Carroll run sinks Emporia High
Monday, March 16, 2009
TOPEKA — The run seemed to jam a thick straw in Emporia High’s system and slurp away whatever energy the Lady Spartans had for playing for third place.
A day after having its State title hopes denied with a close loss to Great Bend in a loud Kansas Expocentre, EHS found itself in a sleepy version of the arena Saturday, in a consolation game against a team that came to Topeka with enough talent to win it all in Class 5A. The recipe was, unfortunately, perfect for the Spartans to end a great season with their worst loss of the year, and that’s exactly what happened.
Carroll erased an early Emporia lead with a devastating 19-0 run spread over the first and second quarters. The Spartans fell behind by as many as 20 in the first half, then found life in a frenetic third quarter to cut the lead to 11, but couldn’t get any closer. They trailed by as many as 28 in the fourth quarter before settling for fourth place with a 70-43 loss.
“We told ourselves that we were just gonna come out and give it our all,” said Amber Miller, one of the six seniors who finished their EHS careers with fourth-place medals. “And we did. They just got on a run, and we couldn’t dig ourselves out of that hole. It was a rough game, kind of. We all played our hardest, though.”
Thirteen first-half turnovers for the Spartans — which equaled the number Carroll put up for the game — were a big part of why the Golden Eagles went on that early run. EHS coach Bill Nienstedt, coaching in his first consolation game, conceded that being in one wasn’t very enjoyable. He used it as an opportunity to give everyone a chance to play, as every player on the EHS roster got into the game before halftime.
“I think it was especially difficult for us because we had six seniors,” Nienstedt said. “The more seniors you have, I would imagine the more difficult this game is, because they’ve not only invested everything this year, but they’ve invested everything for four years, five years. So it’s a tough one, there’s no doubt.”
Hilary Heinrichs led Emporia with 10 points, Lexi Hileman had nine points and 11 rebounds and Miller had eight points. The Spartans’ immediate start was strong enough, with Hileman using a baseline ball fake to set herself up for a short jumper, followed by Miller driving the baseline for a layin and an early 4-0 lead. Heinrichs answered Abby Fawcett’s 3-pointer with a layup to make it 6-3. Then Carroll went on its rampage.
A 3-pointer by Julia Marshall, another trey by Fawcett and one by Abby Henning were among 15 unanswered first-quarter points to make it 18-6 at the end of one. Henning stole a ball in the passing lane and drove for a layup early in the second, then was fouled on a 3-point attempt. She made two of the three foul shots for a 22-6 lead.
The Spartans’ scoring drought and the 19-0 run didn’t end until Miller’s layup at the 7:11 mark of the second period. Courtney Waldner drove to the basket with her left hand for a score, was fouled and made the free throw to cut the lead to 22-11 with 4:32 left in the half, but Carroll pushed the lead back out to 20. At the halftime buzzer, Hileman banked in a jumper that sat on the back of the iron before rolling in, bringing the Spartans to within 33-15.
“We just kind of got soft a little offensively,” Heinrichs said. “We should’ve just kept attacking and pushing in transition especially. At the top of our offense, we just kind of got soft, and we didn’t pass the ball as tough or as well as we should have.”
When the Spartans tried to mount a comeback in the second half, Carroll answered with a timely midrange jumper or trey. A three-point play by Hileman off a pitch-ahead from Janae Scheve, a drive and layin by Ashley Leihsing and a layup by Lindy Arndt formed a 7-0 run that cut it to 37-26. Henning later hit a three to push the lead back to 14, and back-to-back threes by Fawcett made it 48-30. EHS trailed 54-34 at the end of three quarters, and in the fourth, an 8-0 run turned a 16-point lead into a 62-38 Carroll advantage with less than four minutes to go.
Marshall had 17 points to lead Bishop Carroll, Fawcett had 16 and Henning had 14. The Golden Eagles hit 8-of-15 3-pointers, including 5-of-7 in the first half. Emporia finished with 24 turnovers.
When the game was over, the sadness that had marked Friday’s 39-35 loss to Great Bend wasn’t nearly as evident. The Spartans (19-6) knew they had played an extremely good team in a game that didn’t mean much.
“They’re the most talented team we’ve played, that’s for certain,” Nienstedt said. “They’re loaded. They’re talented, skilled, athletic — they have everything.”
“But only three teams finished better than us in the state, and that’s something to feel good about,” Hileman said. “And it felt good knowing that there was only four teams coming back to play in the whole state of Kansas for 5A.”
The seniors will have plenty of great memories about their time at EHS, including, in Heinrichs’ words, “all the weird and stupid stuff we have done as a team.”
“This year was so much fun being a senior, and having the girls my age be right there with me,” Hileman said. “And the goofy bus rides, and just all the laughter we had, and at the same time being serious enough to come out and win (19) basketball games.”
Nienstedt will have fond memories of this team, and not just for 14 wins in a row and the Spartans’ finish as one of Class 5A’s elite teams in 2008-09.
“What I will remember most are the good times we’ve had every day at practice,” Nienstedt said. “Good times we’ve had after ballgames, personalities, leadership, teamwork. It’s a great group of kids.”
In Saturday’s 5A championship game, Miege defeated Great Bend 69-48.
Saturday at Topeka
Carroll 18 15 21 16 — 70
Emporia 6 9 19 9 — 43
Carroll (22-3) — J. Lubbers 1-1 0-0 2, Rech 0-1 0-0 0, H. Lubbers 1-1 1-2 3, Noetzel 0-0 2-2 2, Fawcett 4-5 4-4 16, Marshall 6-13 3-6 17, Bright 0-1 0-0 0, Henning 5-11 2-3 14, Duling 2-2 0-0 4, Brugman 0-1 5-6 5, Sooter 1-4 2-2 4, Walden 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 21-45 20-27 70.
Emporia (19-6) — Elbe 1-2 0-0 3, VanGundy 0-3 0-1 0, Scheve 0-0 0-0 0, Burenheide 0-0 0-0 0, Leihsing 1-4 0-0 2, Miller 4-8 0-0 8, McRell 0-1 0-0 0, Arndt 3-10 0-0 6, Heinrichs 3-9 4-4 10, Kolmer 0-0 0-0 0, Hileman 3-7 3-4 9, Waldner 2-2 1-1 5. Totals 17-46 8-10 43.
3-point goals — Carroll 8-15 (Fawcett 4-4, Marshall 2-3, Henning 2-6, Rech 0-1, Bright 0-1), Emporia 1-7 (Elbe 1-1, VanGundy 0-2, Miller 0-2, Arndt 0-1, McRell 0-1). Rebounds — Carroll 28 (Brugman 7), Emporia 33 (Hileman 11). Assists — Carroll 8 (Fawcett 4), Emporia 6 (Leihsing 3). Fouled out — None.