MANHATTAN — Lexi Hileman decided she was going to dominate Friday’s game at Manhattan right before tip-off.
Hileman watched as Manhattan star center Catherine Carmichael was honored as a McDonald’s All-American, and EHS coach Bill Nienstedt and assistant coach Bob Miller made sure to bring it to her attention.
“They said, ‘Lexi, she just got recognized for getting all those rebounds, this big honor. Go shut her down.’”
Hileman did more than shut Carmichael down — she scored only three points — the EHS senior also showed that she’s capable of bringing a little star-power to the refreshingly unselfish Lady Spartans. Hileman bided her time and took over the game in the fourth quarter to lead Emporia to its 11th straight victory, 37-27.
This win was what’s turned into classic Lady Spartan basketball. They shut down the Lady Indians defensively, playing assignment-sound man-to-man defense. They waited patiently every possession for the shot they wanted on offense, and who scored didn’t matter.
Of course, when Emporia (16-4, 10-3) really needs a basket, Hileman is usually a good bet to come through. She helped sparked a fourth-quarter run on Tuesday in a win on senior night against Seaman, and she wanted the ball again in the fourth quarter on Friday.
With Carmichael starting the fourth quarter on the bench, Hileman went to her teammates and told them she wanted the ball.
“That happened at the beginning of the second quarter, too. They didn’t really find me in the post,” she said. “I knew I had outsized every player on the floor. ... I said, ‘Girls I’m a lot bigger than both of these girls that are going to try and guard me. Feed me the ball and I’ll go finish for you.’”
Hileman delivered on her promise. She scored eight straight points from the post to start the fourth quarter and give EHS an eight-point lead. She only finished with a team-high 11 points for the game, but her run with Carmichael on the bench put the game away.
“We had talked about the time that (Carmichael) wasn’t in the game, we wanted to go to Lexi, but we didn’t have to tell the kids anything special there,” Nienstedt said. “I thought Alli (Armitage), our point guard, turned down a three in one of those possessions and made sure that we got to Lexi in the post and the other kids did a good job finding her, and Lexi finished. That was a very key stretch.”
The fact that Nienstedt didn’t have to call attention to Carmichael’s absence is one of the reasons his team has won 11 straight games. The Spartans have seven seniors, and they have developed a feel for the game and each other that will make them a tough out in the postseason.
“We’re a very confident team right now. We have seven seniors and a real seasoned junior and they’re smart,” Nienstedt said. “They understand that 11 straight is nice; it gives us some momentum. But from now on, we’re only as good as the game we play that night.”
On Friday night, Emporia showed it can win playing against any sort of style. Manhattan (13-7, 9-4) opened the game in a zone defense. Nienstedt had not had his team practice against a zone leading up to the game, because he didn’t expect the Lady Indians to play any zone. It didn’t seem to matter, as EHS opened the game on a 10-0 run with the EHS shooters finding the soft spots of the defense and knocking in open jumpers.
Armitage made two 3-pointers, Amber Miller made a jumper and Hileman scored on a jumper from the elbow. With the Lady Spartans waiting until they got an open shot on every possession, Manhattan was forced to abandon the zone, but EHS didn’t abandon its strategy.
“Coach Nienstedt always tells us to play our game and our game has developed into being more patient and running through our plays and through our offense more and getting our shot, the good shot that we want every time,” Hileman said.
As Hileman waited her turn, so too did Lindy Arndt. When Manhattan opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to pull within two, 20-18, Arndt, who had taken only two shots, answered with two straight baskets.
“It kind of seemed like they were starting to make a little run and we had some things that weren’t going our way, some turnovers here and there,” Arndt said. “I tried to create open shots for my teammates or if it was there for myself, and just tried to keep us ahead and in the lead and keep the momentum with us.”
The Lady Spartans will ride their momentum of an 11-game winning streak and a second place finish in the Centennial League right into the postseason. They enter substate as a two seed and open Wednesday at home against Salina Central.
“(The winning streak) boosted our confidence quite a bit,” Armitage said. “We’re not to the point where we’re getting big headed and not focused on what we need to do, but it gives us pretty good confidence to go on and be better.”
Emporia girls 37, Manhattan 27
Emporia 10 10 6 11 — 37
Manhattan 5 6 7 9 — 27
Emporia (16-4, 10-3) — Armitage 2-6 3-6 9, Heinrichs 0-5 0-0 0, Miller 2-5 0-0 4, Hileman 4-5 3-5 11, Leihsing 1-1 0-0 2, VanGundy 1-3 2-2 5, Arndt 3-4 0-0 6, Kolmer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-31 8-13 37.
Manhattan (13-7, 9-4) — Stitt 3-10 0-0 6, Thomas 0-6 1-6 1, Carmichael 1-8 1-2 3, Massanet 1-3 0-0 2, Nelson 1-2 0-0 3, Kennedy 3-8 4-6 10, Donohoue 1-1 0-0 2, Ehie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-39 6-15 27.
3-point goals — Emporia 3-6 (Armitage 2-3, VanGundy 1-3), Manhattan 1-15 (Nelson 1-1, Kennedy 0-3, Thomas 0-4, Stitt 0-7). Rebounds — Emporia 36 (Hileman 11), Manhattan 17 (Carmichael 5). Fouled out — None.