Olpe coach Jesse Nelson joked with officials before Friday’s game that, because he was sick and losing his voice, he’d only be able to compliment them on their calls for one quarter.
It turned out the coach wouldn’t need his voice for much longer than that anyway, as the Lady Eagles dominated the second quarter on their way to a 64-28 victory over White City on Friday in 1A Sub-State play at White Auditorium.
“The reason we were successful is because the shots we were taking were good shots for us,” Nelson said. “We tend to be just a little quick sometimes and don’t make the most of our possessions, but I think that quarter was our best for really taking care of it and taking good shots.”
After White City put in the first basket of the second quarter, Olpe began its 5 1/2-minute run.
The Lady Eagles scored the next 19 points, ending the stretch with two 3-pointers from Katie Moyer and another from Angela Bartley.
Suddenly, Olpe’s 17-10 lead had ballooned all the way up to 36-10.
“We were just working together well,” Olpe senior forward Megan Woods said. “Shots were falling.”
Olpe made 8 of 14 shots in the second quarter and also was hot from the outside.
The Lady Eagles hit 4 of 6 three-point attempts, with one of the misses coming on a desperation shot at the end of the half.
“It wasn’t just that we were shooting threes — we were getting it to open people to shoot threes,” Nelson said.
Olpe was never challenged after halftime, even with leading scorer Kathryn Flott getting limited minutes.
The 5-foot-11 freshman was held out most of the second half because of flu-like symptoms.
“She was feeling a little bit puny there around halftime, so were going to let her sit a while and see how she felt after that,” Nelson said. “She said she was ready, but she didn’t look like it.”
Woods led Olpe, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Moyer added 11 points, while Kylie Haag had nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
“We’ve gone to State all these years,” Woods said, “and we’re really working for that again.”
Olpe (23-0) will face St. Paul at 6:30 tonight, with the winner advancing to next week’s 1A State Tournament in Hays.
The Lady Indians (22-2) defeated Hutchinson Central Christian 45-35 on Friday to move to the Sub-State championship game.
“St. Paul was everything I thought they’d be, and maybe a little more,” Nelson said. “They’re a quick, strong basketball team, and they’re very aggressive at both ends.”
Olpe girls 64, White City 28
Friday at White Auditorium
White City 8 8 6 6 — 28
Olpe 17 22 11 14 — 64
White City (11-12) — Brooke Hollis 5-9 0-0 10, Kasey Kasten 2-20 0-2 4, Leslie Parker 2-5 5-5 10, Madison Hirt 1-9 0-0 2, Meghan Blythe 0-1 0-1 0, Cassie Kniebel 0-0 0-0 0, Chelsey Kniebel 0-0 0-0 0, Lacey Garcia 0-0 0-0 0, Allie Blythe 1-1 0-1 2, Cyndi Carson 0-0 0-0 0, Eryka Paige 0-0 0-0 0, Anjelica Kidd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-45 5-9 28.
Olpe (23-0) — Kylie Haag 3-9 3-5 9, Katie Moyer 4-14 0-0 11, Kathryn Flott 4-8 0-0 8, Erica Brinkman 1-2 0-0 2, Megan Woods 7-11 5-6 19, Katelyn Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Natalie Kuhlmann 0-1 0-0 0, Jill Cole 1-3 0-0 3, Angela Bartley 2-5 0-0 5, Brianne Davis 2-3 0-0 5, Nicole Wendling 1-1 0-1 2, Tanna Bell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 8-12 64.
3-point goals — White City 1-13 (Parker 1-2, Hirt 0-2, Kasten 0-9), Olpe 6-16 (Moyer 3-10, Bartley 1-1, Davis 1-2, Cole 1-3). Rebounds — White City 28 (Parker 6), Olpe 44 (Haag 11). Turnovers — White City 17, Olpe 9. Total fouls — White City 15, Olpe 14. Fouled out — White City: Hollis.