WICHITA — To an outsider, the tears in Emporia High junior Lexi Hileman’s eyed seemed to be nothing more than an overt display of emotion after the biggest victory she’s been a part of as a Lady Spartan.
Few knew the real reason — the much more personal reason — for Hileman’s outpouring moments after Emporia’s 53-52 overtime victory Saturday over Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the Sub-State title game at Bishop Carroll High School.
Hileman was on the court Saturday just days after her uncle died on Thursday. Despite a heavy heart, she turned in the gutsiest performance of her career to earn the Lady Spartans a trip to the Class 5A State Tournament next week in Topeka.
She tied a team high with 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and came up big when Emporia needed it most. Though she struggled from the free-throw line — she finished just 4-of-12 at the foul stripe — she hit the free throw that tied the game to send it into overtime, then knocked in the game-winning free throw in the extra frame that gave EHS the victory.
She also made the only basket for either team in overtime, which gave EHS a 51-49 lead, and the Lady Spartans held on from there.
“I’ve been going through a tough time,” Hileman said, fighting back tears. “Thursday’s game was hard for me, and tonight was even more emotional for me.
“I don’t even know what to say right now. It’s already fun, and we haven’t even begun State yet.”
The game was oddly similar to last year’s Sub-State title game in Emporia, which saw Kapaun defeat Emporia by one point thanks to a late free throw. But with the win this year, the Lady Spartans earned the No. 3 seed at the State Tournament and will face sixth-seeded Bishop Miege at 4:45 p.m. Thursday at the Topeka Expocentre.
Entering the fourth quarter, Emporia trailed, 39-38, after the score was tied at halftime at 26.
EHS took the lead when Alli Armitage stole Kapaun’s inbounds pass to start the fourth period, then put up a wild shot that missed but was followed by a put-back by Lindy Arndt, giving the Lady Spartans a 40-39 lead.
Over the next 4 minutes, the Lady Spartans went on a 6-2 run that was capped by a Armitage 3-pointer that made it 46-41 with 3:37 left, but the Lady Crusaders responded with an 8-2 spurt of their own to go ahead, 49-48, with 1:51 remaining.
“I think our nerves got to us,” senior Sadie Webb said. “We let them get into our heads, and we weren’t running our stuff.”
Emporia then forced the Lady Crusaders into a pair of costly turnovers that kept the Lady Spartans’ hopes alive.
After a missed free throw by Arndt, Kapaun tried to play keepaway from the Lady Spartans, but the strategy failed when Kapaun’s Darice Fountaine was called for an over-and-back at midcourt that gave the ball back to EHS. Later, with 33 seconds left and the score still 49-48, Kapaun tried a full-court pass on an out-of-bounds play that sailed long, again giving EHS a chance to at least tie the game.
With coach Bill Nienstedt wanting his team to hold for the last shot, the Lady Spartans deviated from that plan when Hileman flashed open underneath, took a pass and got fouled by Kapaun’s Jill Wyss and went to the line for two free throws with 21 seconds left.
Hileman made the first to tie the game, but missed the second. However, Kapaun could not come up with a clean look at the basket on its end, and the game went into overtime.
“I’m upset at the time that she (Hileman) caught it, because we should have been holding on to it up front for the last shot,” Nienstedt said. “But Lexi gets fouled, and then goes on to make the biggest free throw of her life.”
Hileman was just as big in the extra frame, as she scored on a driving layup and was fouled with 3:13 to go. Her free throw missed, but the shot still gave EHS a 51-49 lead. After Kapaun’s Rachael Ely made 1 of 2 free throws, Webb did the same to make the score 52-50. Fountaine then put in two more free throws to tie the game at 52 with 41 seconds left.
Hileman then came through again for Emporia, as she drew a foul on Megan Cook with 20 seconds left. Hileman missed the first free throw and swished the second, giving EHS a 53-52 lead.
“I’m disappointed with the way I shot free throws,” Hileman said, “but I made the ones that counted, I guess, and that’s all that matters.”
Emporia secured the victory when Nichole Naab came up with a steal on the other end with time running down, setting off a wild celebration.
“I didn’t even realize I had it,” Naab said. “I just heard everyone screaming, ‘We won, we won.’”
After the Lady Spartans finished the regular season with a 16-4 record and a No. 3 ranking in Class 5A, Nienstedt said the State berth was not a validation of how good his team was, but that it was a bonus for a well-played season.
“To me, validating implies that if we hadn’t won (against Kapaun), our season would have meant nothing, and that’s so not true,” he said. “It adds another reward at the end of the season that our kids are real thankful for.”
Emporia 53, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 52
Saturday at Bishop Carroll High School
1 2 3 4 OT
KMC 11 15 13 10 3 — 52
Emporia 17 9 12 11 4 — 53
Kapaun Mt. Carmel (14-7) — Kaitlyn Smith 1-2 2-4 4, Megan Cook 2-3 2-2 7, Jill Wyss 2-6 0-0 4, Darice Fountaine 7-15 3-3 17, Andrea Lantz 3-6 1-2 7, Rachael Ely 1-7 7-8 9, Brianna Albright 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Hullings 1-1 0-1 2, Nellie Schafer 1-2 0-0 2, JoJo Palko 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 15-20 52.
Emporia (18-4) — Alli Armitage 2-5 0-0 5, Sadie Webb 5-15 4-7 14, Lindy Arndt 4-6 4-6 12, Nichole Naab 2-8 0-0 4, Lexi Hileman 5-8 4-12 14, Hilary Heinrichs 1-2 2-4 4, Brittany Meza 0-1 0-0 0, Rachelle VanGundy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 14-29 53.
3-point goals — KMC 1-4 (Cook 1-1, Wyss 0-1, Ely 0-1, Albright 0-1), Emporia 1-5 (Armitage 1-3, Naab 0-2). Rebounds — KMC 35 (Fountaine 12), Emporia 28 (Webb 8). Assists — KMC 6 (Wyss, Hullings 2), Emporia 6 (Arndt, VanGundy 2). Turnovers — KMC 26, Emporia 21. Total fouls — KMC 23, Emporia 20. Fouled out — KMC: Cook; Emporia: Armitage.