The Olpe girls became fans of Lebo earlier this week. Olpe’s one loss this season came to Lebo and the Eagles wanted a chance for revenge.
“We wanted to play Lebo really bad,” Olpe sophomore Kathryn Flott said. “We didn’t play that well our first game and we felt that we could play better.”
Flott’s assertion was correct. Olpe (11-1) and Lebo (10-3) switched roles on Friday night in the semifinals of the Lyon County League Tournament. Olpe controlled every phase of the game that the Wolves had dominated in the first go round, and the Eagles came away with a 46-33 win, moving to today’s championship.
“I think the last time they pushed us out of being patient on the offensive end, and really they just dominated us physically,” Olpe coach Jesse Nelson said. “Loose balls, they picked them up; rebounds, they went and got them and we just didn’t meet their energy. Rather than just step on the floor and play the game like did last time, I think we came out to really compete.”
On Friday, it was the Eagles that went and got all the loose balls and dominated the glass. Flott had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore forward Katelyn Henderson had nine rebounds. But it was a freshman guard who made the biggest impact.
Kendyl McDougald was playing in just her third career high school game when the two teams met on Dec. 12. She had only four points in a 47-32 loss.
“I think I’ve progressed since our first couple of games,” McDougald said. “I was a little nervous at first.”
If McDougald had any nerves on Friday, she didn’t show them. She scored 14 points, had four assists and most importantly, she had only two turnovers — the final one coming near the end of the fourth quarter when the game was no longer in doubt.
“As a freshman and as a good freshman, she’s doing what you want her to do as far as she’s gotten better every night,” Nelson said. “I thought that this one right here was such a solid game. She went to the hole when she should, she dished it off when she should. She made outside shots. She just had a really good overall game.”
When McDougald picked her spots to take over, the Eagles ran away with the game. She helped spark an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, extending Olpe’s lead from one to nine. She found Henderson on a pick and roll for the Eagles’ first basket of the run, then hit a leaner on the baseline, followed by a lob to Flott underneath.
Olpe led by seven at half, and again McDougald helped extend the lead with another strong start to the third quarter. She scored the opening basket off a steal. She scored Olpe’s next basket by circling around the defense for a driving layup, and after Flott scored on a putback, McDougald finished off an 8-2 run with another basket.
“I found my chances,” McDougald said, “and I took them to get us points.”
Flott also picked her chances. She didn’t have one of her best scoring games, but she helped contain Lebo’s post players on the interior of Olpe’s zone defense.
The Wolves struggled scoring against the zone, particularly in the second and third quarters when Olpe pulled away. Lebo shot just 5-of-20 in the middle periods.
“I thought we did a real nice job defensively,” Nelson said. “Sometimes you can get so gunned up that you overcommit and we didn’t do that very many times tonight. We kind of stayed home and guarded our spots.”
Nelson’s one concern was that his girls would get too “gunned” up for Lebo, but the Eagles played with a calm intensity throughout.
“We were quietly motivated,” Nelson said. “The kids went in with the right approach. It can’t be one of those you gear up so much for that you’re paralyzed by it, and I thought our kids did a nice job of keeping in perspective and coming out and playing a good, hard game.”
Olpe will be in Lebo’s shoes in tonight’s championship game. Southern Coffey County’s only league loss this season came to the Eagles. Nelson didn’t waste any time reminding his team of the fact, telling them in the locker room immediately following Friday’s victory.
“I know that they’ll feel the same way about it,” Nelson said. “They’ll want to fix it. It’ll be a game where we’ll have to have a lot of energy to play.”
Olpe girls 46, Lebo 33
Olpe 9 11 13 13 — 46
Lebo 8 5 7 13 — 33
Olpe (11-1) — Henderson 4, McDougald 14, Cole 4, Moyer 7, Bartley 2, Flott 15.
Lebo (10-3) — Hase 2, Robke 3, Miller 5, Tastove 13, Laflin 8, Eagleburger 2.
SCC girls 61, Madison 46
Kaitlin Meyer scored 15 points to lead Southern Coffey County into today’s championship against Olpe.
The Lady Titans broke away from Madison in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 16-7. Morgan Stout led Madison with 14 points. Madison will play Lebo today at 3 p.m. for third place.
SCC girls 61, Madison 46
Madison 8 12 7 19 — 46
SCC 16 14 16 15 — 61
Madison (9-4) — Ratcliff 2, Schankie 4, Stout 14, Ballard 5, Buster 9, Bybee 2, Titus 10.
SCC (11-1) — Garland 9, Gudenkauf 5, Shields 1, Birk 10, Jacob 6, Obl 9, Stephens 6, Meyer 15.