Lexi Hileman looked as though she was trying to touch the ceiling of the Emporia High gym.
Silently, she pogo’d in the air early in the fourth quarter, both arms up, trying to get Alli Armitage’s attention from the opposite block without drawing the attention of the Junction City defense. I’m open. Feed me the ball.
There was good reason for Hileman to want the ball in her hands again and again Tuesday night. When it got there, good things happened for the Spartans.
Hileman scored 24 points and corralled eight rebounds, leading Emporia to its sixth straight win with a 55-47 victory over Junction City. Her point total was the biggest single-game performance the team-oriented Lady Spartans have had all season, and she finished 7-for-11 from the field and 10-for-14 at the free throw line. Chosen as the most valuable player at the recent Glacier’s Edge Tournament, the senior post is looking these days like a true go-to player, someone who can carry the Spartans (11-4, 5-3 Centennial League) if that’s what’s required.
“I like to feel that way,” Hileman said. “I like to be the leader of this team. I know that I’m a strong enough person I can carry this team. Maybe there’s nights where I don’t, somebody else will pick me up. But for the most part, I do like carrying the team on my back.”
After scoring 10 first-half points to help Emporia get to the break with a 26-22 lead, Hileman was even better in the second half. She answered Junction’s first basket of the half by beating the Blue Jays’ defense back down the floor for a layup to make it 28-24, then added a free throw and a lefthanded drive for a layup to give Emporia a five-point lead.
Following Hileman’s drive, Hilary Heinrichs grabbed a steal, then drove left on the ensuing possession and passed across the lane to Lindy Arndt. Arndt put the ball on the floor and knifed between two defenders for a layin to make it 33-26, added a traditional three-point play with 3:18 remaining in the third that made it 36-28, then beat the third-quarter buzzer with a jumper in the middle of the lane to give the Spartans a 40-32 advantage.
With the score 44-37, Hileman found herself wide open on the left block, with the Junction City defense rotated right and Armitage on the right wing looking to pass. That’s when Hileman began her discreet jumping jacks, and Armitage saw her just in time to feed her a lob for another score down low.
“Our kids are doing a great job finding her, too,” Emporia coach Bill Nienstedt said. “Lexi’s having a heck of a season, but she had a great game tonight.”
The Spartans outplayed Junction for most of the game and led by as many as 10 in the second half. But despite Hileman’s efforts, 14 points from Arndt and the Blue Jays losing 6-foot-1 post Abby McKenzie to an injury, the Spartans didn’t get the game sealed until the final minute. They led by just four with a minute and a half left, but two Armitage free throws with 1:13 to go pushed the lead to six, and Ashley Leihsing’s free throw with 47.6 seconds left made it a three-possession game.
Arndt finished 6-for-10 from the floor, and Armitage added seven points, four of them coming on late free throws. Porchia Cleveland led Junction City with 11 points.
The Blue Jays (9-5, 4-3) were ranked No. 6 in this week’s Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 6A rankings, and Nienstedt said Junction presented matchup problems for Emporia — ranked No. 9 in Class 5A — because of the Blue Jays’ ability to use multiple guards for dribble penetration.
“A month ago, I don’t think we win that game,” he said. “We got that much better at guarding the dribbler. Now, we’ve still got a long ways to go, but we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Emporia girls 55, Junction City 47
Junction City 8 14 10 15 — 47
Emporia 11 15 14 15 — 55
Junction City (9-5, 4-3) — King 3-6 0-1 6, Testa 3-8 0-0 6, Kamm 2-3 1-2 5, Cleveland 4-12 2-2 11, McKenzie 3-5 2-2 8, Moss 1-11 0-0 3, Satterlee 3-4 2-2 8, Clark 0-0 0-0 0, McNeese 0-1 0-0 0, Wilkerson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 7-9 47.
Emporia (11-4, 5-3) — Armitage 1-6 4-4 7, Miller 0-1 2-3 2, Arndt 6-10 2-3 14, Heinrichs 1-2 1-4 3, Hileman 7-11 10-14 24, VanGundy 0-2 0-0 0, Kolmer 0-1 0-0 0, Scheve 0-0 0-0 0, Leihsing 2-2 1-2 5. Totals 17-35 20-30 55.
3-point goals — Junction City 2-11 (Cleveland 1-1, Moss 1-7, Testa 0-3), Emporia 1-6 (Armitage 1-5, VanGundy 0-1). Fouled out — Testa.