsp; Hodgeman County, meanwhile, was led by Morgan Ruff's 16 points with Kaylee James and Jessie Ruff contributing 10 each.&nbsp; The Bearcats had big night at the free throw line, cashing in 19 of 24 charities to just 10-of-13 for the Longhorns.&nbsp; Burlingame coach Jeff Slater had enjoyed a banner week, welcoming a daughter into the family, celebrating his 35th&nbsp;birthday and winning two games at the state tourney in the school's first time showing up. The Bearcats finished 22-3 while the Longhorns ended at 24-2.&nbsp; CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PRETTY PRAIRIE 37, CENTRALIA 35&nbsp; Centralia&nbsp;...&nbsp;13&nbsp;...&nbsp;8&nbsp;...&nbsp;7&nbsp;...&nbsp;7&nbsp;...&nbsp;--&nbsp;...&nbsp;35&nbsp; Pretty Prairie ...&nbsp;12 ... 12 ...&nbsp;5&nbsp;... 8 ... -- ... 37&nbsp; Centralia (25-1) – Haverkamp 1-12 0-0 2, Wells 0-5 0-0 0, A. Deters 5-15 4-4 17, O. Deters 5-11 4-6 16, Flentie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-45 8-10 35.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie (25-1) – White 3-6 0-0 8, A. Young 2-7 3-3 9, Hendrickson 1-1 0-0 2, Webster 1-2 0-0 2, Jorah Harbaugh 1-7 0-1 2, Young 1-4 0-0 2, Vogl 4-8 2-4 10, Kruse 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-36 5-8 37.&nbsp; 3-point goals—Centralia 5-18 (Haverkamp 0-3, Wells 0-3, A. Deters 3-6, O. Deters 2-6), Pretty Prairie 4-12 (White 2-4, Young 2-5, Jorah Harbaugh 0-3). Rebounds—Centralia 26 (Haverkamp 7), Pretty Prairie 34 (Vogl 10). Assists—Centralia 5 (O. Deters, Flentie 2), Pretty Prairie 9 (Jorah Harbaugh 3). Fouls—Centralia 10, Pretty Prairie 14. Fouled out—None.&nbsp; CONSOLATION&nbsp;GAME BURLINGAME&nbsp;55, HODGEMAN COUNTY 45&nbsp; Burlingame&nbsp;...&nbsp;11&nbsp;...&nbsp;14&nbsp;...&nbsp;12&nbsp;...&nbsp;18&nbsp;...&nbsp;--&nbsp;...&nbsp;55&nbsp; Hodgeman County ... 8 ...&nbsp;12 ... 12 ... 13 ... -- ... 45&nbsp; Burlingame (22-3) – I. Tyson 0-2 0-0 0, Noonan 8-16 9-12 25, Winters 5-11 8-9 22, Simmons 2-6 -3 8, Masters 0-1 0-0 0, Crook 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-37 19-24 55.&nbsp; Hodgeman County (24-2) – James 4-8 2-5 10, M. Ruff 5-9 4-4 16, Beil 0-5 0-0 0, Shiew 3-11 0-0 7, Burke 1-3 0-0 2, Schaffer 0-1 0-0 0, J. Ruff 3-6 4-4 10. Totals 16-43 10-13 45.&nbsp; 3-point goals—Burlingame 6-14 (I. Tyson 0-1, Noonan 0-1, Winters 4-8, Simmons 2-4), Hodgeman Co. 3-10 (M. Ruff 2-5, Beil 0-1, Shiew 1-3, Schaffer 0-1). Rebounds—Burlingame 25 (Noonan 7), Hodgeman Co. 30 (James, Shiew, J. Ruff 5 each). Assists—Burlingame 12 (Winters 6), Hodgeman Co. 8 (James, Beil 3 each). Fouls—Burlingame 16, Hodgeman Co. 20. Fouled out—Burlingame (I. Tyson), Hodgeman Co. (Shiew).<a href="https://kshsaacovered.com/news/2022/3/12/womens-basketball-class-1a-div-i-girls-championship.aspx?print=true">Print Friendly Version</a>

Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recapDODGE CITY, Kan. – A little more than four months earlier, the Pretty Prairie Bulldogs had watched a state volleyball championship slip away against Spearville at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp; On Saturday night, many of those same volleyball players made amends in a big way, holding off previously unbeaten Centralia, 37-35, to capture the Class 1A Division I&nbsp;girls state basketball title and in the process securing the school's first girls' crown in the sport.&nbsp; It was, in the words of senior post McKenna Vogl, one of those Bulldogs who had the heartbreak in late October, nothing but a surreal feeling to come away with the championship in such dramatic fashion.&nbsp; "It's about like a dream come true," said Vogl, who finished with a team-high 10 points to go with 10 rebounds for a career-ending double-double. She will head to Barton Community College next fall to keep her basketball days alive. "We wanted to get the ball inside but then we got into foul trouble so we had to go to our outside players and they came through. Just amazing. Just amazing."&nbsp; Centralia freshman sensation Oen Deters, who finished with 16 points, had the game's final shot just before the buzzer on a desperation 3-pointer from the right wing that bounced off the rim as time expired that would have been the game-winner.&nbsp; "She's probably the best freshman in the state of Kansas," said winning Bulldog coach Scott Goering, capping off his fourth season at the helm. "We told the girls we had to dog them on defense for 32 minutes and it took every minute and second to accomplish that."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
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 </figure>Pretty Prairie's Aubrey Young is congratulated by teammate McKenna Vogl after winning the Class 1A Division I state title. While the younger Deters did a credible job off 5-of-11 shooting (2-of-6 from 3-point range), it was the difficulty in finding shots either from behind the arc or from her patented drive to the basket.&nbsp; "We were trying to our best to lock down their best players," said senior guard Abigail White. "There was no help for me on (No.) 15, so I just had to keep myself in front of her. It feels great to accomplish this. This was the big one we've been shooting for all season."&nbsp; White, in fact, was not on that volleyball team in late October. She, instead, was running cross country.&nbsp; But she will forever be remembered as the Bulldog who scored her team's final five points, knocking down a 2-pointer with 3:01 left to give her team a 34-32 lead. That quickly disappeared in less than a minute, trailing 35-34 at the 2:53 mark on a driving layup by the younger Deters.&nbsp; White then canned what would become the game-winner, draining a deep trey from the top of the key at 1:20 on the clock. It would prove to be just enough.&nbsp; The Bulldogs overcame two turnovers in the final 30 seconds to survive. Jorah Harbaugh missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4 seconds showing and the Panthers had the final possession to either tie or win the game.&nbsp; The older Deters sister, Avery, grabbed game-high honors with 17 points, hitting 3-of-6 treys. But the rest of the Panthers accounted for only two points as they struggled against the Bulldogs' tenacious defense. They managed only 11 of 45 from the field for 24.4 percent, including a bone-chilling 4-of-24 in the final 16 minutes.&nbsp; "We scored 37 and average 60, and they're about the same," Goering said. "It was a real battle out there. Very physical and somehow we managed to make enough plays. It's an amazing feeling."&nbsp; The early portion of the game was like a see-saw chess match.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie went to its 6-0 senior post Vogl as she got three early close-in baskets before leaving near the end of the first saddled with her second foul.&nbsp; The first quarter ended with Centralia up by the thread of one point, 13-12.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie claimed the biggest first-half advantage of four points twice, 19-15 and 22-18 before a late 3-pointer by the Panthers' Avery Deters that sliced the deficit to the three-point halftime score of 24-21, Bulldogs. The elder Deter drained a trio of treys in the opening half and led the Panthers with 13 points.&nbsp; Both teams ended the season at 25-1. Centralia had been pursuing the school's sixth state title and first since 2016. In 2020, the Panthers had won their quarterfinal opener when 1A was still just one division and were slated to face Olpe. But COVID ended that match-up and they had to wait two years for another shot. And they were just that close.&nbsp; BURLINGAME 55, HODGEMAN COUNTY 45&nbsp; Burlingame's Bearcats had never made a trip to a state basketball tournament in its girls' program history.&nbsp; They will go home with the third-place trophy after an emotional 55-45 victory over Hodgeman County's Longhorns on Saturday at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp; The Bearcats led from start to finish, jumping out to an early lead and owned quarter advantages of 11-8, 25-20, 37-32 before closing out the fourth quarter with an 18-13 margin.&nbsp; The Bearcats' top two players – sophomore Kaylin Noonan and senior Daelyn Winters – once again provided the scoring punch with 25 and 22 points, respectively.&nbsp; Hodgeman County, meanwhile, was led by Morgan Ruff's 16 points with Kaylee James and Jessie Ruff contributing 10 each.&nbsp; The Bearcats had big night at the free throw line, cashing in 19 of 24 charities to just 10-of-13 for the Longhorns.&nbsp; Burlingame coach Jeff Slater had enjoyed a banner week, welcoming a daughter into the family, celebrating his 35th&nbsp;birthday and winning two games at the state tourney in the school's first time showing up. The Bearcats finished 22-3 while the Longhorns ended at 24-2.&nbsp; CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PRETTY PRAIRIE 37, CENTRALIA 35&nbsp; Centralia&nbsp;...&nbsp;13&nbsp;...&nbsp;8&nbsp;...&nbsp;7&nbsp;...&nbsp;7&nbsp;...&nbsp;--&nbsp;...&nbsp;35&nbsp; Pretty Prairie ...&nbsp;12 ... 12 ...&nbsp;5&nbsp;... 8 ... -- ... 37&nbsp; Centralia (25-1) – Haverkamp 1-12 0-0 2, Wells 0-5 0-0 0, A. Deters 5-15 4-4 17, O. Deters 5-11 4-6 16, Flentie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-45 8-10 35.&nbsp; Pretty Prairie (25-1) – White 3-6 0-0 8, A. Young 2-7 3-3 9, Hendrickson 1-1 0-0 2, Webster 1-2 0-0 2, Jorah Harbaugh 1-7 0-1 2, Young 1-4 0-0 2, Vogl 4-8 2-4 10, Kruse 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-36 5-8 37.&nbsp; 3-point goals—Centralia 5-18 (Haverkamp 0-3, Wells 0-3, A. Deters 3-6, O. Deters 2-6), Pretty Prairie 4-12 (White 2-4, Young 2-5, Jorah Harbaugh 0-3). Rebounds—Centralia 26 (Haverkamp 7), Pretty Prairie 34 (Vogl 10). Assists—Centralia 5 (O. Deters, Flentie 2), Pretty Prairie 9 (Jorah Harbaugh 3). Fouls—Centralia 10, Pretty Prairie 14. Fouled out—None.&nbsp; CONSOLATION&nbsp;GAME BURLINGAME&nbsp;55, HODGEMAN COUNTY 45&nbsp; Burlingame&nbsp;...&nbsp;11&nbsp;...&nbsp;14&nbsp;...&nbsp;12&nbsp;...&nbsp;18&nbsp;...&nbsp;--&nbsp;...&nbsp;55&nbsp; Hodgeman County ... 8 ...&nbsp;12 ... 12 ... 13 ... -- ... 45&nbsp; Burlingame (22-3) – I. Tyson 0-2 0-0 0, Noonan 8-16 9-12 25, Winters 5-11 8-9 22, Simmons 2-6 -3 8, Masters 0-1 0-0 0, Crook 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-37 19-24 55.&nbsp; Hodgeman County (24-2) – James 4-8 2-5 10, M. Ruff 5-9 4-4 16, Beil 0-5 0-0 0, Shiew 3-11 0-0 7, Burke 1-3 0-0 2, Schaffer 0-1 0-0 0, J. Ruff 3-6 4-4 10. Totals 16-43 10-13 45.&nbsp; 3-point goals—Burlingame 6-14 (I. Tyson 0-1, Noonan 0-1, Winters 4-8, Simmons 2-4), Hodgeman Co. 3-10 (M. Ruff 2-5, Beil 0-1, Shiew 1-3, Schaffer 0-1). Rebounds—Burlingame 25 (Noonan 7), Hodgeman Co. 30 (James, Shiew, J. Ruff 5 each). Assists—Burlingame 12 (Winters 6), Hodgeman Co. 8 (James, Beil 3 each). Fouls—Burlingame 16, Hodgeman Co. 20. Fouled out—Burlingame (I. Tyson), Hodgeman Co. (Shiew).<a href="https://kshsaacovered.com/news/2022/3/12/womens-basketball-class-1a-div-i-girls-championship.aspx?print=true">Print Friendly Version</a>

🏀 Class 1A Div. I girls championship: Pretty Prairie gets redemption with first state title

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The ball left Hugoton's Mikyn Hamlin's hand with one-tenth of a second left Saturday at the Sports Arena. Goodland coach Bill Biermann's heart sank. Leading by a point at the end of the Class 3A state championship game, Biermann and the Cowgirls had good reason to think Hamlin's shot was going to be the game-winner. On Jan. 14 in Hugoton, Hamlin banked in a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the game against Goodland to overtime, where Hugoton won. "Same girl. Same location," Biermann said. "I thought, 'You gotta be kidding me.'" Hamlin's shot again hit the backboard, bounced on the rim, but this time, didn't go in. The Cowgirls screamed in jubilation. Hugoton's players dropped to the floor as a classic state championship game ended. Goodland 48, Hugoton 47&nbsp;

Goodland's defense stymied Hugoton in the second half. It was Goodland's third state title but first since 1980, and it came against a fellow Great West Activities Conference school. "It's actually 3A, not just our conference," Biermann said. "Look at all the players here this week going (Division 1). There were a lot of good 3A teams at home this week. It's loaded, and we felt grateful for the opportunity to get here. We wanted to maximize it when we got here." Goodland was in tight, tense games all week in Hutchinson. Two wins were by a single point, and the six-point semifinal win over Silver Lake must have felt like a walk in the park, by comparison. Goodland clamped down on Hugoton's dynamic trio of Gianna Vos, Summya Adigun and Hamlin in the second half.&nbsp;Although the three combined for 41 points, the Eagles mustered just 17 in the second half. They made just 7 of 22 shots in the second half. The Cowgirls also outrebounded Hugoton 30-26 and had two fewer turnovers (17-15). "They did a good job rebounding the basketball," Hugoton coach Emmanuel Adigun said. "They got us in some foul trouble, and we turned it over some, and those are opportunities we can't give in these types of games." Hugoton led 30-27 at halftime and doubled that lead to 39-33 after three quarters. But Goodland held Hugoton to just eight fourth-quarter points. Goodland took its first lead since it was 7-4 when Olivia Lehman scored with 2 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game, giving the Cowgirls a 45-43 lead. The teams then traded baskets, and Summya Adigun's layup with 59 seconds left tied the game. Then, 28 seconds later, Goodland's Talexa Weeter was fouled for a one-and-one. An 80% foul shooter suddenly had the weight of the Goodland world on her shoulders. "I was nervous," Weeter said.&nbsp; She made the first one, the game's final point. "That relaxed me a little," Weeter said. "But it was still a one-point game, and if they made a bunny shot, it's over." Goodland's defense locked down for the final half-minute. Hugoton spent two timeouts to get organized, and Biermann switched the Cowgirls' defense each time. In the final seconds, Hamlin drove to the basket and missed. The ball pinballed around, before Hamlin tracked it down and launched the shot that had Goodland fans, players and coaches sensing deja vu. It didn't happen. Jubilation for Goodland and heartbreak for Hugoton. "I'm so proud of this team," Adigun said. "We graduated three seniors that played for four years. We started two kids with no varsity experience. Our sixth man had no varsity experience, and our seventh player hadn't played in two years. I'm disappointed we lost, but I'm not disappointed with the season we had." SILVER LAKE&nbsp;53, NICKERSON&nbsp;51 Kaibryn Kruger sank four 3-pointers, including three in the decisive fourth quarter, and Silver Lake ended the season with a win and a third-place trophy. Down 36-31 after three quarters, Kruger spurred the Eagles in the final eight minutes with 11 points, two coming on a big offensive rebound and putback in the final minute that gave Silver Lake a three-point lead. Ava Jones led Nickerson with 26 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and two assists. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME GOODLAND 48, HUGOTON 47 Hugoton&nbsp;... 16 ... 14 ... 9 ... 8 ... -- ... 47 Goodland&nbsp;... 13 ... 14 ... 6 ... 15 ... -- ... 48 Hugoton (23-3) -- Salazar 0-0 0-0 0, Slocom 0-0 0-0 0, Vos 8-14 2-2 22, Adigun 3-8 5-7 11, Haar 2-5 2-4 6, Hamlin 3-13 0-2 8. Totals: 16-40 9-15 47 Goodland (24-2) -- Biermann 0-2 0-0 0, Mitchek 2-6 2-2 7, Weeter 5-9 4-7 16, Cure 2-7 0-1 4, O. Lehman 5-7 0-0 10, E. Lehman 3-13 4-4 11, Blochlinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-44 10-14 48 3-point goals -- Hugoton 6-19 (Vos 4-8, Hamlin 2-8, Adigun 0-3). Goodland 4-12 (Weeter 2-4, Mitchek 1-1, E. Lehman 1-6, Biermann 0-1). Rebounds -- Hugoton 26 (Adigun 9), Goodland 30 (Cure 9). Assists -- Hugoton 8 (Hamlin 4), Goodland 10 (Biermann 4). Total fouls -- Hugoton 10, Goodland 13. Fouled out -- Mitchek CONSOLATION GAME SILVER LAKE 53, NICKERSON 51 Nickerson ... 9 ... 18 ... 9 ... 15 ... -- ... 51 Silver Lake ... 15 ... 7 ... 9 .. 22 .. -- ... 53 Nickerson (23-3) -- Allen 0-3 0-0 0, McLean 1-8 2-2 5, A. Ontjes 0-0 0-0 , K. Ontjes 4-9 0-1 10, Ponds 1-4 0-1 2, Abernathy 4-4 0-0 8, Jones 10-21 5-8 26. Totals: 20-49 7-12 51 Silver Lake (24-2) -- Wherli 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 2-6 0-2 5, Deiter 1-3 2-2 5, McDaniel 5-10 2-2 12, K. Kruger 5-10 0-2 14, M. Kruger 2-12 3-8 7, Bolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 3-6 4-5 10. 3-point goals -- Nickerson 4-19 (K. Ontjes 2-7, Jones 1-3, McLean 1-4, Allen 0-2, Ponds 0-3). Silver Lake 6-19 (K. Kruger 4-7, Deiter 1-1, Farmer 1-4, M. Kruger 0-7). Rebounds -- Nickerson 37 (Jones 19), Silver Lake 32 (McDaniel 7). Assists -- Nickerson 16 (K. Ontjes 4), Silver Lake 11 (M. Kruger 5). Total fouls -- Nickerson 17, Silver Lake 15.

Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recapHUTCHINSON, Kan. - The ball left Hugoton's Mikyn Hamlin's hand with one-tenth of a second left Saturday at the Sports Arena. Goodland coach Bill Biermann's heart sank. Leading by a point at the end of the Class 3A state championship game, Biermann and the Cowgirls had good reason to think Hamlin's shot was going to be the game-winner. On Jan. 14 in Hugoton, Hamlin banked in a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the game against Goodland to overtime, where Hugoton won. "Same girl. Same location," Biermann said. "I thought, 'You gotta be kidding me.'" Hamlin's shot again hit the backboard, bounced on the rim, but this time, didn't go in. The Cowgirls screamed in jubilation. Hugoton's players dropped to the floor as a classic state championship game ended. Goodland 48, Hugoton 47&nbsp;Goodland's defense stymied Hugoton in the second half. It was Goodland's third state title but first since 1980, and it came against a fellow Great West Activities Conference school. "It's actually 3A, not just our conference," Biermann said. "Look at all the players here this week going (Division 1). There were a lot of good 3A teams at home this week. It's loaded, and we felt grateful for the opportunity to get here. We wanted to maximize it when we got here." Goodland was in tight, tense games all week in Hutchinson. Two wins were by a single point, and the six-point semifinal win over Silver Lake must have felt like a walk in the park, by comparison. Goodland clamped down on Hugoton's dynamic trio of Gianna Vos, Summya Adigun and Hamlin in the second half.&nbsp;Although the three combined for 41 points, the Eagles mustered just 17 in the second half. They made just 7 of 22 shots in the second half. The Cowgirls also outrebounded Hugoton 30-26 and had two fewer turnovers (17-15). "They did a good job rebounding the basketball," Hugoton coach Emmanuel Adigun said. "They got us in some foul trouble, and we turned it over some, and those are opportunities we can't give in these types of games." Hugoton led 30-27 at halftime and doubled that lead to 39-33 after three quarters. But Goodland held Hugoton to just eight fourth-quarter points. Goodland took its first lead since it was 7-4 when Olivia Lehman scored with 2 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game, giving the Cowgirls a 45-43 lead. The teams then traded baskets, and Summya Adigun's layup with 59 seconds left tied the game. Then, 28 seconds later, Goodland's Talexa Weeter was fouled for a one-and-one. An 80% foul shooter suddenly had the weight of the Goodland world on her shoulders. "I was nervous," Weeter said.&nbsp; She made the first one, the game's final point. "That relaxed me a little," Weeter said. "But it was still a one-point game, and if they made a bunny shot, it's over." Goodland's defense locked down for the final half-minute. Hugoton spent two timeouts to get organized, and Biermann switched the Cowgirls' defense each time. In the final seconds, Hamlin drove to the basket and missed. The ball pinballed around, before Hamlin tracked it down and launched the shot that had Goodland fans, players and coaches sensing deja vu. It didn't happen. Jubilation for Goodland and heartbreak for Hugoton. "I'm so proud of this team," Adigun said. "We graduated three seniors that played for four years. We started two kids with no varsity experience. Our sixth man had no varsity experience, and our seventh player hadn't played in two years. I'm disappointed we lost, but I'm not disappointed with the season we had." SILVER LAKE&nbsp;53, NICKERSON&nbsp;51 Kaibryn Kruger sank four 3-pointers, including three in the decisive fourth quarter, and Silver Lake ended the season with a win and a third-place trophy. Down 36-31 after three quarters, Kruger spurred the Eagles in the final eight minutes with 11 points, two coming on a big offensive rebound and putback in the final minute that gave Silver Lake a three-point lead. Ava Jones led Nickerson with 26 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and two assists. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME GOODLAND 48, HUGOTON 47 Hugoton&nbsp;... 16 ... 14 ... 9 ... 8 ... -- ... 47 Goodland&nbsp;... 13 ... 14 ... 6 ... 15 ... -- ... 48 Hugoton (23-3) -- Salazar 0-0 0-0 0, Slocom 0-0 0-0 0, Vos 8-14 2-2 22, Adigun 3-8 5-7 11, Haar 2-5 2-4 6, Hamlin 3-13 0-2 8. Totals: 16-40 9-15 47 Goodland (24-2) -- Biermann 0-2 0-0 0, Mitchek 2-6 2-2 7, Weeter 5-9 4-7 16, Cure 2-7 0-1 4, O. Lehman 5-7 0-0 10, E. Lehman 3-13 4-4 11, Blochlinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-44 10-14 48 3-point goals -- Hugoton 6-19 (Vos 4-8, Hamlin 2-8, Adigun 0-3). Goodland 4-12 (Weeter 2-4, Mitchek 1-1, E. Lehman 1-6, Biermann 0-1). Rebounds -- Hugoton 26 (Adigun 9), Goodland 30 (Cure 9). Assists -- Hugoton 8 (Hamlin 4), Goodland 10 (Biermann 4). Total fouls -- Hugoton 10, Goodland 13. Fouled out -- Mitchek CONSOLATION GAME SILVER LAKE 53, NICKERSON 51 Nickerson ... 9 ... 18 ... 9 ... 15 ... -- ... 51 Silver Lake ... 15 ... 7 ... 9 .. 22 .. -- ... 53 Nickerson (23-3) -- Allen 0-3 0-0 0, McLean 1-8 2-2 5, A. Ontjes 0-0 0-0 , K. Ontjes 4-9 0-1 10, Ponds 1-4 0-1 2, Abernathy 4-4 0-0 8, Jones 10-21 5-8 26. Totals: 20-49 7-12 51 Silver Lake (24-2) -- Wherli 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 2-6 0-2 5, Deiter 1-3 2-2 5, McDaniel 5-10 2-2 12, K. Kruger 5-10 0-2 14, M. Kruger 2-12 3-8 7, Bolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 3-6 4-5 10. 3-point goals -- Nickerson 4-19 (K. Ontjes 2-7, Jones 1-3, McLean 1-4, Allen 0-2, Ponds 0-3). Silver Lake 6-19 (K. Kruger 4-7, Deiter 1-1, Farmer 1-4, M. Kruger 0-7). Rebounds -- Nickerson 37 (Jones 19), Silver Lake 32 (McDaniel 7). Assists -- Nickerson 16 (K. Ontjes 4), Silver Lake 11 (M. Kruger 5). Total fouls -- Nickerson 17, Silver Lake 15. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update. &nbsp; &nbsp;

 🏀Class 3A girls championship: Goodland ends 42-year title drought with survival win over rival Hugoton

MANHATTAN, Kan.— Not only did Celia Puetz not call bank, she wasn't sure the backboard would survive her last-second shot. "Honest to God, I&nbsp;thought it was going to go through the backboard," the Garden Plain junior said of her 10-foot jumper as time expired in Friday's Class 2A state semifinal game against Smith Center. It didn't go through the backboard. Instead, it went through the net, banking home at the buzzer to give Garden Plain a thrilling 40-38 victory over the Redmen.&nbsp; "When it went in, Oh my god!" Puetz said. "I was so shocked, honestly." Garden Plain's second straight state stunner – the Owls knocked off previously undefeated Pittsburg Colgan in Wednesday's quarterfinals – earned the Owls (19-6) a spot in their first state title game since 2019. The opponent in Saturday's 4 p.m. state championship game will be a familiar one: undefeated and defending champion Sterling (25-0) – the same team the Owls beat for the title in 2019 and also faced in the semifinals the past two seasons, each winning once.

Garden Plain's Celia Puetz (left) gets a hug from Owls assistant coach Ann Holmes after hitting the game-winning shot in Friday's 40-38 win over Smith Center in the Class 2A state semifinals. "We'll take it and move on," Garden Plain coach Kody Kasselman said. "We've got a tall task ahead of us. We'll have to play really well." After a back-and-forth opening three quarters, Garden Plain appeared to have taken control early in the fourth quarter against Smith Center. Down 31-28, the Owls got six straight points from junior guard Sydney Puetz – free throws sandwiched around a tough and-one drive – to go up 34-31. They then stretched the lead to 38-31 on three straight points from Brooke Hammond, the last coming on a free throw with 1:57 left. But Garden Plain's grip on the game wasn't tight endough and&nbsp;Smith Center stormed back. After missing their&nbsp;first 10 3-point attempts in the game, and four in the fourth quarter alone, the Redmen suddenly found the range. Ashlyn Long nailed one with 1:44 to go that cut the deficit to four and with Garden Plain missing free throws – four straight by Sydney Puetz – Smith Center took advantage of the opening. Camryn Hutchinson's 3-pointer with 34 seconds left tied the game 38-38. "We felt like we had traction and then we just didn't close out with free throws," Kasselman said. After a pair of timeouts, the last coming with 4.8 seconds left, the Owls inbounded in front of their own bench. Celia Puetz wasn't the first option, but when the ball found its way into her hands, she delivered. "We were going to set a screen for (Brooke Hammond) and she was supposed to come get it," Puetz said. "I just got the ball and I knew there was only a few seconds, so I took a dribble and shot it. … When it went in, I've never jumped like that before. It was crazy." "Just the way we drew it up," Kasselman said, tongue in cheek. "Good for Celia. She's had her ups and downs, especially finishing, and we'll take a bank shot from 10 feet every day to put us in the finals." In a way, revenge can be on both team's minds in the title game. Garden Plain topped Sterling 47-40 in the 2019 Class 2A state championship game to earn its second straight state title, the first coming in 3A in 2018. In 2020, the Owls picked off Sterling in the quarterfinals 54-48 before seeing their bid for a three-peat end when the state tournament was canceled prior to the semifinals. Last year, Sterling got a measure of revenge with a 69-52 win over the Owls in the semifinals on its way to capturing the program's first state championship.

Sterling's Kali Briar (32), Bennie Horsch (14) and Makenna Linden (far right) celebrate after fighting off rival Berean Academy for a 42-35 win in Friday's Class 2A state semifinals. The Black Bears continued their undefeated season and quest for a second straight state championship.&nbsp; STERLING 42, BEREAN ACADEMY 35 Sterling coach Jill Rowland was dead on when she said there wasn't much glamorous about her team's Class 2A semifinal showdown with Heart of America rival Berean Academy. "The first one wasn't and I didn't expect this one to be," Rowland said. But Rowland couldn't ask for much more of a beautiful sight as the final seconds ticked off of a 42-35 victory that sends her Black Bears to the state championship game for the second straight year and third time in four years. In the process, defending champion Sterling continued its undefeated season, improving to 25-0. "It's surviving," Rowland said. "They know us well and we know them well, which makes this game really hard." Sterling handed Berean Academy its only loss of the season during the regular season, taking a 44-39 victory in mid-February. That game was a grind-it-out affair and so was Friday's rematch at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. After putting up 73 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal rout of Mission Valley – with standout guard Kali Briar hitting six 3-pointers on her way to 28 points – Sterling had to shift gears for the defensive slugfest against Berean.&nbsp; Fortunately for Rowland, this model of Sterling comes with multiple options. So when Briar cooled considerably from deep, making just 1 of 3 attempts beyond the arc, and leading scorer Bennie Horsch made just one of her first five shots, the Black Bears turned elsewhere for a spark. It came from senior post Sadie Beagley, who finished with a game-high 14 points, 10 coming in the second half as Sterling made a concerted effort to pound away inside despite Berean's size and length in the post.

Sterling's Sadie Beagley came up big in the Black Bears' semifinal win over Berean Academy, scoring 14 points. We knew we had to get it inside," said Beagley, who made 4 of 8 shots and was 6 of 6 at the free-throw line. "We did that last time and we just really had to work to do it again. … All of us can score and that's hard to guard. When one person has a bad game, the others can step up and have a great game." Up just 14-11 at halftime thanks to Briar's lone 3-pointer late in the half, Sterling got back-to-back buckets from Horsch and Beagley to start the second half to finally gain a little separation. That spurt was all the Black Bears really needed. After another basket inside from Beagley pushed Sterling's lead to nine, 24-15, Berean never really made things uncomfortable for the Black Bears. The Warriors got as close as five on five occasions in the second half, but only had two possessions with a chance to make it a one-score game. "To scout us, it would be tough," Rowland said. "If you look at two games, the next two games could be very different. … It's a lot of balance. "We like to get (the ball inside) and the second half … my post players played hard." Horsch added 10 points for Sterling, eight coming in the second half, while Briar finished with 11 points. Sally Wine led Berean with 13 points. Sterling is now one win away from a second straight Class 2A state championship. The Black Bears have navigated a brutally tough schedule unscathed and are looking for the first undefeated season in program history. "We've fought with focus because there's a lot of distractions with winning it last year and not having a loss this year," Rowland said. "A lot of people assume that since we won it, we'd just walk back here and do it again. It's hard to get to the state tournament, let alone win all your games. We just stayed focused on the short-term things and don't spend a lot of time talking about winning the state championship. It's 'Let's win this next ball game, beat this team, win our league.' Keep it in smaller bites." STERLING 42, BEREAN ACADEMY 35 Berean Academy … 7 … 4 … 8 … 16 … -- … 35 Sterling … 5 … 9 … 12 … 16 … -- … 42 Berean Academy (23-2) – Morgan 0-4 0-0 0, Timken 1-5 0-0 2, Veer 3-7 0-0 6, Wine 6-13 0-0 13, Smith 2-5 2-2 6, Wiebe 0-3 0-0 0, Koontz 1-3 0-0 2, Mullins 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 16-48 2-2 35. Sterling (25-0) – Farney 0-1 0-1 0, Linden 1-6 2-2 4, Horsch 4-9 2-4 10, Briar 3-11 4-5 11, Beagley 4-8 6-6 14, Rowland 0-3 1-2 1, A. Linden 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 13-40 15-20 42. 3-point goals – Berean 1-8 (Wine 1-2, Veer 0-2, Wiebe 0-2, Timken 0-1, Koontz 0-1); Sterling 1-8 (Briar 1-3, Horsch 0-2, M. Linden 0-2, Rowland 0-1). Rebounds – Berean 35 (Wine 6), Sterling 31 (Beagley 7). Assists – Berean 8 (Timken, Veer 3), Sterling 9 (Briar 4). Turnovers – Berean 14, Sterling 9. Total fouls – Berean 17, Sterling 9. Fouled out – none. GARDEN PLAIN 40, SMITH CENTER 38 Smith Center … 14 … 7 … 8 … 9 … -- 38 Garden Plain … 7 … 12 … 9 … 12 … -- … 40 Smith Center (20-5) – Hrabe 1-6 0-0 2, Long 6-13 0-0 13, Kattenberg 4-6 0-0 8, Hutchinson 1-1 0-0 3, Rentschler 4-9 2-2 10, Kirchhoff 0-0 1-3 1, Parsons 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 16-35 4-7 38. Garden Plain (19-6) – Stuhlsatz 2-6 0-1 5, C. Puetz 3-5 1-2 7, Dooley 1-4 0-0 3, Hammond 2-3 4-8 8, S. Puetz 4-8 4-9 13, Hitt 0-2 0-0 0, Rolfs 1-11 2-4 4, Zoglman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 11-24 40. 3-point goals – Smith Center (2-13 (Long 1-6, Hutchinson 1-1, Hrabe 0-3, Kattenberg 0-2, Rentschler 0-1); Garden Plain 3-16 (Stuhlsatz 1-4, Dooley 1-1, S. Puetz 1-2, Hammond 0-1, Hitt 0-1, Rolfs 0-6, Zoglman 0-1). Rebounds – Smith Center 26 (Kattenberg 5), Garden Plain 31 (Stuhlsatz, Hammond, S. Puetz, Rolfs 4). Assists – Smith Center 7 (Long, Kattenberg 2), Garden Plain 2 (Hammond, Zoglman). Turnovers – Smith Center 17, Garden Plain 13. Total fouls – Smith Center 17, Garden Plain 8. Fouled out – Smith Center: Kattenberg.

Garden Plain's Madelyn Rolfs (left) and Ryleigh Stuhlsatz (middle) mob teammate Celia Puetz (right) after she hit the game-winning shot in a 40-38 victory over Smith Center.

MANHATTAN, Kan.— Not only did Celia Puetz not call bank, she wasn't sure the backboard would survive her last-second shot. "Honest to God, I&nbsp;thought it was going to go through the backboard," the Garden Plain junior said of her 10-foot jumper as time expired in Friday's Class 2A state semifinal game against Smith Center. It didn't go through the backboard. Instead, it went through the net, banking home at the buzzer to give Garden Plain a thrilling 40-38 victory over the Redmen.&nbsp; "When it went in, Oh my god!" Puetz said. "I was so shocked, honestly." Garden Plain's second straight state stunner – the Owls knocked off previously undefeated Pittsburg Colgan in Wednesday's quarterfinals – earned the Owls (19-6) a spot in their first state title game since 2019. The opponent in Saturday's 4 p.m. state championship game will be a familiar one: undefeated and defending champion Sterling (25-0) – the same team the Owls beat for the title in 2019 and also faced in the semifinals the past two seasons, each winning once. <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/11/Puetzhug.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Garden Plain's Celia Puetz (left) gets a hug from Owls assistant coach Ann Holmes after hitting the game-winning shot in Friday's 40-38 win over Smith Center in the Class 2A state semifinals. "We'll take it and move on," Garden Plain coach Kody Kasselman said. "We've got a tall task ahead of us. We'll have to play really well." After a back-and-forth opening three quarters, Garden Plain appeared to have taken control early in the fourth quarter against Smith Center. Down 31-28, the Owls got six straight points from junior guard Sydney Puetz – free throws sandwiched around a tough and-one drive – to go up 34-31. They then stretched the lead to 38-31 on three straight points from Brooke Hammond, the last coming on a free throw with 1:57 left. But Garden Plain's grip on the game wasn't tight endough and&nbsp;Smith Center stormed back. After missing their&nbsp;first 10 3-point attempts in the game, and four in the fourth quarter alone, the Redmen suddenly found the range. Ashlyn Long nailed one with 1:44 to go that cut the deficit to four and with Garden Plain missing free throws – four straight by Sydney Puetz – Smith Center took advantage of the opening. Camryn Hutchinson's 3-pointer with 34 seconds left tied the game 38-38. "We felt like we had traction and then we just didn't close out with free throws," Kasselman said. After a pair of timeouts, the last coming with 4.8 seconds left, the Owls inbounded in front of their own bench. Celia Puetz wasn't the first option, but when the ball found its way into her hands, she delivered. "We were going to set a screen for (Brooke Hammond) and she was supposed to come get it," Puetz said. "I just got the ball and I knew there was only a few seconds, so I took a dribble and shot it. … When it went in, I've never jumped like that before. It was crazy." "Just the way we drew it up," Kasselman said, tongue in cheek. "Good for Celia. She's had her ups and downs, especially finishing, and we'll take a bank shot from 10 feet every day to put us in the finals." In a way, revenge can be on both team's minds in the title game. Garden Plain topped Sterling 47-40 in the 2019 Class 2A state championship game to earn its second straight state title, the first coming in 3A in 2018. In 2020, the Owls picked off Sterling in the quarterfinals 54-48 before seeing their bid for a three-peat end when the state tournament was canceled prior to the semifinals. Last year, Sterling got a measure of revenge with a 69-52 win over the Owls in the semifinals on its way to capturing the program's first state championship. <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/11/Sterlingjubilation.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Sterling's Kali Briar (32), Bennie Horsch (14) and Makenna Linden (far right) celebrate after fighting off rival Berean Academy for a 42-35 win in Friday's Class 2A state semifinals. The Black Bears continued their undefeated season and quest for a second straight state championship.&nbsp; STERLING 42, BEREAN ACADEMY 35 Sterling coach Jill Rowland was dead on when she said there wasn't much glamorous about her team's Class 2A semifinal showdown with Heart of America rival Berean Academy. "The first one wasn't and I didn't expect this one to be," Rowland said. But Rowland couldn't ask for much more of a beautiful sight as the final seconds ticked off of a 42-35 victory that sends her Black Bears to the state championship game for the second straight year and third time in four years. In the process, defending champion Sterling continued its undefeated season, improving to 25-0. "It's surviving," Rowland said. "They know us well and we know them well, which makes this game really hard." Sterling handed Berean Academy its only loss of the season during the regular season, taking a 44-39 victory in mid-February. That game was a grind-it-out affair and so was Friday's rematch at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. After putting up 73 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal rout of Mission Valley – with standout guard Kali Briar hitting six 3-pointers on her way to 28 points – Sterling had to shift gears for the defensive slugfest against Berean.&nbsp; Fortunately for Rowland, this model of Sterling comes with multiple options. So when Briar cooled considerably from deep, making just 1 of 3 attempts beyond the arc, and leading scorer Bennie Horsch made just one of her first five shots, the Black Bears turned elsewhere for a spark. It came from senior post Sadie Beagley, who finished with a game-high 14 points, 10 coming in the second half as Sterling made a concerted effort to pound away inside despite Berean's size and length in the post. <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/11/Sterling_sSadieBeagley.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Sterling's Sadie Beagley came up big in the Black Bears' semifinal win over Berean Academy, scoring 14 points. We knew we had to get it inside," said Beagley, who made 4 of 8 shots and was 6 of 6 at the free-throw line. "We did that last time and we just really had to work to do it again. … All of us can score and that's hard to guard. When one person has a bad game, the others can step up and have a great game." Up just 14-11 at halftime thanks to Briar's lone 3-pointer late in the half, Sterling got back-to-back buckets from Horsch and Beagley to start the second half to finally gain a little separation. That spurt was all the Black Bears really needed. After another basket inside from Beagley pushed Sterling's lead to nine, 24-15, Berean never really made things uncomfortable for the Black Bears. The Warriors got as close as five on five occasions in the second half, but only had two possessions with a chance to make it a one-score game. "To scout us, it would be tough," Rowland said. "If you look at two games, the next two games could be very different. … It's a lot of balance. "We like to get (the ball inside) and the second half … my post players played hard." Horsch added 10 points for Sterling, eight coming in the second half, while Briar finished with 11 points. Sally Wine led Berean with 13 points. Sterling is now one win away from a second straight Class 2A state championship. The Black Bears have navigated a brutally tough schedule unscathed and are looking for the first undefeated season in program history. "We've fought with focus because there's a lot of distractions with winning it last year and not having a loss this year," Rowland said. "A lot of people assume that since we won it, we'd just walk back here and do it again. It's hard to get to the state tournament, let alone win all your games. We just stayed focused on the short-term things and don't spend a lot of time talking about winning the state championship. It's 'Let's win this next ball game, beat this team, win our league.' Keep it in smaller bites." STERLING 42, BEREAN ACADEMY 35 Berean Academy … 7 … 4 … 8 … 16 … -- … 35 Sterling … 5 … 9 … 12 … 16 … -- … 42 Berean Academy (23-2) – Morgan 0-4 0-0 0, Timken 1-5 0-0 2, Veer 3-7 0-0 6, Wine 6-13 0-0 13, Smith 2-5 2-2 6, Wiebe 0-3 0-0 0, Koontz 1-3 0-0 2, Mullins 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 16-48 2-2 35. Sterling (25-0) – Farney 0-1 0-1 0, Linden 1-6 2-2 4, Horsch 4-9 2-4 10, Briar 3-11 4-5 11, Beagley 4-8 6-6 14, Rowland 0-3 1-2 1, A. Linden 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 13-40 15-20 42. 3-point goals – Berean 1-8 (Wine 1-2, Veer 0-2, Wiebe 0-2, Timken 0-1, Koontz 0-1); Sterling 1-8 (Briar 1-3, Horsch 0-2, M. Linden 0-2, Rowland 0-1). Rebounds – Berean 35 (Wine 6), Sterling 31 (Beagley 7). Assists – Berean 8 (Timken, Veer 3), Sterling 9 (Briar 4). Turnovers – Berean 14, Sterling 9. Total fouls – Berean 17, Sterling 9. Fouled out – none. GARDEN PLAIN 40, SMITH CENTER 38 Smith Center … 14 … 7 … 8 … 9 … -- 38 Garden Plain … 7 … 12 … 9 … 12 … -- … 40 Smith Center (20-5) – Hrabe 1-6 0-0 2, Long 6-13 0-0 13, Kattenberg 4-6 0-0 8, Hutchinson 1-1 0-0 3, Rentschler 4-9 2-2 10, Kirchhoff 0-0 1-3 1, Parsons 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 16-35 4-7 38. Garden Plain (19-6) – Stuhlsatz 2-6 0-1 5, C. Puetz 3-5 1-2 7, Dooley 1-4 0-0 3, Hammond 2-3 4-8 8, S. Puetz 4-8 4-9 13, Hitt 0-2 0-0 0, Rolfs 1-11 2-4 4, Zoglman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 11-24 40. 3-point goals – Smith Center (2-13 (Long 1-6, Hutchinson 1-1, Hrabe 0-3, Kattenberg 0-2, Rentschler 0-1); Garden Plain 3-16 (Stuhlsatz 1-4, Dooley 1-1, S. Puetz 1-2, Hammond 0-1, Hitt 0-1, Rolfs 0-6, Zoglman 0-1). Rebounds – Smith Center 26 (Kattenberg 5), Garden Plain 31 (Stuhlsatz, Hammond, S. Puetz, Rolfs 4). Assists – Smith Center 7 (Long, Kattenberg 2), Garden Plain 2 (Hammond, Zoglman). Turnovers – Smith Center 17, Garden Plain 13. Total fouls – Smith Center 17, Garden Plain 8. Fouled out – Smith Center: Kattenberg. <figure>
 <img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=15&amp;image_path=/images/2022/3/11/GardenPlainjube.JPG" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Garden Plain's Madelyn Rolfs (left) and Ryleigh Stuhlsatz (middle) mob teammate Celia Puetz (right) after she hit the game-winning shot in a 40-38 victory over Smith Center.

🏀 Class 2A girls semifinals: Puetz's prayer answered as Garden Plain beats Smith Center at the buzzer

HUTCHINSON - Things were looking good for Hugoton early in the fourth quarter Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. A double-digit lead. An inspired offense. A suffocating defense. And almost in a flash, Nickerson had a two-point lead. All Hugoton coach Emmanuel Adigun wanted to see was a couple good possessions, a couple good shots, and he thought his team would be right back in a groove. He was right, as his daughter Summya Adigun hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Hugoton set up a Great West Activities Conference state championship game in Class 3A against Goodland&nbsp;with a 59-52 win over Nickerson. Goodland beat Silver Lake 59-53 earlier in the day. Emmanuel Adigun said he knew Nickerson would make a run in the fourth quarter, but all it would take would be one good possession to change the Eagles' fortunes. "I thought if we could get two good possessions, two good shots, the ball would go in and give us confidence," Emmanuel Adigun said. "Once we made those shots, I felt it was difficult for Nickerson to overcome that momentum." Before Summya Adigun rescued Hugoton's title hopes, Nickerson seemed ready to claim an epic comeback win. Trailing 45-33 after three quarters, Nickerson went to work quickly. Standout junior forward Ava Jones scored eight points on three straight possessions, and then assisted 3-pointers to Alexis Allen and Josie McLean, the latter of which gave Nickerson a 47-45 lead. "We knew this was a final four game, and they wouldn't quit," Emmanuel Adigun said. "They come from a good league, they're athletic, and we knew they'd punch back. I didn't think they'd punch back like that, but I was glad the girls overcame it." After McLean's 3-pointer, it was a matter of seconds before Summya Adigun was left open in the right corner for a 3-pointer.&nbsp; Swish. Next possession, the exact same thing happened. All of a sudden, Hugoton reclaimed a 51-47 lead. "I was pretty confident, and we needed to score and get momentum," Summya Adigun said. "I just shot it, and I believed it would go in." That was part of a personal 8-0 Adigun run, on her way to a stat-filling night. She finished with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals to just one turnover. Jones led Nickerson with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Goodland players celebrate after reaching the Class 3A state championship game with a 59-53 win over Silver Lake. GOODLAND 59, SILVER LAKE&nbsp;53 This has been a few years building for Goodland. Two years ago, Goodland went 12-11 and lost in the substate championship game. Last season, the Cowgirls were 18-4. Now, Goodland is one win away from a state title after it defeated top-seeded Silver Lake. "It's the first team this group has been here, but it's been building," Goodland coach Bill Biermann said. "This team is following the teams that laid the foundation." Goodland shot a solid 51.2% and hit a sizzling 8 of 14 from 3-point range while holding Silver Lake to 33.3%. "I think we thought if we could hold them on defense, our offense would come," said Goodland's Talexa Weeter, who scored 20 points and added seven rebounds. Trailing 13-12 after one quarter, Goodland outscored Silver Lake 37-27 over the next two quarters.&nbsp; HUGOTON 59, NICKERSON 52 Hugoton ... 15 ... 11 ... 19 ... 14 ... -- ... 59 Nickerson&nbsp;... 7 ... 15 ... 11 ... 19 ... -- ... 52 Hugoton (23-2) -- Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Salazar 1-3 1-2 3, Slocom 0-1 0-0 0, Vos 6-12 4-5 19, Adigun 6-8 9-10 23, Haar 1-3 0-2 2, Hamlin 5-11 1-2 12. Totals: 19-38 15-21 59 Nickerson (23-2) -- Allen 3-6 0-0 9, McLean 2-11 0-0 6, A. Ontjes 0-0 0-0 0, K. Ontjes 3-7 0-0 9, Ponds 2-3 2-2 6, Abernathy 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 8-14 4-6 20. Totals 19-42 6-8 52 3-point goals -- Hugoton 6-17 (Vos 3-7, Adigun 2-3, Hamlin 1-4, Slocom 0-1, Salazar 0-2). Nickerson 8-22 (K. Ontjes 3-5, Allen 3-6, McLean 2-9, Jones 0-2). Rebounds -- Hugoton 19 (Adigun 6), Nickerson 27 (Jones 10). Assists -- Hugoton 10 (Adigun 5), Nickerson 16 (Jones, Allen 5). Total fouls -- Hugoton 10, Nickerson 18. Fouled out: Haar. GOODLAND 59, SILVER LAKE 53 Goodland&nbsp;... 12 ... 18 ... 19 ... 10 ... -- ... 59 Silver Lake ... 13 ... 9 ... 18 ... 13 ... -- ... 53 Goodland (23-2) -- Biermann 0-1 2-2 2, Mitchek 5-9 0-1 12, Weeter 8-13 3-5 20, Cure 1-3 1-5 4, O. Lehman 4-5 1-2 11, E. Lehman 3-9 2-2 10, Biochlinger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 9-17 59 Silver Lake (23-2) -- Wehrli 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 5-12 0-0 11, Deiter 2-3 2-2 6, McDaniel 2-6 0-0 4, K. Kruger 5-13 1-2 14, M. Kruger 4-10 4-5 16, Bolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 18-47 9-11 43 3-point goals -- Goodland 9-17 (Weeter 3-5, E. Lehman 2-2, Biermann 2-2, O. Lehman 1-2, Cure 1-5, Mitchek 0-1). Silver Lake 8-23 (M. Kruger 4-5, Deiter 2-2, Ross 2-2, K. Kruger 1-2). Rebounds -- Goodland 24 (Weeter 7), Silver Lake 31 (McDaniel 9). Assists --&nbsp; Goodland (Mitchek 4), Silver Lake 10 (Farmer 4). Total fouls -- Goodland 11, Silver Lake 17. Fouled out -- Deiter.

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by KSHSAA recap website

HUTCHINSON - Things were looking good for Hugoton early in the fourth quarter Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. A double-digit lead. An inspired offense. A suffocating defense. And almost in a flash, Nickerson had a two-point lead. All Hugoton coach Emmanuel Adigun wanted to see was a couple good possessions, a couple good shots, and he thought his team would be right back in a groove. He was right, as his daughter Summya Adigun hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Hugoton set up a Great West Activities Conference state championship game in Class 3A against Goodland&nbsp;with a 59-52 win over Nickerson. Goodland beat Silver Lake 59-53 earlier in the day. Emmanuel Adigun said he knew Nickerson would make a run in the fourth quarter, but all it would take would be one good possession to change the Eagles' fortunes. "I thought if we could get two good possessions, two good shots, the ball would go in and give us confidence," Emmanuel Adigun said. "Once we made those shots, I felt it was difficult for Nickerson to overcome that momentum." Before Summya Adigun rescued Hugoton's title hopes, Nickerson seemed ready to claim an epic comeback win. Trailing 45-33 after three quarters, Nickerson went to work quickly. Standout junior forward Ava Jones scored eight points on three straight possessions, and then assisted 3-pointers to Alexis Allen and Josie McLean, the latter of which gave Nickerson a 47-45 lead. "We knew this was a final four game, and they wouldn't quit," Emmanuel Adigun said. "They come from a good league, they're athletic, and we knew they'd punch back. I didn't think they'd punch back like that, but I was glad the girls overcame it." After McLean's 3-pointer, it was a matter of seconds before Summya Adigun was left open in the right corner for a 3-pointer.&nbsp; Swish. Next possession, the exact same thing happened. All of a sudden, Hugoton reclaimed a 51-47 lead. "I was pretty confident, and we needed to score and get momentum," Summya Adigun said. "I just shot it, and I believed it would go in." That was part of a personal 8-0 Adigun run, on her way to a stat-filling night. She finished with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals to just one turnover. Jones led Nickerson with 20 points and 10 rebounds. <figure>
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 </figure>Goodland players celebrate after reaching the Class 3A state championship game with a 59-53 win over Silver Lake. GOODLAND 59, SILVER LAKE&nbsp;53 This has been a few years building for Goodland. Two years ago, Goodland went 12-11 and lost in the substate championship game. Last season, the Cowgirls were 18-4. Now, Goodland is one win away from a state title after it defeated top-seeded Silver Lake. "It's the first team this group has been here, but it's been building," Goodland coach Bill Biermann said. "This team is following the teams that laid the foundation." Goodland shot a solid 51.2% and hit a sizzling 8 of 14 from 3-point range while holding Silver Lake to 33.3%. "I think we thought if we could hold them on defense, our offense would come," said Goodland's Talexa Weeter, who scored 20 points and added seven rebounds. Trailing 13-12 after one quarter, Goodland outscored Silver Lake 37-27 over the next two quarters.&nbsp; HUGOTON 59, NICKERSON 52 Hugoton ... 15 ... 11 ... 19 ... 14 ... -- ... 59 Nickerson&nbsp;... 7 ... 15 ... 11 ... 19 ... -- ... 52 Hugoton (23-2) -- Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Salazar 1-3 1-2 3, Slocom 0-1 0-0 0, Vos 6-12 4-5 19, Adigun 6-8 9-10 23, Haar 1-3 0-2 2, Hamlin 5-11 1-2 12. Totals: 19-38 15-21 59 Nickerson (23-2) -- Allen 3-6 0-0 9, McLean 2-11 0-0 6, A. Ontjes 0-0 0-0 0, K. Ontjes 3-7 0-0 9, Ponds 2-3 2-2 6, Abernathy 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 8-14 4-6 20. Totals 19-42 6-8 52 3-point goals -- Hugoton 6-17 (Vos 3-7, Adigun 2-3, Hamlin 1-4, Slocom 0-1, Salazar 0-2). Nickerson 8-22 (K. Ontjes 3-5, Allen 3-6, McLean 2-9, Jones 0-2). Rebounds -- Hugoton 19 (Adigun 6), Nickerson 27 (Jones 10). Assists -- Hugoton 10 (Adigun 5), Nickerson 16 (Jones, Allen 5). Total fouls -- Hugoton 10, Nickerson 18. Fouled out: Haar. GOODLAND 59, SILVER LAKE 53 Goodland&nbsp;... 12 ... 18 ... 19 ... 10 ... -- ... 59 Silver Lake ... 13 ... 9 ... 18 ... 13 ... -- ... 53 Goodland (23-2) -- Biermann 0-1 2-2 2, Mitchek 5-9 0-1 12, Weeter 8-13 3-5 20, Cure 1-3 1-5 4, O. Lehman 4-5 1-2 11, E. Lehman 3-9 2-2 10, Biochlinger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 9-17 59 Silver Lake (23-2) -- Wehrli 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 5-12 0-0 11, Deiter 2-3 2-2 6, McDaniel 2-6 0-0 4, K. Kruger 5-13 1-2 14, M. Kruger 4-10 4-5 16, Bolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 18-47 9-11 43 3-point goals -- Goodland 9-17 (Weeter 3-5, E. Lehman 2-2, Biermann 2-2, O. Lehman 1-2, Cure 1-5, Mitchek 0-1). Silver Lake 8-23 (M. Kruger 4-5, Deiter 2-2, Ross 2-2, K. Kruger 1-2). Rebounds -- Goodland 24 (Weeter 7), Silver Lake 31 (McDaniel 9). Assists --&nbsp; Goodland (Mitchek 4), Silver Lake 10 (Farmer 4). Total fouls -- Goodland 11, Silver Lake 17. Fouled out -- Deiter.

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🏀 Class 3A girls semifinals:Hugoton comes up with final answer, tops Nickerson to reach title game

DODGE CITY, Kan.—Sometimes it doesn't matter how you win, as long you come out on top.&nbsp;

Perhaps that was the feeling of an exhausted but&nbsp;exuberant Scott Goering after he watched his Pretty Prairie Bulldogs hold off a furious rally by Hodgeman County's Longhorns to capture a heart-beating 37-32 semifinal triumph at the Class 1A-I state tournament Friday afternoon at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp;

The victory advances them into the championship game Saturday at 6:15 p.m. against the Centralia's Panthers, a 53-45 victor over Burlingame in the second semifinal game. &nbsp;

The Bulldogs have never won a state title and it has been 22 years since they last played in the state. Centralia will be looking for its sixth state championship, the last coming in 2016 against Waverly.&nbsp;

The Bulldogs have twice been state runner-ups, in 1978 and 1996. They are now 24-1 while Hodgeman County lost for the first time in its 25 games. Centralia will bring a spotless 25-0 mark into the title game. Burlingame slips to 21-3.&nbsp;

The consolation game between Burlingame and Hodgeman County is set for 2 p.m.&nbsp;

The first game almost slipped away from a tight grasp the Bulldogs had midway through the third period when they had built a 32-16 advantage over a cold-shooting Longhorns' squad that managed only two field goals in the first half which led to a 26-12 Bulldog lead at intermission.&nbsp;

"Nobody expected an easy road, that's for sure," said Goering. "They (Hodgeman County) were intense on defense and we haven't seen that kind of pressure all year."&nbsp;

Another big key was the early long-range shooting of the Bulldogs, who made all five of their 3-pointers in the opening half. They finished 5-of-14 from behind the arc.&nbsp;

The Bulldogs overcame 18 turnovers and just 35.5 percent field goal shooting, and a chilly 10-of-22 effort at the free throw line. In fact, they missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter alone.&nbsp;

"I think our defense in limiting their runouts after a turnover was big for us," Goering said. "We got some big rebounds off misses at the end. Those were the things that made the difference."&nbsp;

Several times in their furious rally the Longhorns had opportunities to make the comeback all the way, getting it to a one possession game at 34-31 with 1:30 remaining after Grace Shiew canned a 15-foot jumper. But Hodgeman County missed a shot at 1:02, and made their final point on a 1-of-2 free throw trip by Jessie Ruff at 0:31 when the score was 35-32. &nbsp;

Pretty Prairie got two 1-of-2 freebies from Abigail White and Joley Harbaugh in the final 14.6 seconds to make it a two possession game and the last gasp rally fell short when the Longhorns had a ball go off the knee and out of bounds.&nbsp;

"I'm proud of the girls to give that kind of effort and only give up 11 points in the second half," Hodgeman County coach Trent Bright said afterward. "It was a tough one and we had our chances. But I liked the fight the girls showed, but these are always hard to take."&nbsp;

No Pretty Prairie player cracked double figure scoring, with Bailey Young's eight points topping the list. Shiew led Hodgeman County with 13 points and Morgan Ruff added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers in that late rally. The Bulldogs owned a 35-26 rebounding advantage with Young and McKenna Vogl grabbing eight each. Jessie Ruff had six&nbsp;for the Longhorns.&nbsp;

In the late semifinal game, Burlingame stormed out to an early lead, taking the upper hand 18-11 after one quarter against the Panthers. But a 17-point outburst by Centralia while holding the Bearcats to just seven, got Centralia back on top at halftime in a nail-biter, 28-25.&nbsp;

But what proved to be the final nail came in the deciding third quarter as Centralia outscored the Bearcats 19-2, including a 17-0 run that took them from ahead 30-27 to being in control at 47-27 heading to the final eight minutes.&nbsp;

Burlingame, however, wasn't finished. In making their first-ever state appearance, coach Jeff Slater's girls went down swinging as they rattled off 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 47-37 and had two chances to get the margin into single digits.&nbsp;

It wasn't to be, though, as Centralia made four key free throws in the final minute to give it enough room to see the clock run out.&nbsp;

Centralia coach Roger Holthaus credited his team's defense in the second and third quarters as the key elements in securing the team's 25th&nbsp;win of the season.&nbsp;

"We started to play defense in the second and the third obviously was a big one for us," Holthaus said. "We knew we'd be in a dogfight because if I look in a mirror, I see them as I see us. They're a tough group and No. 5 (Kaylin Noonan) is a stud. We couldn't find any way to stop her."&nbsp;

The 5-9 sophomore finished with a game-high 24 points (11-of-13 field goals) and also grabbed l8 rebounds. Daelyn Winters added 10 to the Burlingame cause.&nbsp;

For Centralia, it was freshman sensation Oen Deters who led the way with 16 points, while Abbie Flentie added 13 and Lena Haverkamp 10. &nbsp;

"That's the way we've been through 25 games," Holthaus said. "We have a lot of different girls who can step up, and that's what we had tonight. But for us, everything starts on defense."&nbsp;

PRETTY PRAIRIE 37, HODGEMAN COUNTY 32&nbsp;

Pretty Prairie&nbsp;&nbsp;15&nbsp;&nbsp;11&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;4&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;37&nbsp;

Hodgeman County&nbsp;&nbsp;5&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;14&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;32&nbsp;

Pretty Prairie (24-1) – Joley Harbaugh 1-2 1-2 4, White 1-2 3-4 6, Young 2-7 1-2 7, Webster 0-1 0-0 0, Jorah Harbaugh 2-7 1-3 6, Young 3-5 2-7 8, Vogl 2-5 2-4 6, Kruse 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-=31 10-22 37.&nbsp;

Hodgeman County (24-1) – James 0-6 0-0 0, M. Ruff 4-12 0-0 10, Beil 0-10 5-6 5, Shiew 5-7 3-6 13, Dansel 1-3 0-0 2, Schaffer 0-1 0-0 0, J. Ruff 0-2 2-4 2. Totals 10-41 10-16 32.&nbsp;

3-point goals—Pretty Prairie 5-15 (Joley Harbaugh 1-2, White 1-1, A. Young 2-5, Jorah Harbaugh 1-5, B. Young 0-1, Vogl 0-1), Hodgeman Co. 2-10 (M. Ruff 2-6, Beil 0-3, Shiew 0-1). Rebounds—Pretty Prairie 35 (B. Young, Vogl 8 each), Hodgeman Co. 26 (Schaffer 6). Assists—Pretty Prairie 10 (Jorah Harbaugh 5), Hodgeman Co. 8 (Beil 6). Fouls—Pretty Prairie 14, Hodgeman Co. 17. Fouled out—Hodgeman Co. (James).&nbsp;

Burlingame&nbsp;&nbsp;18&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;2&nbsp;&nbsp;18&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;45 &nbsp;

Centralia 11&nbsp;&nbsp;17&nbsp;&nbsp;19&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;53&nbsp;

Burlingame (21-3) – Tyson 0-1 0-0 0, Noonan 11-13 2-4 24, Winters 4-17 0-0 10, Simmons 3-11 0-0 9, Masters 0-2 0-0 0, Crook 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-46 2-4 45.&nbsp;

Centralia (25-0) – Haverkamp 3-8 2-2 10, Wells 1-3 0-0 3, Kramer 1-2 0-0 2, A. Deters 3-5 3-4 9, O. Deters 7-11 1-2 16, Flentie 5-10 0-0 13. Totals 20-39 6-8 53.&nbsp;

3-point goals—Burlingame 5-22 (I. Tyson 0-1, Noonan 0-1, Winters 2-10, Simmons 3-8, Masters 0-2), Centralia 7-16 (Haverkamp 2-5, Wells 1-2, A. Deters 0-1, O. Deters 1-2, Flentie 3-6). Rebounds—Burlingame 27 (Noonan 8), Centralia 22 (O. Deters 6). Assists—Burlingame 11 (I. Tyson, Winters 3), Centralia 14 (Flentie 4). Fouls—Burlingame 13, Centralia 6. Fouled out—Burlingame (Simmons).&nbsp;

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DODGE CITY, Kan.—Sometimes it doesn't matter how you win, as long you come out on top.&nbsp;Perhaps that was the feeling of an exhausted but&nbsp;exuberant Scott Goering after he watched his Pretty Prairie Bulldogs hold off a furious rally by Hodgeman County's Longhorns to capture a heart-beating 37-32 semifinal triumph at the Class 1A-I state tournament Friday afternoon at United Wireless Arena.&nbsp;The victory advances them into the championship game Saturday at 6:15 p.m. against the Centralia's Panthers, a 53-45 victor over Burlingame in the second semifinal game. &nbsp;The Bulldogs have never won a state title and it has been 22 years since they last played in the state. Centralia will be looking for its sixth state championship, the last coming in 2016 against Waverly.&nbsp;The Bulldogs have twice been state runner-ups, in 1978 and 1996. They are now 24-1 while Hodgeman County lost for the first time in its 25 games. Centralia will bring a spotless 25-0 mark into the title game. Burlingame slips to 21-3.&nbsp;The consolation game between Burlingame and Hodgeman County is set for 2 p.m.&nbsp;The first game almost slipped away from a tight grasp the Bulldogs had midway through the third period when they had built a 32-16 advantage over a cold-shooting Longhorns' squad that managed only two field goals in the first half which led to a 26-12 Bulldog lead at intermission.&nbsp;"Nobody expected an easy road, that's for sure," said Goering. "They (Hodgeman County) were intense on defense and we haven't seen that kind of pressure all year."&nbsp;Another big key was the early long-range shooting of the Bulldogs, who made all five of their 3-pointers in the opening half. They finished 5-of-14 from behind the arc.&nbsp;The Bulldogs overcame 18 turnovers and just 35.5 percent field goal shooting, and a chilly 10-of-22 effort at the free throw line. In fact, they missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter alone.&nbsp;"I think our defense in limiting their runouts after a turnover was big for us," Goering said. "We got some big rebounds off misses at the end. Those were the things that made the difference."&nbsp;Several times in their furious rally the Longhorns had opportunities to make the comeback all the way, getting it to a one possession game at 34-31 with 1:30 remaining after Grace Shiew canned a 15-foot jumper. But Hodgeman County missed a shot at 1:02, and made their final point on a 1-of-2 free throw trip by Jessie Ruff at 0:31 when the score was 35-32. &nbsp;Pretty Prairie got two 1-of-2 freebies from Abigail White and Joley Harbaugh in the final 14.6 seconds to make it a two possession game and the last gasp rally fell short when the Longhorns had a ball go off the knee and out of bounds.&nbsp;"I'm proud of the girls to give that kind of effort and only give up 11 points in the second half," Hodgeman County coach Trent Bright said afterward. "It was a tough one and we had our chances. But I liked the fight the girls showed, but these are always hard to take."&nbsp;No Pretty Prairie player cracked double figure scoring, with Bailey Young's eight points topping the list. Shiew led Hodgeman County with 13 points and Morgan Ruff added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers in that late rally. The Bulldogs owned a 35-26 rebounding advantage with Young and McKenna Vogl grabbing eight each. Jessie Ruff had six&nbsp;for the Longhorns.&nbsp;In the late semifinal game, Burlingame stormed out to an early lead, taking the upper hand 18-11 after one quarter against the Panthers. But a 17-point outburst by Centralia while holding the Bearcats to just seven, got Centralia back on top at halftime in a nail-biter, 28-25.&nbsp;But what proved to be the final nail came in the deciding third quarter as Centralia outscored the Bearcats 19-2, including a 17-0 run that took them from ahead 30-27 to being in control at 47-27 heading to the final eight minutes.&nbsp;Burlingame, however, wasn't finished. In making their first-ever state appearance, coach Jeff Slater's girls went down swinging as they rattled off 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 47-37 and had two chances to get the margin into single digits.&nbsp;It wasn't to be, though, as Centralia made four key free throws in the final minute to give it enough room to see the clock run out.&nbsp;Centralia coach Roger Holthaus credited his team's defense in the second and third quarters as the key elements in securing the team's 25th&nbsp;win of the season.&nbsp;"We started to play defense in the second and the third obviously was a big one for us," Holthaus said. "We knew we'd be in a dogfight because if I look in a mirror, I see them as I see us. They're a tough group and No. 5 (Kaylin Noonan) is a stud. We couldn't find any way to stop her."&nbsp;The 5-9 sophomore finished with a game-high 24 points (11-of-13 field goals) and also grabbed l8 rebounds. Daelyn Winters added 10 to the Burlingame cause.&nbsp;For Centralia, it was freshman sensation Oen Deters who led the way with 16 points, while Abbie Flentie added 13 and Lena Haverkamp 10. &nbsp;"That's the way we've been through 25 games," Holthaus said. "We have a lot of different girls who can step up, and that's what we had tonight. But for us, everything starts on defense."&nbsp;PRETTY PRAIRIE 37, HODGEMAN COUNTY 32&nbsp;Pretty Prairie&nbsp;&nbsp;15&nbsp;&nbsp;11&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;4&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;37&nbsp;Hodgeman County&nbsp;&nbsp;5&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;14&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;32&nbsp;Pretty Prairie (24-1) – Joley Harbaugh 1-2 1-2 4, White 1-2 3-4 6, Young 2-7 1-2 7, Webster 0-1 0-0 0, Jorah Harbaugh 2-7 1-3 6, Young 3-5 2-7 8, Vogl 2-5 2-4 6, Kruse 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-=31 10-22 37.&nbsp;Hodgeman County (24-1) – James 0-6 0-0 0, M. Ruff 4-12 0-0 10, Beil 0-10 5-6 5, Shiew 5-7 3-6 13, Dansel 1-3 0-0 2, Schaffer 0-1 0-0 0, J. Ruff 0-2 2-4 2. Totals 10-41 10-16 32.&nbsp;3-point goals—Pretty Prairie 5-15 (Joley Harbaugh 1-2, White 1-1, A. Young 2-5, Jorah Harbaugh 1-5, B. Young 0-1, Vogl 0-1), Hodgeman Co. 2-10 (M. Ruff 2-6, Beil 0-3, Shiew 0-1). Rebounds—Pretty Prairie 35 (B. Young, Vogl 8 each), Hodgeman Co. 26 (Schaffer 6). Assists—Pretty Prairie 10 (Jorah Harbaugh 5), Hodgeman Co. 8 (Beil 6). Fouls—Pretty Prairie 14, Hodgeman Co. 17. Fouled out—Hodgeman Co. (James).&nbsp;CENTRALIA 53, BURLINGAME 45&nbsp;Burlingame&nbsp;&nbsp;18&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp;2&nbsp;&nbsp;18&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;45 &nbsp;Centralia 11&nbsp;&nbsp;17&nbsp;&nbsp;19&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;&nbsp;53&nbsp;Burlingame (21-3) – Tyson 0-1 0-0 0, Noonan 11-13 2-4 24, Winters 4-17 0-0 10, Simmons 3-11 0-0 9, Masters 0-2 0-0 0, Crook 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-46 2-4 45.&nbsp;Centralia (25-0) – Haverkamp 3-8 2-2 10, Wells 1-3 0-0 3, Kramer 1-2 0-0 2, A. Deters 3-5 3-4 9, O. Deters 7-11 1-2 16, Flentie 5-10 0-0 13. Totals 20-39 6-8 53.&nbsp;3-point goals—Burlingame 5-22 (I. Tyson 0-1, Noonan 0-1, Winters 2-10, Simmons 3-8, Masters 0-2), Centralia 7-16 (Haverkamp 2-5, Wells 1-2, A. Deters 0-1, O. Deters 1-2, Flentie 3-6). Rebounds—Burlingame 27 (Noonan 8), Centralia 22 (O. Deters 6). Assists—Burlingame 11 (I. Tyson, Winters 3), Centralia 14 (Flentie 4). Fouls—Burlingame 13, Centralia 6. Fouled out—Burlingame (Simmons).&nbsp;<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile&nbsp;app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;

🏀 Class 1A Division I girls semifinals: Pretty Prairie, Centralia advance to 1A-I girls state final

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ochai Agbaji scored 22 points, two of them coming on a jaw-dropping ally-oop dunk midway through the second half, and sixth-ranked Kansas cruised to a 75-62 victory over TCU and into the Big 12 Tournament title game. Mitch Lightfoot added 15 points while playing extended minutes in place of injured big man David McCormack, and Remy Martin finished with 10 as the top-seeded Jayhawks advanced to play Texas Tech on Saturday night. Chuck O'Bannon had 15 points to lead TCU. Mike Miles shook off a shooting slump to add 14.

NEW YORK (AP) — Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points and keyed an overwhelming blitz that sent Creighton into the Big East championship game with a stunning 85-58 blowout of No. 11 Providence in the semifinals. Alex O'Connell had 18 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 points and nine rebounds as the fourth-seeded Bluejays reached their fourth conference final since joining the league before the 2013-14 season. They're still looking for their first Big East Tournament title. The surprising Bluejays will play eighth-ranked and second-seeded Villanova for the championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Al Durham had 21 points on a rare miserable night this season for the top-seeded Friars.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri has fired basketball coach Cuonzo Martin one day after the Tigers finished a 12-21 season with a 76-68 loss to LSU in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Tigers athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said in a statement on Friday that the search for a new coach would begin immediately, and that longtime coach and administrator Eddie Fogler would assist in the process. It will be the first major coaching hire at Missouri for Reed-Francois, who was hired by by the school in August. Martin had a record of 78-77 in five seasons in Columbia.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Keegan Murray had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 24 Iowa to an 84-74 victory over Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Fifth-seeded Iowa will meet ninth-seeded Indiana in Saturday's semifinals. Jordan Bohannon and Tony Perkins each scored 16 points for the Hawkeyes. Kris Murray added nine points and five rebounds. Geo Baker led fourth-seeded Rutgers with 23 points. Clifford Omoruyi had 17 points, and Ron Harper Jr. and Paul Mulchay each scored 13. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 18 points midway through the second half.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have signed right-hander Drew VerHagen to a two-year contract for $5.5 million. VerHagen was a fourth-round pick of the Tigers in 2012 who went 10-10 over parts of six seasons in Detroit. He appeared in 127 games, starting eight of them, and will compete for a spot in the Cardinals bullpen during spring camp. The 31-year-old VerHagen spent the past two seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League, going 13-14 with a 3.49 ERA in 39 games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lauren Ebo tied a career-high 17 points, and No. 7 Texas beat Kansas State 72-65 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Rori Harmon had 16, Aliyah Matharu scored 15 and Joanne Allen-Taylor added 12 for the Longhorns, who will play No. 10 Iowa State in the semifinals. Ayoka Lee led Kansas State with 16, going 7 of 8 from the field, while Emilee Ebert had 15 and Serena Sundell added 11.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Emily Ryan and Lexi Donarski each scored 14 points to help No. 10 Iowa State hold off West Virginia 66-60 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Down by as many as 21 in the third quarter, the Mountaineers trailed by four with 16 seconds to play when Esmery Martinez hit a long 3-pointer. Donarski made three free throws in the final minute to thwart any West Virginia comeback hopes. Ashley Joens had 13 points and 14 rebounds for Iowa State. Martinez had 18 points and 11 rebounds for West Virginia, Ja'Naiya Quinerly added 15 and Savannah Samuel scored 10.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 player of the year NaLyssa Smith scored 15 points, Baylor shut out Oklahoma State into the second quarter and the No. 4 Bears rolled the rest of the way to a 76-36 victory in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Ja'Mee Asberry scored 16 points for the top-seeded Bears, who advanced to play No. 21 Oklahoma in the semifinals on Saturday. The Cowgirls were playing their final game under longtime coach Jim Littell. Their leading scorer, Lauren Fields, went 0-for-11 from the field and finished without a point. Kassidy De Lapp scored a team-best nine points for the Cowgirls.

UNDATED (AP) — Auburn's shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament has been severely damaged yesterday.

Tyrece Radford scored 19 points and Quenton Jackson made five throws in the final minute Friday as Texas A&amp;M beat the fourth-ranked Tigers, 67-62 in the SEC quarterfinals. Jackson finished with 17 points to for the Aggies, who led 37-21 at halftime and improved to 22-11. The win like puts A&amp;M in the NCAA Tournament.

Jabari Smith had a team-high 17 points for the Tigers, who are 27-5 following their third loss in six games.

Also in the SEC quarters, TyTy Washington scored 25 points and Oscar Tshiebwe (SHEEB'-way) tied a half-century-old school record in leading fifth-ranked Kentucky past Vanderbilt, 77-71. Tshiebwe had 12 points and 14 rebounds in his his 26th double-double of the season, tying the Wildcats record set by Dan Issel (IH'-sul) in 1969-70.

Au'Diese Toney scored 22 points and JD Notae (NOH'-tay) added 19 as No. 15 Arkansas beat LSU, 79-67. Chris Lykes chipped in 18 points as the Razorbacks (25-7) won for the 15th time in their last 17 games to set up a semifinal meeting with Texas A&amp;M.

Josiah-Jordan James led five players in double figures 16 points, 14 of them during a six-minute stretch in which ninth-ranked Tennessee pulled away to a 72-59 victory over Mississippi State. Kennedy Chandler had 11 points in the Vols' 10th win in 11 games.

In the Big Ten quarterfinals, Marcus Bingham Jr. matched his career high with 19 points and Tyson Walker scored nine of his 11 points in the final 90 seconds to send seventh-seeded Michigan State past No. 12 Wisconsin, 69-63. The Badgers led 40-36 before Bingham answered with all of the points in the Spartans' 11-2 run.

Also in the Big Ten, Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 21 points, including three free throws in the closing seconds of Indiana's 65-63 upset of 16th-ranked Illinois Jackson-Davis knocked down two free throws with 26.1 seconds left to put the Hoosiers ahead.

Jaden Ivey scored 17 points and Zach Edey had 15 to lead No. 9 Purdue past Penn State, 69-61. Brandon Newman added 12 points for the Boilermakers in his first action since Feb. 10.

Keegan Murray had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 24 Iowa to a 84-74 victory over Rutgers. Jordan Bohannon and Tony Perkins each scored 16 points for the 24-9 Hawkeyes, who have a meeting with Indiana on Saturday.

The Big 12 title game will have Kansas against Texas Tech.

Ochai Agbaji (OH'-chy ahg-BY'-zhee) scored 22 points and sixth-ranked Kansas cruised to a 75-62 victory over TCU. Mitch Lightfoot added 15 points while playing extended minutes in place of injured big man David McCormack.

Clarence Nagolny made his only points of the night on go-ahead foul shots with less than a minute left and No. 14 Texas Tech escaped with a 56-55 victory over Oklahoma. Jacob Groves had a chance to force overtime before missing the second of two free throws for the Sooners.

In the ACC semifinals, Paolo Banchero (bahn-KEHR'-oh) had 18 points and 11 rebounds in seventh-ranked Duke's 80-76 victory over Miami in the ACC semifinals. AJ Griffin scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal coach Mike Krzyzewski's (shuh-SHEHF'-skeez) 22nd appearance in the conference title game. Darius Maddox had a career-high 20 points as Virginia Tech defeated North Carolina, 72-59. Keve Aluma had 18 points for the Hokies.

It will be eighth-ranked Villanova against Creighton in the Big East title game on Saturday.

Jermaine Samuels had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats in a 63-60 victory against No. 20 UConn. Brandon Slater had 15 points and a highlight-reel block for Villanova.

Arthur Kaluma scored 10 of his 17 points during a 12-0 run in the second half that sent Creighton to a stunning 85-58 rout of No. 11 Providence in the Big East semifinals. Alex O'Connell had 18 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 points and nine rebounds as the fourth-seeded Bluejays handed the Friars the most lopsided loss for a No. 1 seed in Big East tourney history.

Arizona and UCLA will battle for the Pac 12 championship.

Azoulas Tubelis had 20 points and 11 rebounds and No. 2 Arizona pulled away late to beat Colorado 82-72 in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. The Wildcats played without point guard Kerr Kriisa (KREE'-sah), who sprained his right ankle in the closing seconds of Thursday's win against Stanford.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 points, Jules Bernard added 15 and No. 13 UCLA beat No. 21 Southern California 69-59. Tyger Campbell added 14 points for the Bruins.

In the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals, Fabian White Jr. provided 18 points with eight rebounds for 18th-ranked Houston in a 69-56 win over Cincinnati. Jamal Shead had 15 points and seven assists for the Cougars, who trailed by 10 in the second half.

Rhode Island, East Carolina dismiss coaches

The list of coaching vacancies in men's college basketball continues to grow.

Missouri has fired basketball coach Cuonzo Martin a day after the Tigers finished a 12-21 season with a 76-68 loss to LSU. Mizzou was 78-77 under Martin.

David Cox has been dismissed by Rhode Island following a 15-16 season. Cox was 64-55 in four seasons with the Rams, including a 34-36 record in the Atlantic 10.

East Carolina fired basketball coach Joe Dooley after four seasons. Dooley was 44-67 in his second stint at the school.

Also in men's basketball, Rutgers has extended the contract of coach Steve Pikiell through the 2029-30 season. The Scarlet Knights are 18-13 this season after making the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 1991.

UNDATED (AP) — The Miami Heat have increased their lead in the NBA's Eastern Conference standings, moving 2 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee.

Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY'-oh) delivered 30 points and 17 rebounds as the Heat handed the Cavaliers their seventh loss in 10 games, 117-105. Jimmy Butler added 24 points and a pair of big third-quarter runs that helped Miami improve to 16-7 after losses.

Tyler Herro scored 22 points and Max Strus finished with 17 for the Heat, who scored 13 straight in the third quarter to go ahead to stay.

Also in the NBA, Gregg Popovich became the league's all-time winningest coach with his 1,336th, passing Don Nelson. Dejounte (deh-ZHAN'-tay) Murray had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Spurs past the Jazz, 104-102.

— Gary Trent Jr. pumped in 42 points to lead the Raptors to a 117-112 win over the league-leading Suns. Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 10 assists for Toronto, and Scottie Barnes had 15 points.

— LeBron James erupted for 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally the Lakers in the second half to a 122-109 victory over the Wizards. It is the second straight home game during which James has scored at least 50 and the third time he has done it with the Lakers.

— Ja (jah) Morant delivered 15 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Grizzlies close out a 118-114 win over the Knicks. New York led 106-105 until Morant scored 10 straight Memphis points, putting the Grizzlies ahead by seven in the final minute.

— Jayson Tatum had 31 points and eight rebounds, while Jaylen Brown added 22 points and eight boards in the Celtics' fifth straight win, 114-103 versus teh Pistons. Marcus Smart added 20 points for Boston, which has won 18 of 21 since a Jan. 21 loss dropped them a game below .500.

— The Mavericks earned a 113-100 win over the Rockets as Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chihch) scored 30 points and Dwight Powell had 26. Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 points and seven assists to help the Mavericks win for the sixth time in seven games and move to a season-high-tying 15 games above .500 at 41-26.

— Trae Young scored 27 points to lead six Hawks scorers in double figures in a 112-106 downing of the Clippers. Atlanta led only 94-92 in the fourth when back-to-back three-point plays by Onyeka Okongwu stretched the advantage to eight points.

— The Hornets rolled to a 142-120 rout of the Pelicans as Terry Rozier highlighted his 27-point performance with seven 3-pointers. Miles Bridges had 27 points and nine assists for Charlotte, which hit 22 3s and shot 60% overall in snapping a two-game skid.

— Mo Bamba scored 27 points and the Magic went on a 23-4 burst in the second half to beat the Timberwolves, 118-110, ending Minnesota's winning streak at six games. Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and Mo Wagner came off the bench with 18 points in just 13 minutes for the Magic.

Grand jury declines to indict Texans' Watson

HOUSTON (AP) — A grand jury has declined to indict Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. The decision followed a police investigation sparked by lawsuits filed by 22 women who have accused him of harassment and sexual assault.

The grand jury's decision came about a year after the women first filed their suits, accusing Watson of exposing himself, touching them with his penis or kissing them against their will during massage appointments. One woman alleged Watson forced her to perform oral sex.

Eight of the women who sued Watson filed criminal complaints against him with Houston police and appeared before the grand jury.

— The Raiders signed star defensive end Maxx Crosby to a four-year extension worth about $95 million, the first major personnel move made by the new regime of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.