5A girls: Maize finds a way to top Kapaun

The luxury of having a senior class like the Maize girls basketball team does is evident in games like Friday’s Class 5A sub-state championship game.

Billy Graf had prepared Kapaun Mount Carmel for Maize in the half-court and the Crusaders were frustrating a Maize team that likes to score in transition through three quarters.

But Taylor Holmes, Brecken Roe and Caitlyn Stewart have won a lot of games in a lot of different ways in their four-year careers at Maize and they added another one on Friday, helping the Eagles grind out a 49-38 victory to advance to the Class 5A tournament in Topeka next week.

Maize (19-3) is in a four-way tie for the best record in the 5A field with Leavenworth, St. Thomas Aquinas and Kansas City Schlagle. The official bracket will be released by the KSHSAA on Sunday morning.

“Give them credit, they definitely slowed us down on offense, but we just had to take our time and know that every defensive possession mattered,” Roe said. “We knew we couldn’t give them any easy baskets.”

Through three quarters, Kapaun’s defense had only allowed nine field goals by Maize. That allowed the Crusaders to hang around in the game, despite 21 turnovers and close to 40 percent shooting.

Kapaun trimmed Maize’s lead to three points near the end of the third quarter, but that was as close as it would come. Maize opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to extend its lead to as many as 13.

The Crusaders (12-10) were led by 12 points from Brenna Monty and Anna Roulston.

“There were some games this year where we looked great and some games where we looked lost,” Graf said, “but to end on a game like this where they played hard and they gave everything they had against one of the most talented teams in the state was as good of the season could have ended without a win.”

Maize coach Jerrod Handy was actually concerned that his team couldn’t enforce its will on Kapaun, just a week before the state tournament, but gave credit to the seniors for finding a way to win.

“I thought Kapaun did a very good job tonight, but we didn’t respond as well as I thought we would have,” Handy said. “Our overall speed and aggressiveness were able to make enough plays tonight, though.”

When Maize made its run at the start of the fourth quarter, eight of the 13 points came in transition after steals or misses.

“We rely on our defense 100 percent,” said Holmes, who scored a game-high 13 points.

“Defense wins every game for us, no doubt,” Roe, who also scored 13, added.

After coming up just short of a state championship in two of their past three seasons, this senior class is now motivated to win a title in what appears to be a wide-open race for the 5A championship.

“Having those three seniors on your side is a huge advantage for us,” Handy said. “They’re able to turn a game around so fast with their talent and speed and their length. It’s a fun group to coach.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 9:52 PM with the headline "5A girls: Maize finds a way to top Kapaun."