OSAGE CITY —When the Olpe girls arrived at Osage City on Friday, they got word that Kathryn Flott’s picture was on the bulletin board with thumbtacks through it.
Flott was also informed by a friend who attends Osage that she had been called “freakishly tall” by the Osage girls.
That was all the motivation the 6-foot sophomore needed. Flott scored 26 points to lead Olpe to a 61-53 win in a battle of the Lyon County League and Flint Hills League champions.
“I just kind of put it in the back of my head, and really felt that I had to go out and play really, really well tonight and just prove to them that I can do it,” Flott said.
It wasn’t easy for Flott the entire night, as Osage City’s psych-out tactics appeared to be working early. She missed her first five shots and did not score in the first.
Flott was matched up against fellow 6-footer Carly Spicer, who also struggled in the early going, scoring only two points in the first half.
Olpe senior guard Katie Moyer, listed at a generous 5-foot-5, didn’t have anyone calling her freakishly short, but she came out hot from the start, and helped pick up the slack when Flott was struggling.
Moyer made two 3-pointers in the first quarter, her second three breaking the only tie of the game, 9-9, near the end of the first.
“Before the game we heard they were talking major crap on Flott, so we knew all the rest of us were going to have help her out and step up at the beginning,” Moyer said.
Both Flott and Spicer had to adjust to being guarded by each other, and it was Flott who figured things out first.
Flott scored seven of Olpe’s first nine points in the second quarter, starting with a step-back baseline jumper, followed by a layup, a free throw and then another baseline jumper. She scored Olpe’s last basket of the half on an aggressive drop-step in the paint, and it was apparent she was playing with a chip on her shoulder.
“They said they were gunning for her and called her freakishly tall, and she didn’t like that,” Moyer said.
Flott continued her mission in the third quarter. After the Lady Indians started the half on a 5-0 run to take their only lead, 26-25, Flott hit a 3-pointer and a layup. Moyer made back-to-back 3-pointers and Flott scored again on a turnaround jumper in the lane to cap a 13-4 run that put Olpe ahead by eight.
Flott added four points near the end of the quarter and Angie Bartley scored on a putback at the buzzer to give Olpe a 44-36 lead.
Flott opened the fourth quarter with two more baskets, and then Spicer took over. With Flott playing behind her in the post, Spicer was able to seal Flott underneath the basket and went on an 8-0 run by herself to cut Olpe’s lead to three.
“Spicer is awful tough, and she’s really hard to stop with the stuff they do,” Nelson said. “She’s particularly hard to stop if she gets to stay in the lane a long time.”
With Olpe ahead by only four points after a Leah Garland free throw with 3:17 left, it looked like Osage City had all of the momentum, and once again it was time for Moyer to relieve some of the pressure.
Moyer caught an inbound pass on the wing from McDougald, and without hesitation made her sixth 3-pointer of the night.
“I felt we needed to get a little bit bigger of a boost, so we tried to set it up so I could get something, and thank God I hit it,” Moyer said.
Moyer scored all 18 of her points from beyond the arc, with a hand in her face each time.
“I think when I’m wide open, I get too excited that ‘wow, I have an open shot’, and I either overshoot it or don’t shoot it right,” Moyer said. “And when I have someone on me, it’s just my natural shot that I’m in the rhythm for.”
The Eagles made six free throws in the final 1:01 to put the game away with Flott making the final two. If she would have missed the final two free throws, the Eagles still would have won, but it turns out making at least one was big.
On the bus ride over, Flott realized that she had forgotten her headphones and asked coach Jesse Nelson if she could borrow his. Nelson said she could if she scored at least 25 points.
“I really needed those headphones,” Flott said.
But don’t be fooled. Flott’s motivation had more to do with some rather unusual bulletin board material, and a matchup against Spicer and Paige Fort, another tall post player.
“They have like two,” said Moyer, referring to Osage’s tall frontcourt players. “But they dissed on ours. Bad idea.”
Olpe girls 61, Osage City 53
Olpe 12 13 19 17 — 61
Osage City 9 12 15 17 — 53
Olpe — Henderson 2, McDougald 10, Cole 1, Moyer 18, Bartley 4, Flott 26.
Osage City — Paul 14, Schroeder 4, Sturdy 4, Fort 6, Garland 5, Spicer 20.
swimstar529885 (anonymous) says...
It's really sad that people get so jelous of others that they have to stoop so low and degrade others just so that they can feel better about themselves. What the Osage Girls did was rong. By doing what they did to Kathryan's picture only showed how mean and hateful High School Girls can be when they feel threatened, but the Olpe girls just took Osage's jelousy and turned it into motivation and will-power to win the game. And for that i commend them. Kathryan Flott is one of those rare people in life that is thankful for the tallents that God has given her and she doesn't let the hurtful actions of others slow her down, in fact i think it motivates her more as proven by the score of the game. She also has a very big heart and doesnt' brag about her tallents. I also think that the writer forgot to mention one very important thing,the ople girls basketball team didn't stoop to Osage's level by degrading and putting them down. and that's not something that you see everyday.
February 10, 2009 at 11:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
swimstar529885 (anonymous) says...
It's really sad that people get so jealous of others that they have to stoop so low and degrade others just so that they can feel better about themselves. What the Osage Girls did was wrong. By doing what they did to Kathryn's picture only showed how mean and hateful High School Girls can be when they feel threatened, but the Olpe girls just took Osage's jealousy and turned it into motivation and will-power to win the game. And for that I commend them. Kathryn Flott is one of those rare people in life that is thankful for the talents that God has given her and she doesn't let the hurtful actions of others slow her down, in fact I think it motivates her more as proven by the score of the game. She also has a very big heart and doesnt' brag about her talents. I also think that the writer forgot to mention one very important thing,the Olpe girls basketball team didn't stoop to Osage's level by degrading and putting them down, and that's not something that you see everyday.
February 10, 2009 at 3:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )