Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2010

Kansas 6A girls basketball state tourney blog (March 10)

Game 1: Olathe South, 21-1, vs. Blue Valley, 15-7

2:59 p.m. — The national anthem is in the books, a nice melodic rendition by the Baxter Springs girls choir from southeast Kansas, so the Kansas 6A state tourney is about to tip off for 2010 with top-seeded Olathe South facing Johnson County-rival Blue Valley, who stuck right with the Falcons during the preseason tournament in a 42-40 loss. As usual, South's crowd is sparse, which is a shame, especially when you contrast that with the loud-and-proud Tigers cheering section.

3:10 p.m. — Olathe South is dominating the boards early with a 6-1 advantage, but it hasn't translated into a lead. Both teams are struggling to make layups right now — nerves perhaps? — and the officials are letting them play early. About five minutes into the game, both teams finally seemed to settle in and get a little rhythm to their play. The Falcons lead 11-7 with 2:26 remaining after a Blue Valley timeout.

3:18 p.m. — South junior Natalie Knight started to take over late in the period, grabbing four rebounds and scoring back-to-back buckets to close the first quarter, which ended with the Falcons ahead 13-7. Of concern, sophomore Megan Balcom just picked up her second foul at the 6:39 mark in the second quarter.

3:24 p.m. — After missing her first five shots, and drawing taunts from the Blue Valley student section encouraging her to shoot every time she touched the ball, senior Ebonee Bell silenced the Tigers' faithful with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Blue Valley is shooting 30 percent from the field (six for 20), while South is sizzling at 48 percent (nine for 19). The Tigers just burned another timeout with 3:19 before halftime and the Falcons ahead 20-16.

3:34 p.m. — Falcons coach Steve Ingram rolled the dice and sent Megan Balcom, who had two early fouls, back into the game with 1:42 left in the second quarter. She subbed out on defense, though, limiting the chances she'd pick up a third foul. Blue Valley senior Nicole Berry is doing an admirable job guarding Natalie Knight, but when South spreads the floor Knight is too quick to stay in front of and the Tigers' man-to-man defense breaks down. Knight found senior Kelsey Balcom on just such a play for a late layup and a 25-17 halftime lead.

3:36 p.m. — Kelsey Balcom has nine points and senior Navia Palu has a surprising seven in the first half for South. No Blue Valley player has scored more than four points and the Tigers shot six for 23 in the first half, a scant 26.1 percent.

3:43 p.m. — The second half is under way.

3:48 p.m. — A quick side note for all parents: You sound like whining idiots when you cry at every whistle. Just stop it already. Show some decorum and set a good example. When coaches do it, it's called working the refs. When student sections do it, it's called school spirit (and following the poor example set by mouthy parents), but usually gets quelled by administrators. When parents do it, it's just sad and lame. You don't like coming off as pathetic, do you? For those who cheer wildly and offer support for your kids, congratulations. I'd give you medals, but, as adults, you really shouldn't expect rewards for doing what you know to be right. But I digress. Blue Valley is staying within striking distance at the free-throw line, where the Tigers are six for eight. South, meanwhile, is two for four at the line, but leads 30-19 after another 3-pointer by senior Ebonee Bell.

3:50 p.m. — Wow, Navia Palu just took her 18th charge of the season in 23 games. That's absolutely ridiculous. She now has 31 in the last two seasons at South. Palu followed that with a 3 for a 33-19 lead, prompting Blue Valley coach Andy Unrein to call another timeout with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

3:59 p.m. — Every time it looks like Blue Valley might make a run, like when the Tigers scored back-to-back baskets to stay within 10 at 33-23, Olathe South has an answer. The Falcons got their lethal transition offense working and rattled off eight straights points, including six from senior Kelsey Balcom with a nifty spin move at the rim on one fastbreak for her signature bucket. With a minute left in the quarter, Blue Valley has only one timeout left and must be scratching its head at how the lead ballooned to 16 points (42-26).

4:03 p.m. — Olathe South doesn't even have enough fans here to get a good air ball chant going.

4:09 p.m. — Having seen Blue Valley play three or four times this year, I'm continually impressed with sophomore Taylor Leathers. She has range, plays decent defense for a young post player, handles the ball well and rebounds well. Leathers is a player to keep an eye on the next few seasons. That said, South is handily in front 44-31 with under 5 minutes to go.

4:19 p.m. — The Falcons aren't exactly closing this one strong with a slew of turnovers and missed free throws (five missed in the last eight attempts). With 2:08 left, Blue Valley's Nicole Gloor hit a 3 from the left wing, cutting the lead to single digits at 46-37. Still, it looks like South is going to advance with a 10-point lead and under a minute remaining.

4:27 p.m. — Olathe South advances to the Kansas 6A semifinals for the fourth consecutive season with a 55-44 quarterfinal win against Blue Valley. Kelsey Balcom scored 17, Natalie Knight added 15 and Navia Palu scored 12 for the Falcons.

Game 2: SM East, 19-3, vs. Dodge City, 19-3

4:53 p.m. — And we have tip-off. Alison Stephens scored the game's first points for the Lancers.

5:28 p.m. — SM East leads 21-20 at halftime.

5:56 p.m. — Dodge City rallied to a 35-30 lead after three quarters.

6:09 p.m. — SM East and Dodge City are tied at 39-39 with 2:05 remaining. Dodge City just called its fourth timeout and now has one remaining. Lancers senior Janna Graf has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but she's had to work for every point, shooting only five for 12 overall.

6:20 p.m. — Dodge City, 20-3, pulled away late for a 50-41 win and will face Olathe South in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday for a berth in the state championship.

Game 3: Wichita Heights, 21-1, vs. Free State, 15-7

7:09 p.m. — Sustenance was required. I get angry if I don't eat, and Free State might perhaps should have snacked on some energy bars before coming out to face Wichita Heights. Heights has dominated the first quarter and a half, building a 28-9 lead by forcing 13 Firebirds turnovers and drilling three 3-pointers.

7:27 p.m. — The second half is under way with Wichita Heights leading 33-14 at the break.

7:46 p.m. — Free State is still getting killed. The Firebirds are down 52-30 early in the fourth quarter, but senior Chantay Caron just had the play of the game — a LeBron James-style chase-down block of Heights senior Kamisha Richard's fastbreak layup try. Caron, who is one heck of a physical specimen (not quite in LeBron's league but still impressive), signed with Kansas State.

7:53 p.m. — Free State's Ashli Hill fouled out with 4:40 left in the game and the Firebirds trailing 55-32. She had eight points and two rebounds in what appears to have been her final high school game. The 6-foot-5 UMKC commit was one of those players who grew in her game every year, which is always fun to watch.

8:07 p.m. — Free State's season is over ... 64-45, a dominant showing by Wichita Heights, 22-1.

Game 4: Washburn Rural, 19-3, vs. Maize, 16-6

8:57 p.m. — The wide assumption was that Maize wasn't supposed to hang with Washburn Rural, but for a quarter the Eagles did just that, trailing only 16-12 before the defending Kansas 6A champs from Rural took over. The Junior Blues outscored Maize 19-6 in the second period and lead 35-18 at halftime.

9:42 p.m. — Rural is thoroughly in control, leading 69-39 with less than two minutes remaining. So, the state semifinals are set with Olathe South, 22-1, facing Dodge City, 20-3, at 3 p.m. Friday and Wichita Heights, 22-1, taking on reigning 6A champion Washburn Rural, 20-3, at 6:30 p.m. Friday following the first boys semifinal. The 6A boys take the floor Thursday with four quarterfinals: (2) Dodge City, 19-3, vs. (7) Blue Valley Northwest, 15-7, at 3 p.m.; (3) SM South, 17-5, vs. (6) BV North, 15-7, at 4:45 p.m.; (1) Wichita Heights, 20-2, vs. (8) Manhattan, 12-10, at 6:30 p.m.; and, (4) Maize, 17-5, vs. (5) Leavenworth, 16-6, at 8:15 p.m.

9:47 p.m. — Final: Rural 76, Maize 44 ... Looks like that widely held assumption was pretty accurate.

11:22 p.m. — FINAL THOUGHTS ... It's hard not to look past the semifinals toward the prospect of an Olathe South-Wichita Heights state championship. I suspect Olathe South will feast on Dodge City's guards. The Falcons ought to advance, and I'm not speaking as a homer (in this instance). Heights could have some trouble with Washburn Rural, though, so nothing is guaranteed. Still, it's the matchup most seem to want here in Emporia.

“I'd like to see (Heights) and Olathe South in the final,” said Free State coach Bryan Duncan after his Firebirds lost to Heights. “I think that could be an outstanding final. It's two pretty different teams, but two awfully good teams.”

Duncan did offer something to chew on when pressed about the possibility of a South-Heights showdown: “We played (Heights) three years ago when they were ranked ninth in the country, and this team might be as good as that one,” Duncan said. That Heights team knocked off Free State in the semifinals then beat Olathe South 54-34 in the 6A title game. Of course, South is arguably better now too.

Good night all and sleep well. Check back Thursday for my random running thoughts as the 6A boys are whittled from the Elite Eight to the state's Final Four.

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