By Brent Maycock – KSHSAA Covered
DODGE CITY — Upset?
Sure go ahead and classify Valley Heights’ 52-35 win over previously undefeated Wichita County in Wednesday’s Class 2A state quarterfinals at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena as one. On paper only, though.
For Kansas high school basketball savants, the outcome hardly registered as anything other than a Twin Valley League team doing what Twin Valley League teams do in the postseason.
“The TVL is the toughest small-school league in the state and each year there are schools that come out of our league and perform very well at the state tournaments,” Heights coach Jordan Broxterman said. “All coaches in the league believe that the competition we face on a night-in, night-out basis throughout the season gives us a shot against anyone in postseason play.”
Heights, which took an 18-5 record into the state tournament finished in a three-way tie for second place in the TVL this year along with Class 1A Division I qualifier Frankfort and defending Class 1A Division II champion and qualifier Hanover, each going 9-2 in league play. Throw in two more losses at the league tourney and a fifth to 3A power Rossville and Heights was indeed battle-tested for the postseason.
Wichita County had leaned heavily on its sister trio of Ashlynn, Breanna and Megan Ricke, who had combined for 36.8 points per game this season, led by Megan’s 16.6 scoring average. Much of that damage had come from the perimeter.
But the TVL is full of teams that can shoot from the outside and Broxterman said one of his team’s strengths was being able to defend the perimeter.
“They have really good guard play that can stretch defenses with their perimeter shooting, but we have good perimeter defenders to match that,” he said. “The key to the game was to prevent them from getting hot from three. We had to extend more than we usually would defensively, but our girls did a phenomenal job of moving their feet and keeping them pushed from the basket without giving up easy drives.”
Wichita County finished the game just 3 of 15 beyond the arc with Ashlynn and Megan combining to go 1 of 8.
Heights, meanwhile, came out hot beyond the arc. Maggie Toerber drilled two of the Mustangs’ three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Heights bolted to a 16-10 lead at the end of the quarter. Heights didn’t make another three in the game, but the quick start gave the Mustangs a cushion that Wichita County never could overcome.
Still up six at halftime, Heights opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run that broke the game open. Heights pushed the lead to 19 with just over three minutes left.
Ava Smith led the Mustangs with 18 points while Toerber finished with 16. Megan and Breanne Ricke each scored 10 for Wichita County, but Megan was just 3 of 15 from the field in the game.
With the win Heights (19-5) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2020 and 2021. In Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal, the Mustangs will take on last year’s state runner-up, Riverside (22-2), which fought past Hoxie 43-38 in Wednesday’s second quarterfinal game.
“Riverside is a great team that returns everyone from a state runner-up finish last season,” Broxterman said. “We know that they have one of the best post players in the state all-classes and it will be important for us to play smart against them. Complementing their post play is a group of girls that shoot really well from the perimeter. It will be important for us to take care of the ball and get good looks at the basket on our offensive possessions.”
RIVERSIDE 43, HOXIE 38 – After making a surprising run to last year’s 2A championship game, Riverside returned to the state tournament with a lot more expectations from the outside.
The Cyclones handled that added pressure and a solid Hoxie team with a big defensive effort. Riverside held the Indians to just 24.5% shooting for the game and offset eight Hoxie 3-pointers with eight of its own.
Taylor Weishaar had 15 points and 13 rebounds, taking advantage of Hoxie’s loss of top post player Kinley Rogers to a knee injury in sub-state play. The 6-foot-3 Weishaar hit 6 of 8 shots and drew enough attention inside to open things up on the perimeter for her teammates.
Abby O’Grady hit all three of her 3-point attempts for nine points and Halle Studer hit 2 of 4 3-pointers.
Riverside held Hoxie to just 15 first-half points and led 21-15 at halftime, keeping Hoxie at arm’s length the rest of the way. Emily Bainter had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Hoxie (22-2) but leading scorer Josey Kennedy was just 2 of 12 from the field and 2 of 8 on 3-pointers and scored just five points.
ST. MARY’S COLGAN 66, EUREKA 50 – After seeing undefeated Wichita County go down in the opening quarterfinal, Colgan made sure their perfect record didn’t get a blemish as well. But it took some doing.
After doubling Eureka up in the first quarter for a 16-8 lead, the Panthers found themselves in a game as the Tornadoes rallied to forge a 26-26 halftime tie. Having seen undefeated seasons end at state each of the last two years, Colgan might have panicked.
Instead, the Panthers snapped to life. Colgan outscored Eureka 25-7 in the third quarter to extinguish any upset hopes the Tornadoes had. The Panthers improved to 24-0 and advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year where they will take on Wichita Independent (20-3), which edged Hillsboro 39-36.
Standout Lily Brown was unstoppable in the game, hitting 10 of 13 shots from the field and all seven free throw attempts for a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double. Jakayla Davis backed her with 17 points, making 7 of 13 shots, and also had 7 assists.
Eureka, which finished 19-5, was led by Brenna Rucker, who had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Elliana Coulter added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
WICHITA INDEPENDENT 39, HILLSBORO 36 – Independent fought off Hillsboro in the final seconds to clinch its first-ever state win after suffering quarterfinal losses in its only other two state appearances.
The Panthers hadn’t loss to a KSHSAA team all season and got out to a 15-6 lead on Hillsboro early in the second quarter before the state-seasoned Trojans began to climb back in it. By halftime it was a 21-16 game and then Hillsboro outscored Independent 11-7 in the third to trail by just one point going into the final period.
It was a tight game the rest of the way, but Independent was able to hold on for its first state win.
Freshman Zoey Buckner-Franklin led the Panthers (20-3) with 14 points while Stephie Safi-Salumu added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Independent went 6 of 8 at the free throw line in the second half and 7 of 12 for the game while also shooting 44% from the field.
Hillsboro, meanwhile shot just 30.4% for the game and was an icy 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Zaylee Werth capped her career with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting overall, but the rest of the Trojans hit just 7 of 33 shots.
Hillsboro finished with a 22-2 record.
CLASS 2A GIRLS QUARTERFINAL BOXSCORES
VALLEY HEIGHTS 52, WICHITA COUNTY 35
Valley Heights … 16 … 7 … 19 … 10 … — … 52
Wichita County … 10 … 7 … 10 … 8 … — … 35
Valley Heights (19-5) – M. Toerber 5-12 4-6 16, Murk 3-5 0-0 7, Steinfort 1-3 1-1 3, Smith 7-15 4-7 18, Vermetten 2-6 2-3 6, A. Toerber 0-1 0-0 0, T. Miller 1-2 0-1 2, Skalla 0-1 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, P. Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 11-18 52.
Wichita County (23-1) – A. Ricke 1-5 4-4 6, M. Ricke 3-15 3-5 10, Biermann 3-6 2-4 8, Terriquez 0-4 1-2 1, B. Ricke 4-9 0-0 10, Medina 0-0 0-0 0, Marcy 0-2 0-0 0, Gallegos-Ornelas 0-0 0-0 0, Porter 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Berning 0-2 0-0 0, Wilbur 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-43 10-15 35.
3-point goals – Heights 3-12 (M. Toerber 2-4, Murk 1-2, A. Toerber 0-1, P. Miller 0-1, Smith 0-1, Vermetten 0-3); Wichita County 3-15 (B. Ricke 2-4, M. Ricke 1-4, A. Ricke 0-4, Terriquez 0-1, Marcy 0-1, Berning 0-1). Rebounds – Heights 39 (Smith 11), Wichita County 24 (M. Ricke 6). Assists – Heights 9 (Smith 4), Wichita County 6 (Terriquez 2, Berning 2). Turnovers – Heights 21, Wichita County 22. Total fouls – Heights 18, Wichita County 24. Fouled out – Heights: Murk; Wichita County: A. Ricke, M. Ricke, B. Ricke.
RIVERSIDE 43, HOXIE 38
Riverside (22-2) – Studer 2-4 2-6 8, O’Grady 3-5 0-0 9, Weishaar 6-8 3-8 15, Wisler 2-5 1-1 5, Duncan 1-4 3-6 6, Jackson 0-6 0-0 0, Alvarez 0-0 0-0 0, Hewins 0-0 0-0 0, Baldwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-32 3-6 6.
Hoxie (22-2) – Bainter 5-13 2-4 16, Mauck 1-7 0-0 2, Kennedy 2-12 1-2 5, Zerr 2-6 0-0 5, Baalman 1-2 1-2 3, Schiltz 0-3 4-6 4, A. Gourley 1-5 0-0 3, S. Gourley 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-49 10-15 38.
3-point goals – Riverside 6-14 (O’Grady 3-3, Studer 2-4, Duncan 1-3, Jackson 0-4); Hoxie 4-24 (Bainter 2-4, Zerr 1-5, A. Gourley 1-4, Kennedy 0-4, Mauck 0-5, S. Gourley 0-1, Schiltz 0-1). Rebounds – Riverside 34 (Weishaar 13); Hoxie 31 (Bainter 10). Assists – Riverside 12 (Studer 6); Hoxie 6 (Kennedy 3). Turnovers – Riverside 29, Hoxie 19. Total fouls – Riverside 15, Hoxie 22. Fouled out – Hoxie: Mauck, Baalman.
ST. MARY’S COLGAN 66, EUREKA 50
Eureka … 8 … 18 … 7 … 17 … — … 50
Colgan … 16 … 10 … 25 … 15 … — … 66
Eureka (19-5) – Rucker 6-13 2-2 16, Coulter 6-9 2-5 15, Winfrey 2-15 1-4 5, Mongeau 2-4 2-3 8, Ptacek 1-2 0-0 2, Mason 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Westerman 1-1 0-0 2, Perrier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 6-10 50.
St. Mary’s Colgan (24-0) – Brown 10-13 7-7 28, Kalan 1-2 0-0 2, Harris 1-9 0-0 2, Meek 3-8 0-0 7, Davis 7-13 3-3 17, O’Brien 3-6 0-2 8, Imhof 1-2 0-0 2, Osborn 0-0 0-0 0, Ascanio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 10-12 66.
3-point goals – Eureka 6-16 (Rucker 2-5, Mongeau 2-4, Coulter 1-2, Winfrey 1-4, Mason 0-1); Colgan 4-9 (O’Brien 2-2, Brown 1-1, Meek 1-2, Davis 0-1, Imhof 0-1, Harris 0-2). Rebounds – Eureka 29 (Rucker 10), Colgan 31 (Brown 15). Assists – Eureka 16 (Rucker 4), Colgan 15 (Davis 7). Turnovers – Eureka 22, Colgan 13. Total fouls – Eureka 17, Colgan 14. Fouled out – Colgan: Meek.
WICHITA INDEPENDENT 39, HILLSBORO 36
Independent … 11 … 10 … 7 … 11 … — … 39
Hillsboro … 6 … 10 … 11 … 9 … — … 36
Wichita Independent (20-3) – Galbert 1-6 0-0 3, Buckner-Franklin 5-11 4-6 14, Holmes 2-4 1-4 5, Allen 1-3 0-0 3, Safi-Salumu 4-6 2-2 10, Selmon 0-2 0-0 0, Del Muro 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 15-34 7-12 39.
Hillsboro (22-2) – A. Werth 2-13 0-0 6, Ratzalff 0-1 0-0 0, Brewer 0-1 0-0 0, Shahan 3-11 0-0 7, Z. Werth 7-13 5-5 19, Potucek 1-6 0-1 2, T. Jost 1-1 0-1 2, Gawith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-46 5-7 36.
3-point goals – Independent 2-9 (Galbert 1-5, Allen 1-2, Selmon 0-2); Hillsboro 3-19 (A. Werth 2-7, Shahan 106, Potucek 0-4, Ratzlaff 0-1, Z. Werth 0-1). Rebounds – Independent 32 (Safi-Salumu 12), Hillsboro 23 (Shahan 5). Assists – Independent 11 (Buckner-Franklin 3), Hillsboro 10 (A. Werth 3, Z. Werth 3). Turnovers – Independent 12, Hillsboro 8. Total fouls – Independent 13, Hillsboro 16. Fouled out – none.
