Emporia High knew the comeback was probably coming.
The Lady Spartans were handling an Olathe South team that was better than the 3-of-15 shooting Emporia’s tight defense held the Falcons to in the first half, better than the team that turned the ball over at the beginning of the second quarter when it didn’t get back from its quarter-break huddle quickly enough. Olathe South is consistently one of the better teams in Class 6A, and to finish off the win, Emporia was going to need to avoid getting complacent and play all four quarters.
The Spartans did just that, and got a big early-season win to go 2-0 at the Paul Terry Classic on Saturday at White Auditorium.
Emporia led by as many as 16 before a 13-2 Olathe South charge brought the Falcons within three with just over two minutes to play. A big basket from Lindy Arndt down low, clutch rebounding and defense, and a couple of free throws in the final minute helped EHS close out a 52-45 victory at White Auditorium.
“We knew they were gonna have a run, and it just happened to come at the end of the fourth quarter,” Emporia center Lexi Hileman said. “But we responded and kept our composure and still played to the end.”
The Spartans built a sizable lead thanks in large part to the shooting and all-around play of point guard Alli Armitage, who buried five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 18 points. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing early in the second quarter, the second coming off a screen by Arndt, to push a 14-11 EHS lead to 20-11.
Armitage got out on the break later in the quarter and looked downcourt for Hileman, who caught a pass over her head on the run and laid the ball in to give Emporia a 24-11 lead, its biggest first-half advantage.
The Spartans’ defense, featuring a mixture of man and zone, kept Olathe South from getting into any kind of offensive flow until late, as the Falcons shot just 20 percent in the first half and 32 percent for the game. Trailing 28-16 with 1:51 left in the half, South elected to dribble out the clock for the last shot of the half, missing and heading to the locker room down 12.
The lead reached 37-21 about halfway through the third quarter when Armitage grabbed a rebound off a 3-point miss by Ebonee Bell, ran the floor and hit Ashley Leihsing for a layup. Olathe South closed the gap to 40-31 by the end of the third quarter, and Armitage’s shooting touch again provided an answer. She got a ballscreen from Hileman near the top of the key to bury her fourth three, then quickly added another one from the left wing to make it 46-32 early in the fourth.
“She’s a very, very good shooter,” EHS coach Nienstedt said, “and our kids know that she’s a good shooter, and if they get her a good, open look, she’s got a great chance of knocking it down.”
After Armitage’s last three, Olathe South woke up. Bell knocked down a trey to cut the lead to 13, and the Falcons pecked farther into the lead. After Natalie Knight grabbed a steal and went coast to coast for a layup to cut the lead to 48-41, Nienstedt called timeout with 4:41 to go. Another Knight steal and basket cut the lead to five, and Nienstedt called timeout again with 3:30 to go. With just over two minutes left, Arndt lost the handle along the baseline, Bell pushed the ball and found Knight on the right baseline for a layin to make it 48-45. Nienstedt called his third timeout in less than two minutes with just 2:01 left.
The Spartans came out of the timeout with a set play, and Arndt got isolated on the right block and got a dump-down from Armitage for a layup to make it 50-45. Hilary Heinrichs picked up her fifth foul with 1:09 remaining, sending Brooke Rinehart to the line for Olathe South. But Rinehart missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Hileman grabbed a big rebound and was fouled at the other end. She made 1-of-2 free throws with 39.8 seconds left to give EHS a six-point lead, and at the other end, Amber Miller got her hands on a missed shot by Knight. Miller made the front end of a 1-and-1 with 16.2 seconds left to put EHS up by three scores and seal the win.
“We had talked about in pregame that it could easily be one of those games where teams make runs,” Nienstedt said. “And the last timeout we called, we told our kids it was what we had anticipated, and they had made their run. It was time for us to show a little toughness, and have some people make some plays.”
Armitage doled out four assists to go with her 18 points, Arndt had 10 points and three assists and Hileman and Rachelle VanGundy each had nine points. VanGundy led the Spartans with seven rebounds, and Heinrichs had six. Bell and Kelsey Balcom each had 13 points for Olathe South.
Even though the girls version of the Paul Terry Classic is a round-robin, rather than a bracketed tournament, the Spartans treated the game like a tournament final, since both teams had won their first game at the Classic. EHS enjoyed a quick celebration afterward with its participant trophy as though it had just won a tourney championship.
“It excites me for what’s coming in the future,” Armitage said. “Because we won like this, and we played really hard. I just want to see where this team’s gonna go, and I’m pretty sure we’re gonna go pretty far.”
In Saturday’s opening game of the final day of the Terry Classic, Olathe North beat Mill Valley 56-50.
Emporia 52, Olathe South 45
Olathe South 6 10 15 14 — 45
Emporia 14 14 12 12 — 52
Olathe South (1-1) — Navia Palu 0-1 1-2 1, Kelsey Balcom 3-15 6-6 13, Ebonee Bell 4-11 1-2 13, Brooke Rinehart 1-3 1-3 3, Natalie Knight 4-8 0-0 9, Shelby Johnston 0-2 0-0 0, Hillery Samskey 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 14-44 11-15 45.
Emporia (2-0) — Rachelle VanGundy 4-8 0-0 9, Alli Armitage 5-8 3-5 18, Lindy Arndt 3-4 4-4 10, Hilary Heinrichs 0-0 0-1 0, Lexi Hileman 3-5 3-4 9, Janae Scheve 0-0 2-2 2, Ashley Leihsing 1-5 0-0 2, Amber Miller 0-0 1-4 1, Sarah Kolmer 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Waldner 0-0 1-4 1. Totals 16-30 14-24 52.
3-point goals — Olathe South 6-18 (Bell 4-8, Balcom 1-7, Knight 1-2), Emporia 6-10 (Armitage 5-8, VanGundy 1-2). Rebounds — Olathe South 26 (Rinehart 8), Emporia 26 (VanGundy 7). Assists — Olathe South 11 (Bell 6), Emporia 11 (Armitage 4). Total fouls — Olathe South 19, Emporia 15. Fouled out — Balcom, Heinrichs.
TinitaHunter (anonymous) says...
I was at the game and Emporia played well. Olathe South did not play good defense but the officials clearly changed the momentum of the game by cheating for Emporia. The officials should be ashamed of themselves for cheating the kids at Olathe South. If someone had told me about this game I wouldn't have believed them. One would have had to have been there to see it. It was unbelieveable and the worst officiating I have ever seen in all the years I've been watching basketball. If I was Emporia I wouldn't feel real good about that win. Sincerely! And If I was Olathe South I would never participate in anything I was invited to there because it's not going to be fair. I'm sorry Olathe South didn't play real well because that's what allowed the officals to be a true factor in the outcome of the game. I hate that the girls 6A state games are held in Emporia.
December 10, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
batbatly (anonymous) says...
WOW! I believe this is a perfect example of a parent being a sore loser. Sorry there Olathe South mom/dad, but just because your daughter's got spanked by a very good Emporia team doesn't mean your team got cheated. Now, run along and cry to someone who actually cares. One thing's for sure, you won't have to worry about 6A state being held in Emporia because OLATHE SOUTH WON'T BE THERE!!!
December 10, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )