MANHATTAN — The word Olpe point guard Kendyl McDougald used to describe winning it all was “exhilarating,” and that’s as good a word as any.
It’s exhilarating to be a State champion. It’s also exhilarating to be an unbeaten State champion, approximately a thousand miles ahead of just about every team you come up against.
No one in Class 2A this year could touch Olpe’s core of polished non-senior talent, and the Eagles proved it for good in Saturday’s State title game at Bramlage Coliseum, beating second-seeded Hill City 60-48 to claim the program’s first championship since 1981.
“Unbelievable,” said Eagles junior post Kathryn Flott, who completed a fantastic tournament with a 30-point, seven-rebound performance in the title game. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now. It’s the best feeling ever.”
The feeling might be unbelievable, but the result certainly wasn’t. Not to anyone who’s watched the Eagles dismantle opponent after opponent since the season tipped off in December. In finishing 26-0, the Eagles won every game but two by double digits and beat their three State tournament opponents by 14, 32 and 12 points.
“Our kids really believe in what we do,” said Olpe coach Jesse Nelson, who had completed his third season the last time the Eagles brought home the championship trophy. “And I think that’s so important. So I think that in tough times — we had tough games — they fall back on those things that they do believe in.
“We really were pretty simple tonight in what we ran. But we fundamentally did it really well. I think it’s just a credit to these kids that they did the things it took to win the game.”
Was the final result ever in doubt on Saturday? For awhile, maybe just slightly, because of some early unconscious shooting by an opponent that was firing away every chance it got.
Hill City had no one with Flott’s size, and its roster overall didn’t possess the broad base of skills the Eagles had. So the Ringnecks’ game plan was pretty simple: zone Olpe like crazy and shoot as many reasonably open 3-pointers as you can. And for awhile, the loose-cannon shooting approach worked.
The Ringnecks knocked down four 3-pointers in the first quarter to stay within 18-14, then nailed three more in the second quarter, keeping within 27-25 halfway through the period. A few of those threes got some fortunate bounces, making the Ringnecks look like they had luck on their side. Lexi Hardiek had four 3-pointers before half, Kelsey Keith had three, and there were three other treys Hill City tossed up during that span that were close to dropping, but rimmed or bounced out.
But the zoning part of the Ringnecks’ strategy didn’t work, because Flott was just too much. She scored with ease on the block and on catch-and-shoots away from the basket, and the sophomore McDougald exploited driving lanes in Hill City’s 3-2 zone on her way to 20 points and eight assists for the game.
Two Flott baskets and a drive by McDougald for a midrange shot pushed Olpe’s lead from four points to 10 at halftime. At that point, it was just a question of how much longer Hill City could stay in the game by hitting threes.
“We knew that (Hardiek) and (Keith) were great guards, and we knew that they could hit outside,” said Eagles guard Jill Cole. “So we just thought we’d keep a hand in their face, keep them contained and just keep somebody on them at all times to try to minimize how much they shoot.”
While the Ringnecks went cold in the third quarter, the Eagles kept pouring it on, stretching their run out to an 18-5 spurt between the second and third quarters. McDougald continued to find passing and driving lanes in the Ringneck zone, and Flott found easy scoring opportunities. She scored inside in the final minute of the third quarter to make it 49-32, and from there, the rest of the game was just a prelude to a coronation, with the Eagles’ lead reaching as high as 21 points.
All 12 players on the Eagle roster — including Olpe’s only senior, Shelby Stout — eventually got their names into the title-game box score, and once it was over, the healthy turnout of Eagle fans celebrated with their latest champion.
“It just feels absolutely great,” Cole said. “We’ve worked so hard, the whole team has improved so much, and we’ve always just talked about maybe bringing this home, and we just thought that this year could be the year. And we just worked our butts off to get this.”
McDougald added six rebounds to her stat line, and freshman Janae Haag had five. Katelyn Henderson had four points and four rebounds.
A State championship was certainly an in-reach goal for a team that finished third at last year’s tourney and was No. 1 in 2A all year long. But did the Eagles think about going undefeated at the beginning of the season?
“You do, but it’s kind of in the back of your mind,” Flott said. “Until you really get close to it, it doesn’t really sink in. And right now, I don’t think any of us, it’s really settled in quite yet.”
And next year, every starter — in fact, every player but Stout — will be back.
“We’re probably not right now as deep as what some (previous Olpe) teams have been,” Nelson said. “But those kids right there are gonna get a little better, and the kids we have waiting in the wings are gonna get better, too.”
Saturday at Manhattan
Hill City 14 13 5 16 — 48
Olpe 18 19 12 11 — 60
Hill City (23-3) — Davis 0-2 0-0 0, Keith 4-11 0-0 12, Nickelson 3-8 0-0 6, Hardiek 7-21 0-0 20, Money 1-1 0-0 2, Kennedy 0-0 3-3 3, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-2 0-0 3, Gansel 0-0 0-0 0, Dinkel 0-0 2-2 2, Russell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 5-5 48.
Olpe (26-0) — Henderson 2-2 0-1 4, McDougald 9-15 0-1 20, Kuhlmann 0-1 0-0 0, Haag 1-3 1-2 3, Benton 0-0 0-0 0, Flott 14-21 2-4 30, Cole 1-4 1-2 3, Garretson 0-0 0-0 0, Redeker 0-0 0-0 0, Stout 0-0 0-0 0, Samuels 0-0 0-0 0, Scheidegger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-46 4-10 60.
3-point goals — Hill City 11-30 (Hardiek 6-18, Keith 4-7, Brown 1-2, Nickelson 0-3), Olpe 2-13 (McDougald 2-8, Cole 0-3, Haag 0-2). Rebounds — Hill City 24 (Money 7), Olpe 31 (Flott 7). Assists — Hill City 2 (Hardiek, Money 1), Olpe 11 (McDougald 8). Total fouls — Hill City 13, Olpe 11. Fouled out — None.