Flurry carries Heights girls to 6A semifinals
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EMPORIA — Four minutes into Wednesday's quarterfinal game of the Class 6A tournament, Lawrence Free State girls coach Bryan Duncan was comfortable. His team's zone defense was actually controlling the tempo against oh-so-quick Wichita Heights.
Moments later, Heights shattered his comfort zone with an 18-0 run en route to a 64-45 victory. The Falcons did it with precision shooting and a stifling defense to advance to Friday's semifinal against Washburn Rural, which defeated Maize 76-44.
"They're too quick and athletic," Duncan said. "They created a lot of turnovers. We haven't seen anything like that all year. It took us a while to adjust to it. By the time we did, it was (an 18-0) run."
The first sign that Heights was heating up came in the first minute. Kamisha Richard tipped away a ball from Free State, then seconds later, Taylor Chandler tipped away a pass. Jhasmin Bowen followed up with a steal, but Heights (22-1) didn't score. Tahlia Pope got a steal, the Falcons didn't score.
Those close calls led to the burst of production.
"If we can get our hands on balls, they start smelling the blood and go get it," Heights coach Kip Pulliam said. "First they get one hand, then they get two hands and it's off to the races. They went after passes and turned it into buckets."
Ahead 7-5, Pope made a three-pointer from the left corner. A steal less than a minute later by Mary Sims led to Kaitlyn Palmer getting a pass in the left corner. With Pulliam telling her to knock it down, she did just that.
Steals by Sims and Allegria Chisom led to fast-break baskets and a 17-5 lead.
"Once we do something right, then we're ready to go," said Pope, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "Once everybody is on board, we do good after that."
Heights closed the period leading 24-5 with seven of eight players scoring. Heights had four finish in double figures.
The Falcons never let up, and it didn't hurt that Free State (15-8) was hampered by foul trouble inside with 6-foot-5 Ashli Hill. She picked up her third in the second quarter and fouled out with 4:40 remaining.
"All of a sudden we went from being able to match up and have a great post battle," Duncan said. "It affected everything we were going to be able to do."
Heights, which had struggled in recent weeks to dominate in victories, played one of its best games.
"I had a feeling we'd turn it on," Pulliam said. "You let someone play with you here, you're done. I think they realized that with Topeka (in the sub-state final). Out here, they didn't ever let it be a contest."
Washburn Rural 76, Maize 44 — Maize relied on its deep bench this season to play a suffocating defense and an uptempo offense. It worked so well that it put the Eagles into the state tournament one year after winning five games.
But against defending 6A champion Washburn Rural, Maize struggled.
"We were just a step slow," Maize coach Jerrod Handy said. "We just didn't react as we normally do. We were a half-second behind with everything we did. That has a lot to do with Washburn. They're a good team, good players."
Maize stuck with Washburn Rural through the first quarter, trailing 16-12. But the Junior Blues limited Maize to six second-quarter points as they built their lead to 35-18 at the half.
If it wasn't Washburn Rural's Alexa Bordewick driving inside for her game-high 22 points, it was Maggie Holmberg's 19 points or Erika Lane's 17.
"I knew Washburn was a good team," Handy said. "I was hoping that maybe we could make a game of it. They have great shooters, great quickness, great height. They have a chance to be a state championship team."
Washburn Rural shot 49.1 percent from the field and outrebounded Maize 44-24.
Maize was led by Alicia Nicholson's eight points, while Kirsten Chamberlin had six and McKenzie Cox, Erin Roeser and Paige Lungwitz had five apiece.
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