Lady Spartans get rare victory in the Dungeon
EHS girls tough out 54-37 victory over Lady Trojans
By Michael Ashford
Monday, February 18, 2008
TOPEKA — The Topeka High Lady Trojans seemed to want to turn Saturday’s game against Emporia High into a slug-fest, and the Lady Spartans were more than happy to play along.
In Topeka High’s “Dungeon” gymnasium — a place where no current EHS player or coach Bill Nienstedt had ever won — Emporia got out to a big lead and held off a late Topeka rally to win, 54-37, thanks in large part because the Lady Spartans met and surpassed the physicality the Lady Trojans brought to the contest.
“I think we were stronger,” EHS junior Lexi Hileman said. “We battled them right back. If we would’ve let up, they probably would’ve hit us in the face. But we were right there with them, and we were just as physical as they were.”
At the start, it appeared as if the Lady Spartans would run Topeka out of its own gym, as EHS jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to four points apiece from Sadie Webb and Nichole Naab. Topeka finally got on the scoreboard with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter with baskets by Sheronda Patton and Lexie Hamilton, but Emporia’s Alli Armitage answered with a wide-open 3-pointer at the top of the key that made it 13-4 heading into the second frame.
Despite the big lead, Emporia got a taste of how the Lady Trojans wanted to play, as Webb had to leave the game with a bloody nose that she suffered on a drive to the basket.
Topeka then scored the first six points of the second quarter to close Emporia’s lead to 13-10, but Armitage again hit an open 3-pointer from nearly the same spot to halt the run and spark a 17-8 EHS run, as the Lady Spartans went on to lead at halftime, 30-18.
“Those shots were open, and they didn’t guard the key very well,” said Armitage, who finished with nine points. “If it’s open, I’m going to take it.”
Topeka High would not go easily, though. Freshman Jessica Blake made sure of that.
Blake, the leading scorer in Topeka, scored nine points in the third quarter after being held to just four points in the first half. Her final basket of the frame came with 2:27 on the clock, which pulled the Lady Trojans to within eight at 38-30.
“She made a couple of them that were just tough shots. You’ve got to give the kid credit,” Nienstedt said. “I thought every one of them, we had a hand in her face. It wasn’t like there was nobody within 10 feet of her. She’s a tough cover.”
Emporia’s lead shrunk to five points less than 2 minutes into the fourth quarter when Ashley Lutz hit a pair of free throws that made the score 40-35, but Lindy Arndt and Webb both knocked down jumpers, Hileman made a free throw, Webb followed with another jumper to push Emporia’s lead back to 12 points at 47-35.
Emporia then closed out the game by going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. After Lutz’s free throws, Topeka did not score until Lutz hit a runner with 18 seconds left that made it 54-37.
“I thought we kept our poise real well in the fourth quarter,” Nienstedt said. “When the game was at a point where they had made a run back, we answered the call and were able to finish the game off in style.”
Webb and Arndt each finished with 12 points, while Naab added 10. Hileman grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to help EHS out-board the Lady Trojans, 36-26.
“That’s good for me,” Hileman said. “I haven’t had a good rebounding game in a while.”
Emporia next travels to take on Hayden at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. EHS won the earlier matchup, 53-42.
Emporia 54, Topeka High 37
Saturday at Topeka
Emporia 13 17 8 16 — 54
Topeka 4 14 14 5 — 37
Emporia (14-4, 7-4 Centennial League) — Alli Armitage 3-7 1-2 9, Sadie Webb 6-12 0-1 12, Lindy Arndt 4-10 4-4 12, Nichole Naab 4-9 2-2 10, Lexi Hileman 0-2 1-2 1, Brittany Meza 2-3 0-0 4, Rachelle VanGundy 0-3 2-2 2, Hilary Heinrichs 1-3 0-0 2, Ashley Leihsing 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 10-13 54.
Topeka (6-12, 2-9) — Jessica Blake 7-19 0-0 15, Ashley Lutz 2-8 3-4 8, Brittney Redmond 2-5 0-2 4, Simone Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Sheronda Patton 3-8 3-5 9, Haydan Vosburgh 0-1 0-0 0, Lexie Hamilton 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 15-44 7-13 37.
3-point goals — Emporia 2-11 (Armitage 2-5, Naab 0-4, VanGundy 0-1, Heinrichs 0-1), Topeka 2-8 (Blake 1-2, Lutz 1-3, Redmond 0-1, Patton 0-2). Rebounds — Emporia 36 (Hileman 11), Topeka 26 (Patton 6). Assists — Emporia 8 (Arndt 2), Topeka 5 (Blake, Lutz 2). Turnovers — Emporia 14, Topeka 16. Total fouls — Emporia 12, Topeka 16. Fouled out — Topeka: Patton.