Olpe girls dispose of Waverly with ease, 70-33
Ken Easthouse
Monday, March 5, 2007
The last time the Olpe and Waverly girls played each other, Waverly kept pace with the top-ranked team in the state until after halftime.
The Olpe Lady Eagles wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again, as they came out firing in a 70-33 victory over the Lady Bulldogs Saturday evening to secure their spot in the State tournament.
The last meeting, at the Lyon County League tournament, saw Olpe playing catch-up against a Waverly team with more intensity, and the Lady Eagles knew to expect the same thing this game.
“We knew we had to play with a lot of intensity,” Olpe senior Kayla Krueger said. “The whole time we had (the last game) in the back of our minds.”
Waverly coach Dennis Tyson said he knew his team was in for a battle, given how well Olpe had played since the two teams’ last meeting.
“The last time we played them it was a wake-up call for them,” Tyson said. “How many teams have been that close to them since then?”
Olpe started the game by holding Waverly to just two field goals in the first quarter. The rest of Waverly’s first half offensive production came from the free-throw line, as Olpe lead 42-10 by the break.
“I don’t think there was a weak link defensively in the first half,” Olpe coach Jesse Nelson said. “We were good.”
Tyson said his team wasn’t ready for the kind of pressure Olpe brought in the first half.
“We couldn’t handle their pressure,” Tyson said. “When you play the No. 1 team in the state, everything’s got to go right.”
While Waverly’s shooting improved slightly in the second half, it wasn’t enough to come back from the 32-point deficit.
Krueger led the charge throughout the game, scoring 22 points. She added 12 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals in one of her most well-rounded games this year.
“She was just really solid,” Nelson said. “The ironic thing is she missed some shots she usually hits.”
The Lady Eagles will enter the State tournament as the top seed, which means they will have the biggest target on their backs.
“We can’t let that bother us,” Krueger said. “We’re used to getting everyone’s best game.”
OLPE girls 70, WAVERLY 33
Olpe 19 23 17 11 — 70
Waverly 5 5 15 8 — 33
Olpe (25-0) — Krueger 22, Maley 9, Haag 11, Meza 8, Cole 2, Moyer 5, Brinkman 10, Woods 3.
Waverly (17-7) — Good 14, Steward 8, Wilson 4, Johnson 5, Chapman 2.
Halftime — Olpe 42-10. Total fouls — Olpe 16, Waverly 15. Fouled out — None.