5A Playoff Finals: Winners

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5A state finals matchup between Hays and St. James Academy did not disappoint. The final score was 49-48, with St. James edging it out in a game where 1 close call by the refs made a difference in tonight's championship turnout. #44 for Hays, [player_tooltip player_id='606255' first='Zoe' last='Winter'] got a steal with a few seconds left on the clock and had a chance at a fast break, with Hays being down only 1 point. Whether it was a foul or not, it still was a very close call that determined the game in my opinion, and the refs seemed to have responded on the next possession for St. James with a strange travel call on them. A play that was a clear loose-ball scramble that seemed to me to be a make-up call for Hays, but it ultimately was a great, hard-fought championship game that had me on the edge of my seat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 3rd place 5A matchup game between Andover and Shawnee Heights was a little more decisive, with Andover being down by 8 in the 1st half, they emerged out of halftime on a mission. Andover's second half, particularly #2 [player_tooltip player_id='791747' first='Bella' last='Bouddhara'] for Andover, decided to completely take over this game, finishing with a blistering 32 points. Her second half was remarkable; she scored about 20 of her 32 in the 3rd and 4th Quarters, and it was bolstered by her pick-pockets on defense. It was a complete shutdown on both ends for her, and it shows that she is the best sophomore in class 5A because of what she contributes to the defensive end. Andover cruises late to a 71-55 win for 3rd place over Shawnee Heights. Here are the key players of today's victories: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["899475"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c326"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#5, Leading scorer for St. James. Played her biggest game in her biggest game as a freshman. Clutch FTs, played poised all game, and was ready to attack from the jump ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["773203"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c3a9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#24, 3 huge blocks in this game with 6 timely points to top it off. Played tough on the glass all game and was one of the reasons why St. James's dominated the offensive glass in this championship over Hays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["836271"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c417"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#11, Hit timely perimeter shots for St. James that were absolute back-breakers for Hays in this championship game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["848499"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1806508,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c493"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#30, 10 points, 2blks, 2 steals. Ireland's defense was MVP worthy. She did a great job of switching out on the perimeter as well. She did all the little things in this game, and she continued to play through her missed open layups, which shows that she understands how to win and doesn't get distracted from the task at hand. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Emmerson Albright","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"St. James Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c57f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#1, Solid on-ball defense against the class's leading scorer in this championship game. It was mostly her long arms in the right places on defense to limit vision paths, as well as cutting off good looks at the rim. More impressively, Emmerson constantly attacked the offensive glass as a guard and was causing problems all afternoon for Hays on the boards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["791747"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c5da"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#2, 32-point Masterclass! Bella attacked the Offensive glass, was a menace on Defense, and rained 3's in the second half to lead Andover to a 3rd place finish over Shawnee Heights. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1224673"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c62b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#4, Solid defense against Shawnee Heights on the perimeter, and Asiah made sure to use all her fouls today and leave nothing on the table for this game. She chipped in 16 points as well, which kept Andover within reach before the half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["999811"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69b639b17c679"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">#23, Scored in double figures today and did a solid job of not rushing her shots and playing within the rhythm and flow of the game. Grier's game all playoff long had teams respecting her ability to score, and she made sure that Shawnee Heights was no different in this 3rd place medal game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->