DODGE CITY, Kan.—Sometimes it doesn't matter how you win, as long you come out on top.
Perhaps that was the feeling of an exhausted but 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.
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.
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.
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.
The consolation game between Burlingame and Hodgeman County is set for 2 p.m.
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.
"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."
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.
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.
"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."
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.
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.
"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."
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 for the Longhorns.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 win of the season.
"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."
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.
For Centralia, it was freshman sensation Oen Deters who led the way with 16 points, while Abbie Flentie added 13 and Lena Haverkamp 10.
"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."
PRETTY PRAIRIE 37, HODGEMAN COUNTY 32
Pretty Prairie 15 11 7 4 -- 37
Hodgeman County 5 7 14 6 -- 32
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.
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.
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).
CENTRALIA 53, BURLINGAME 45
Burlingame 18 7 2 18 -- 45
Centralia 11 17 19 6 -- 53
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.
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.
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).
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