TOPEKA — The play was the same, only Rachelle VanGundy was two years older and the stakes were immeasurably higher. And after VanGundy drained an ice-cold 3-pointer that was as clutch as they come, the Emporia High girls are in the Class 5A State semifinals with 14 wins in a row.
VanGundy swished a trey from the top of the key off a kickout from a triple-teamed Lindy Arndt to break a 35-35 tie with about 2.5 seconds to go, and Emporia moved on to Friday’s semis with a dramatic 38-35 win over Lansing on Wednesday at the Kansas Expocentre.
After 31 minutes and 57 seconds in which the Spartans (19-4) just kept hanging around the Lions — EHS had two brief leads in the first half and had yet to pull ahead in the second — VanGundy’s three gave them the only lead that counted: the one at the end.
“I’m just still in shock,” said VanGundy, who finished with 10 points off the bench. “We were trailing the whole game, but we wanted to win this so bad.”
VanGundy herself had pulled Emporia even at 35 with two free throws with 2:27 to go. The score remained there when Lexi Hileman grabbed a steal from Lansing’s Alexis Ellis with less than a minute to go, and the Spartans called timeout with 50.8 seconds left.
Emporia called two more timeouts, the last with 11.1 seconds to go, before EHS coach Bill Nienstedt drew up a play that called for Arndt to be option No. 1. VanGundy, who would set a screen to free Arndt, would be option No. 2.
“We set a backscreen for Lindy to try to get it into the post to her, and then we set a double (screen) for Rachelle,” Nienstedt said. “So it was a screen-the-screener play.”
As she left the huddle, the senior VanGundy was ready — if it played out as such — to become Ms. Big Shot. On her mind was a certain game from two years earlier.
“I remember my sophomore year, I think, we were playing a game, and we ran that... play, and I ended up getting the ball,” VanGundy said. “It was like my first big varsity game, and I remember missing that shot. And I was just thinking, ‘I’m a good shooter — I can make it if it comes down to that.’”
Ashley Leihsing dribbled to the right side and bounced a pass to Arndt on the block. Arndt looked to post up but found herself blanketed by three Lion defenders. VanGundy, who had gotten her double screen from Hileman and Hilary Heinrichs, was wide open at the top of the key.
“And you know that one of her stronger points is that she’s a strong shooter...” Arndt said. “And so when she was open, I felt confident and comfortable giving her the ball.”
Arndt fed VanGundy the pass, and she had plenty of time to set her feet and launch a rainbow that splashed softly through the net. The Emporia bench exploded, and Lansing called timeout with 2.1 seconds to go.
“She always feels like she’s gonna make the big shot,” Nienstedt said. “And I felt good that our two options on that last play were Lindy and her, because both of those kids had played well. I thought Rachelle played a great game at both ends of the floor tonight.”
The Lions (19-4) got one last shot off, and made it a close one — but Brittney Lang’s sideline halfcourt heave hit both the back and front irons before bouncing away.
Hileman led the Spartans with 11 points and eight rebounds, and Arndt had eight points. But Emporia was able to hang in the game until the end thanks in large part to strong contributions from role players like VanGundy.
Leihsing started her first game at point guard and held down the fort at the position. She handed out four assists, grabbed four rebounds and scored three points, including a coast-to-coast runner off the glass that pulled Emporia to within one, 27-26. Sophomore post Courtney Waldner had four points and three rebounds in the first half and swished two free throws to give Emporia a 20-19 advantage late in the second quarter, the last time the Spartans led until VanGundy’s big shot.
“Our kids off the bench gave us great play that kept us afloat in the first half when we did have a little bit of foul trouble, especially in the post,” Nienstedt said.
Lang, Lansing’s 5-foot-11 small forward, scored 13 points, had six rebounds and hit three 3-pointers. Guard Amy Briggs had eight for the Lions.
The Spartans, seeded fifth in the tournament, can now turn their attention to eighth-seeded Great Bend, whom they’ll play on Friday at 3 p.m. The Panthers upset top-seeded Liberal 42-32 in Wednesday’s opening tourney game. Emporia has now advanced one round farther than last year’s team, and for Hileman, returning to the Expocentre to play on Friday is, in a word, “awesome.”
“We’ve gotten better than we were last year, and we just proved it by winning tonight,” she said. “(Coming back) Friday is — it’s just great. We’re ready to play again already, I think.”
Wednesday at Topeka
Emporia 10 10 7 11 — 38
Lansing 13 8 11 3 — 35
Emporia (19-4) — Elbe 0-0 0-0 0, VanGundy 2-5 4-4 10, Scheve 0-0 0-0 0, Leihsing 1-1 1-2 3, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Arndt 4-7 0-1 8, Heinrichs 0-2 0-3 0, Kolmer 1-2 0-0 2, Hileman 5-13 1-4 11, Waldner 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 14-33 8-16 38.
Lansing (19-4) — Lozenski 0-0 0-0 0, Lang 5-13 0-0 13, Briggs 3-11 1-3 8, Kirkendoll 0-0 0-0 0, Griffen 1-3 0-0 3, Cristiano 0-1 0-0 0, Delich 0-0 1-2 1, Ewing 1-3 1-2 3, Ellis 2-7 3-4 7. Totals 12-38 6-11 35.
3-point goals — Emporia 2-4 (VanGundy 2-4), Lansing 5-11 (Lang 3-5, Briggs 1-5, Griffen 1-1). Rebounds — Emporia 28 (Hileman 8), Lansing 24 (Ellis 7). Assists — Emporia 10 (Leihsing 4), Lansing 9 (Briggs 4). Fouled out — Kolmer.