Standout 2020s from the 4A First Round Games

The quarterfinal games of the class 4A tournament were played yesterday afternoon and evening. Bishop Miege advanced to take on top-seed Nickerson while Clay Center survived to challenge Piper. The semifinal games will be played Friday. Clay Center/Piper is scheduled for 3:00, at Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina, and Bishop Miege/Nickerson is at 6:30. A 4A boys game provides the space in the middle. Hearts of many 2020s were broken while others enjoyed the thrill of getting a step closer to a championship. This post reports on 2020s that stood out on opening day. Kylie Adams, PG, 5’5", Chapman -- The quickness of Adams and her teammates collectively disrupted the Stags, forcing them to concentrating on stopping dribble-drives. The first quarter especially the Chapman guards, let by Adams, got into the paint. Until being forced to foul in the fourth quarter the Irish had far more chances from the line, finishing with 22 attempts, making 15. Adams finished 4/4 from the line and knocked down a three in scoring 10 points. Grace Banes, W, 5’8", Piper -- While Piper got scoring from all of its starters, University of Iowa softball commit Banes was the perimeter and transition problem that Baldwin struggled to stop. She was the beneficiary of many of point guard Evelyn Vazquez’s 7 assists. She collected 20 points including a blistering 85.7% (6/7) from beyond the arc. Ashlynn Bledsoe, F, 5’10", Chapman -- Bledsoe finished with 13 points, including knocking down a three, and pulled down a team high 5 rebounds. As a team Chapman shot 52% from the field compared to Miege’s 44%. Reagan Hieber, PG, 5’5", Eudora -- Hiebert was one of two players who played all 32 minutes. Until teammate [player_tooltip player_id="48295" first="Harper" last="Schreiner"] got going late she and her foul troubled sister Riley, 8 points, provided all of the scoring. Reagan would finish with 22 points, shooting 75% from three (6/8). The Hieberts have committed to University of St. Mary for cross country and track. McKenna Kirkpatrick, G/F, 5’10", Chapman -- Kirkpatrick established herself early as a serious matchup problem for Bishop Miege. With her size, interior strength, relentlessness, handles, and perimeter game most of the Stags were completely unable to physically compete with her. She shot 10 free throws, making 8. She finished with 17 points and 3 steals. Lexi Liby, SG, 5’6", Clay Center -- In a closely contested win over Eudora Liby kept some of the Cardinal attentions off of junior power forward Clara Edwards. Edwards led all scorers with 25 points but Liby contributed 15 points along with 3 assists, and 1 lone turnover. Haley Miller, PG, 5’0", Buhler -- This team leader went after loose balls and attacked the basket with ferosity. And she took hit after hit fighting to keep her team in game. Miller finishing with 10 points, including 2/3 from three, 2 assists, and 2 steals in playing all but the last 42 seconds of the game. A strong ball handler, great IQ, quick hands, court vision, and a quick perimeter shot - she’s on my all-tournament team. A great scoring moment was when she lofted a lay-up over the outstretched reach of a leaping Morgan Stout. Nicolette Morgan, SG, 5’3", Baldwin -- Coming off the bench Morgan provided a competitive spark. While only on the floor just under 4 and half minutes in the first half, by the end she had racked up 11 points, 5 steals, and an assists in 13 and a half minutes of play. While she struggled to finish basket attacks she eventually starting absorbing contact to get to the line, making 3/4. She showed good quickness, anticipation, and quick hands. [player_tooltip player_id="90165" first="Madison" last="Ontjes"], PG, 5’6", Nickerson -- What Buhler did have was speed and talent at the guard position to challenge Ontjes. Her impact on the game went beyond the 8 points, 3 assists, and 1 lone turnover she finished with. Consistently against pressure she was able to lead the attack to get the ball up the floor. The straw that stirred the drink kind of night. Morgan Stout, C, 6’2", Nickerson -- This Wichita State volleyball commit played probably the best game of her season. Stout is big, strong, long limbed, fast, quick, a tremendous leaper, and athletic. She showed power and intensity (which her coach had to pull her out in the second half at one point to talk her down some) on every face-up and back-to-back move, every blocked shot, and every physical battle in the paint. While game, Buhler had nothing for her inside. Stout finished with 23 points (11/16 from the floor), 8 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. She performs anything close to that Friday, Miege will have their hands more than full. [player_tooltip player_id="90133" first="Ashton" last="Verhulst"], F, 6’3", Bishop Miege -- Through most of the first half, and in stretches of the second half, the Stags leaned on Verhulst and 5’10 sophomores Adrianna Smith and Allie Burns to battle Chapman’s size and strength inside. They also relied on sophomore Imajin McCallop’s athleticism and scoring to eek out a 6 point half time lead. Junior sister Payton picked up two early fouls, playing only 3:37 of her 17:57 minutes on the floor in the first half. A University of Central Florida commit, Verhulst finished with 14 points, including a three, and 5 rebounds Featured Image: Nickerson 2020 Morgan Stout elevates to score over a Buhler defender during their quarterfinal class 4A state tournament game March 11. Photo by Robert Kelly.