HUTCHINSON – The end of Southeast of Saline's state semifinal drought of more than 30 years was there for the taking.
Instead, Goodland took it away and ended its own 22-year absence from the state semifinals.
Down 11 going into the fourth quarter, Goodland completely stymied the Trojans in the final period, holding them without a field goal. The Cowboys took full advantage, rallying for a 38-37 win that advanced them to the Class 3A state semifinals for the first time since 2001.
In Friday's 4 p.m. semifinal, Goodland (22-2) will take on No. 1 seed Silver Lake (23-1), which cruised past Cherryvale 63-33.
Southeast of Saline's fourth-quarter dry spell cam out of nowhere. Locked in a tight battle for the first two-plus quarters, the Trojans finished the third quarter on a 10-2 run, shooting 75% from the field in the period.
Karsyn Schlesener buried a pair of 3-pointers, the second coming in the final minute of the period to give the Trojans a 35-24 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Then Southeast went cold and Goodland heated up. The Cowboys went to work inside, chipping away at the Southeast lead, eventually tying the game on a pair of free throws with less than a minute and a half to play.
After Southeast came up empty on its next possession, Talexa Weeter hit the game-winner with 46 seconds to play. Schlesener hit a free throw with 10 seconds left to get Southeast within one and the Trojans forced a turnover to give themselves a chance with seven seconds left.
But they couldn't get off a shot and Goodland escaped. Southeast went 0 of 7 from the field in the fourth, including 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
Jaxi Mitchek led the Cowboys with 10 points while Weeter and Haley Biermann each scored eight. Schlesener led all scorers with 18, hitting 6 of 10 shots and 3 of 7 3-pointers.
SILVER LAKE 63, CHERRYVALE 33
Absolutely nothing separated Silver Lake and Cherryvale when it came to 3-point shooting in Thursday's first quarterfinal. Both teams were ice cold, each going 0 of 12.
What completely separated the two, however, was Makenzie McDaniel. Silver Lake's six-foot sophomore completely took over the game, making the Eagles' long-range woes largely irrelevant.
McDaniel hit 16 of her 21 field goal attempts in the game and threw in a pair of makes at the free-throw line to finish with a career-high 34 points. She also added 16 rebounds, carrying Silver Lake back to the state semifinals.
Taylor Ross added 10 points for Silver Lake, which dominated the paint. The Eagles led 31-11 at halftime thanks to a 16-2 edge in the second period.
Cherryvale, which finished the season 15-8, was led by Kelsi Lantz's 10 points and 9 rebounds.
NICKERSON 47, FRONTENAC 40
Foul trouble to standout Ava Jones and even bigger woes in taking care of the ball put quite a scare into one-loss Nickerson.
But the Panthers were able to hang on despite committing 27 turnovers and seeing Jones foul out with two minutes left.
When the 6-foot-2 standout left the game – after scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds – Nickerson seemed firmly in control, leading Frontenac 42-31 with 2:18 left. Instead, the Raiders mounted a quick 5-0 run over the next minute to close the deficit to 42-36.
Another bucket cut Nickerson's lead to five before the Panthers' Alexis Allen hit a pair of free throws. Frontenac scored to make it a five-point game with 18.3 seconds left, but Allen came up big at the line again to seal the win.
Nickerson (23-1) will take on Hugoton (23-1) in a huge semifinal showdown at 8 p.m.
Allen finished with 11 points, going 5 of 6 at the line in the game and Josie McLean scored 12. Destiny Ponds came up big inside as well, scoring seven but grabbing 14 rebounds.
Hattie Pyle led Frontenac (15-6) with 14 points, while Heather Arnett added 11 and Sydney Frankenberry had 10.
HUGOTON 52, SANTA FE TRAIL 40
Denied a shot at playing for the title a year ago in the state semifinals, Hugoton made sure it got back to that point for another shot at getting to the title game.
Up 15-10 after the first quarter, Hugoton doubled up Santa Fe Trail in the second period to the tune of a 14-7 advantage to open up a 29-17 halftime lead. The Eagles kept the Chargers at bay the rest of the way.
Gianna Vos led the Eagles with 20 points while Mikyn Hamlin and Breckyn Haar each scored 12. Summya Adigun had 14 rebounds.
Hugoton held Trail leading scorer Kaelee Washington to just eight points, allowing her to get off only five field goal attempts. Braegen Buessing led the Chargers, who finished the season 19-5, with 13 points.
Hugoton's Gianna Vos (12) scored 20 points to lead the Eagles back to the Class 3A state semifinals with a 52-40 win over Santa Fe Trail.
SILVER LAKE 63, CHERRYVALE 33
Cherryvale … 9 … 2 … 15 … 7 … -- … 33
Silver Lake … 15 … 16 … 18 … 14 … -- … 63
Cherryvale (15-9) – Reister 3-13 0-0 6, Lantz 4-15 2-6 10, Catlin 0-7 1-2 1, Fox 0-1 0-0 0, Bunyard 3-5 3-4 9, Umbarger 1-5 0-0 2, Kaiser 0-0 0-0 0, Gass 0-0 0-0 0, Raida 2-3 0-0 4, Forman 0-1 0-0 0, Whittley 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 13-50 7-16 33.
Silver Lake (23-1) – Farmer 0-3 0-0 0, McDaniel 16-21 2-4 34, K. Kruger 2-10 2-3 6, M. Kruger 0-8 5-5 5, Ross 4-6 2-3 10, Wehrli 0-1 0-0 0, Seele 0-2 0-0 0, Deiter 1-7 0-0 2, Bolan 0-1 0-0 0, Manhart 2-2 0-0 4, Zordel 0-1 0-0 0, Brewster 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-63 11-15 63.
3-point goals – Cherryvale 0-12 (Lantz 0-6, Catlin 0-2, Reister 0-2, Fox 0-1, Bunyard 0-1); Silver Lake 0-12 (K. Kruger 0-5, M. Kruger 0-2, Farmer 0-2, Seele 0-2, Deiter 0-1). Rebounds – Cherryvale 33 (Lantz 9), Silver Lake 49 (McDaniel 16). Assists – Cherryvale 4 (Reister, Gass 2), Silver Lake 14 (Wehrli, Deiter, K. Kruger, Ross 3). Turnovers – Cherryvale 9, Silver Lake 4. Total fouls – Cherryvale 14, Silver Lake 12. Fouled out – none.
GOODLAND 38, SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 37
Southeast of Saline … 13 … 5 … 17 … 2 … -- … 37
Goodland … 5 … 12 … 7 … 14 … -- … 38
Southeast of Saline (20-4) – Schlesener 6-10 3-4 18, Yianakopulos 0-4 1-2 1, Harris 1-5 0-0 3, Pearson 0-4 0-0 0, Caselman 3-3 0-0 8, Ptacek 1-3 0-0 3, Jacobson 1-1 0-0 2, Goetz 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 13-33 4-6 37.
Goodland (22-2) – Biermann 2-7 2-2 8, Mitchek 3-5 2-2 10, Weeter 3-10 1-1 8, Cure 0-6 1-5 1, E. Lehman 2-5 2-2 6, O. Lehman 2-5 1-1 5, Had. Blochlinger 0-1 0-0 0, Rubio 0-1 0-0 0, Hal. Blochlinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-40 9-13 38.
3-point goals – Southeast 7-19 (Schlesener 3-7, Caselman 2-2, Ptacek 1-3, Harris 1-3, Yianakopulos 0-2, Pearson 0-1, Goetz 0-1); Goodland 5-21 (Biermann 2-6, Mitchek 2-4, Weeter 1-7, E. Lehman 0-2, O. Lehman 0-1, Had. Blochlinger 0-1). Rebounds – Southeast 24 (Schlesener, Pearson, Caselman 4), Goodland 25 (Cure 8). Assists – Southeast 9 (Schlesener, Caselman 3), Goodland 11 (E. Lehman 4). Turnovers – Southeast 23, Goodland 17. Total fouls – Southeast 15, Goodland 14. Fouled out – none.
NICKERSON 47, FRONTENAC 40
Frontenac … 8 … 3 … 10 … 19 … -- … 40
Nickerson … 10 … 9 … 19 … 9 … -- … 47
Frontenac (15-6) – Frankenberry 4-11 0-0 10, Wood 1-3 0-2 2, Pyle 5-16 3-4 14, Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Arnett 5-17 1-2 11, Green 1-11 0-0 3, Lakey 0-5 0-0 0, Beaman 0-0 0-0 0, Hamm 0-0 0-0 0, Hamblin 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-68 4-8 40.
Nickerson (23-1) – Allen 2-7 5-6 11, McLean 3-8 4-6 12, K. Ontjes 1-2 0-0 3, Ponds 3-10 0-1 7, Jones 5-12 4-4 14, A. Ontjes 0-1 0-0 0, Abernathy 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-43 13-17 47.
3-point goals – Frontenac 4-21 (Frankenberry 2-6, Green 1-6, Pyle 1-3, Brown 0-2, Arnett 0-3, Lee 0-1); Nickerson 6-17 (Allen 2-7, McLean 2-6, K. Ontjes 1-1, Ponds 1-3). Rebounds – Frontenac 37 (Pyle 10), Nickerson 49 (Jones 15). Assists – Frontenac 11 (Green, Pyle 3), Nickerson 10 (Jones 4). Turnovers – Frontenac 14, Nickerson 27. Total fouls – Frontenac 16, Nickerson 14. Fouled out – Nickerson: Jones.
HUGOTON 52, SANTA FE TRAIL 40
Santa Fe Trail … 10 … 7 … 7 … 16 … -- … 40
Hugoton … 15 … 14 … 8 … 15 … -- … 52
Santa Fe Trail (19-5) – Buessing 4-6 4-4 13, Herren 1-10 2-2 4, Whitaker 2-8 2-2 6, Washington 3-5 2-2 8, Long 0-4 7-12 7, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Rowe 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 11-35 17-22 40.
Hugoton (22-2) – Salazar 1-3 1-2 3, Vos 6-11 7-8 20, Adigun 1-6 3-6 5, Haar 5-9 2-4 12, Hamlin 4-12 3-4 12, Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Slocom 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 16-24 52.
3-point goals – Santa Fe Trail 1-6 (Buessing 1-2, Herren 0-2, Whitaker 0-1, Clark 0-1); Hugoton 2-10 (Vos 1-3, Hamlin 1-2, Salazar 0-2, Slocom 0-2, Adigun 0-1). Rebounds – Santa Fe Trail 24 (Herren 10), Hugoton 32 (Adigun 14). Assists – Santa Fe Trail 2 (Long 2), Hugoton 8 (Salazar, Vos, Adigun 2). Turnovers – Santa Fe Trail 18, Hugoton 14. Total fouls – Santa Fe Trail 22, Hugoton 16. Fouled out – Santa Fe Trail: Whitaker, Washington.
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