As it turns out, the 2008-09 McPherson High girls basketball season was only a hiccup.
The Bullpups’ 13-year state appearance streak was snapped last year, and MHS coach Chris Strathman admitted it wasn’t a good feeling for himself or his players.
But on Saturday, the stars once again realigned and all is right in the world, as the Bullpups avenged an earlier-season overtime loss to Salina South with a 58-55 victory at the Roundhouse that earned them a trip back to Topeka for the Class 5A State Tournament, where they captured the title in their last Expocentre appearance.
To make the finals this year, they more than likely will have to get past the Kansas City area’s 1-2 superpower punch of Miege and St. Thomas Aquinas. The third-seeded Bullpups are 20-2 and will play Miege (16-6) in Thursday’s late game, which should start approximately 8:15.
A win and MHS would play at 6:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Aquinas (21-1) and Topeka Seaman (16-6).
The other side of the bracket is headlined by 22-0 Andover Central, which plays Shawnee Heights (9-12) in Thursday’s opener, while Newton (17-5) plays Carroll (20-2) in the second game.
Strathman admitted Saturday’s victory eased a year’s worth of hurt, though realistically the Bullpups probably weren’t state-ready since they played almost all sophomores and freshmen last year.
“It (missing state) was a huge motivation,” Strathman said. “These girls played as hard as they could last year, but it was a maturation process they had to go through. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun for them and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun for me. But it paid off tonight and I’m really proud of our kids.”
South provided a tremendous test for the Bullpups, who have quite a sub-state history with the Cougars dating back to the middle 1990s when the teams swapped stunning upsets in the sub-state championship game, South winning in 1995 when MHS was unbeaten and the Bullpups winning in 1997 when South was unbeaten.
Freshman Katelyn Loecker kept MHS’ ship afloat in the first half before the other Bullpups climbed aboard. In the first quarter, South had a 12-8 lead, with Loecker the only ‘Pup to score.
The other Bullpups started to find their bearings and they went on a 21-10 tear to lead 29-22 at the half. Loecker made 7 of 12 shots in the half and scored 16 points, while MHS held Cougar standout Taylor Goodness to four, while fellow post player Sally Thompson played only 6:48 because of fouls.
“She (Loecker) was awesome the first half,” Strathman said. “We were getting her the ball and she was finishing. Then everybody else started to step up.”
MHS took a 44-39 lead into the fourth quarter and widened it to as many as 11, 52-41.
But the Cougars weren’t done. They came all the way back within 58-55 and Adria Smith stole an inbounds pass and launched a final shot that was tipped.
Goodness kept the Cougars in it. She scored 13 of South’s 17 points in the third quarter and finished with 19. Logan Antenen scored nine of her 14 in the second half.
South did everything it could to stop Loecker in the second half, as she didn’t add to her halftime total and took only two shots. She did pull down 11 rebounds to complete her double-double.
MHS’ Casyn Buchman finished with 13 points, making some athletic drives to the basket. Sarah Gaeddert, who had only two points at the half, finished strong to score 10, as MHS had three players in double figures.
Point guard Tanner Hein was immense, hitting all eight of her free throws and handled the ball well, as MHS as a team had only 10 turnovers. South did, however, win the battle of the glass, 32-23, but the Bullpups were so solid in the other areas they overcame that.
Strathman admitted the Bullpup boys’ win on Friday certainly helped his team.
“Those guys winning certainly took some pressure off of us,” Strathman said. “It made our job a lot easier.”
NEWTON 60, EMPORIA 59, OT -- The MHS sub-state will be represented by two AVCTL Division II teams, as Sadie Minkevitch’s runner with 3 seconds left in overtime gave the Railers the pulsating win.
Emporia had charged from 16 points down and finally tied the game near the end of regulation on a 3-pointer by Kelsey Burdenheide.
Lindy Arndt’s basket gave Emporia a 59-58 lead with 20 seconds left before Minkevitch hit her game-winner.
Newton’s Kate Lehman had 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in a dominating performance before fouling out with 58 seconds left in regulation. Avery Vogts and Laci McCartney added 13 apiece and Arin McMullen scored 10.
Arndt tallied 20 for the Spartans, while Burdenheide and Ciera Hastings added 10 apiece. Emporia played without standout junior Courtney Waldener, who blew out a knee late in the season.
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As it turns out, the 2008-09 McPherson High girls basketball season was only a hiccup.
The Bullpups’ 13-year state appearance streak was snapped last year, and MHS coach Chris Strathman admitted it wasn’t a good feeling for himself or his players.
But on Saturday, the stars once again realigned and all is right in the world, as the Bullpups avenged an earlier-season overtime loss to Salina South with a 58-55 victory at the Roundhouse that earned them a trip back to Topeka for the Class 5A State Tournament, where they captured the title in their last Expocentre appearance.
To make the finals this year, they more than likely will have to get past the Kansas City area’s 1-2 superpower punch of Miege and St. Thomas Aquinas. The third-seeded Bullpups are 20-2 and will play Miege (16-6) in Thursday’s late game, which should start approximately 8:15.
A win and MHS would play at 6:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Aquinas (21-1) and Topeka Seaman (16-6).
The other side of the bracket is headlined by 22-0 Andover Central, which plays Shawnee Heights (9-12) in Thursday’s opener, while Newton (17-5) plays Carroll (20-2) in the second game.
Strathman admitted Saturday’s victory eased a year’s worth of hurt, though realistically the Bullpups probably weren’t state-ready since they played almost all sophomores and freshmen last year.
“It (missing state) was a huge motivation,” Strathman said. “These girls played as hard as they could last year, but it was a maturation process they had to go through. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun for them and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun for me. But it paid off tonight and I’m really proud of our kids.”
South provided a tremendous test for the Bullpups, who have quite a sub-state history with the Cougars dating back to the middle 1990s when the teams swapped stunning upsets in the sub-state championship game, South winning in 1995 when MHS was unbeaten and the Bullpups winning in 1997 when South was unbeaten.
Freshman Katelyn Loecker kept MHS’ ship afloat in the first half before the other Bullpups climbed aboard. In the first quarter, South had a 12-8 lead, with Loecker the only ‘Pup to score.
The other Bullpups started to find their bearings and they went on a 21-10 tear to lead 29-22 at the half. Loecker made 7 of 12 shots in the half and scored 16 points, while MHS held Cougar standout Taylor Goodness to four, while fellow post player Sally Thompson played only 6:48 because of fouls.
“She (Loecker) was awesome the first half,” Strathman said. “We were getting her the ball and she was finishing. Then everybody else started to step up.”
MHS took a 44-39 lead into the fourth quarter and widened it to as many as 11, 52-41.
But the Cougars weren’t done. They came all the way back within 58-55 and Adria Smith stole an inbounds pass and launched a final shot that was tipped.
Goodness kept the Cougars in it. She scored 13 of South’s 17 points in the third quarter and finished with 19. Logan Antenen scored nine of her 14 in the second half.
South did everything it could to stop Loecker in the second half, as she didn’t add to her halftime total and took only two shots. She did pull down 11 rebounds to complete her double-double.
MHS’ Casyn Buchman finished with 13 points, making some athletic drives to the basket. Sarah Gaeddert, who had only two points at the half, finished strong to score 10, as MHS had three players in double figures.
Point guard Tanner Hein was immense, hitting all eight of her free throws and handled the ball well, as MHS as a team had only 10 turnovers. South did, however, win the battle of the glass, 32-23, but the Bullpups were so solid in the other areas they overcame that.
Strathman admitted the Bullpup boys’ win on Friday certainly helped his team.
“Those guys winning certainly took some pressure off of us,” Strathman said. “It made our job a lot easier.”
NEWTON 60, EMPORIA 59, OT -- The MHS sub-state will be represented by two AVCTL Division II teams, as Sadie Minkevitch’s runner with 3 seconds left in overtime gave the Railers the pulsating win.
Emporia had charged from 16 points down and finally tied the game near the end of regulation on a 3-pointer by Kelsey Burdenheide.
Lindy Arndt’s basket gave Emporia a 59-58 lead with 20 seconds left before Minkevitch hit her game-winner.
Newton’s Kate Lehman had 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in a dominating performance before fouling out with 58 seconds left in regulation. Avery Vogts and Laci McCartney added 13 apiece and Arin McMullen scored 10.
Arndt tallied 20 for the Spartans, while Burdenheide and Ciera Hastings added 10 apiece. Emporia played without standout junior Courtney Waldener, who blew out a knee late in the season.
