Turning the Tables
Jimmy Kegin
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Standing in the way of an Emporia High appearance in the 33rd Annual Glacier’s Edge Tournament championship game was the same troublesome squad from Shawnee Mission East that gave the Lady Spartans fits in their season opener.
The Lady Lancers used a pressure-packed defensive game plan to squeak by EHS, 36-34, in that first meeting, forcing multiple errors and miscues that frustrated the Lady Spartans.
Since that 0-1 start, the Lady Spartans have had plenty of time to find the answers to questions raised in that first matchup, and on Friday night in the EHS gymnasium, they got a chance to redeem themselves in the tournament’s semi final round.
Final score — EHS 46, SM East 38.
“That first game was a real shocker, being 0-1 to start,” EHS sophomore Lexi Hileman said. “Coming out tonight, this was a big redemption game. We played 10 times better.”
After winning the opening tip, the Lady Spartans were full of nerves, losing passes out of bounds off Lady Lancer deflections and from miscommunication between teammates. East built up a 6-0 lead, forcing EHS to call a timeout and regroup with less than three minutes off the clock.
“I think they were really anxious to get a chance to play,” Nienstedt said. “I think that anxiety may have contributed to our rocky start early and getting down 6-0.”
Out of the huddle, Emporia (6-4) attacked with long, quick passes down the court, finally breaking through with a jumper from junior Nichole Naab. A three-point shot just seconds later from sophomore Alli Armitage brought the Lady Spartans and fans back into the contest.
EHS had found a chink in the pressure defense from the Lady Lancers (6-5) and continued to exploit the weakness with a fast transition game and long passes.
“Some of those long passes, we got kind of lucky on,” Hileman said. “But, some of them were good looks up the floor to the open person.”
Nienstedt added: “We like to run. You’ve got to find chances to get easy baskets.”
The Lady Spartans dominated the next 8 minutes of action, holding SM East scoreless in the span. EHS would go into halftime on a 21-5 run and with a 16-point advantage.
To the coach, it was a sign of maturity from his team.
“I think we’ve grown considerably,” Nienstedt said. “Not enough that I felt like that 15-point lead we had was probably a reflection of the difference in the teams. I knew that they were better than they had played in the second quarter, but I do think that we are a lot better than we were back then.”
“A big part of it was, we didn’t allow their shooters some looks,” Nienstedt added. “They screen real well, run a lot of cutting and motion. At times I thought in the first half we did a nice job, kind of took them out of things they want to run.”
SM East came out of the break swinging, fighting for every possession and taking a physical approach to EHS. The Lady Lancers took momentum by the hand and cut the deficit to just five points after a 15-5 run to end the third quarter.
“It seemed in some ways that it was two different games,” Nienstedt said. “Not just because one team played better in one half than the other, but the style of the game changed pretty dramatically. It became a slow-down, grind-it-out game in the second half, where the first half was a more up-tempo game.”
EHS showed its grit in the fourth quarter, keeping focused despite constant fouling from the Lady Lancers. Hitting nine free throws in the final frame, including four in the final 48 seconds to seal the deal, EHS kept the Lady Lancers at bay just enough to take the eight-point victory.
“A lot of teams, when they get punched in the face like we did with the momentum swing, would find it difficult to right the ship,” Nienstedt said. “But, we were able to, and I think that’s a sign of probably the play of our senior kids.”
The victory propelled the Lady Spartans into today’s championship game against the Olathe East Hawks at 2:30 p.m. inside the EHS gymnasium.
“It’s ridiculous,” Hileman said of the title chance. “We were all in the locker room, so pumped up and so ready to win.”
The team will be prepared to play, Nienstedt said, but also to have fun in the moment.
“We’re just going to come into it and tell them to enjoy the experience of getting to play in a championship game,” Nienstedt said. “A lot of kids go through their whole careers and don’t get to play in games like that. And then, of course, we’re going to focus on the things we always have, and we want to play smart.”
The Lady Spartans’ last Glacier’s Edge championship came in 2002, Nienstedt’s first year as coach.
Glacier’s Edge Tournament
SM East 10 1 15 12 — 38
Emporia 16 10 5 15 — 46
SM East — Johnson 14, Kaegi 11, Walrafen 5, Whitaker 4, Hartman 2, Ward 2.
Emporia — Naab 9, Bachman 7, Muckenthaler 7, Webb 7, Arndt 6, Hileman 5, Armitage 4.
3-pointers — SME: Kaegi 1; Emporia: Armitage 1, Bachman 1, Naab 1. Total fouls — SME 20, Emporia 14. Fouled out — SME: Kaegi.