4A-I girls: Circle falls in semifinal to Miege
The Circle girls will play for third place in Class 4A-I basketball Saturday, even though it seems as if they’ve already achieved that status.
All three of Circle’s losses are to the teams that will play for a championship, including Friday’s 50-39 loss to three-time defending champion Bishop Miege. Circle (21-3) lost twice to McPherson — Miege’s opponent — during the regular season.
That is heartening to Circle coach Brian Henry and a little bit maddening. In each of those games, the Thunderbirds were a couple plays away from proving they belonged in the same tier.
“In all three of those games we were just three possessions away, really, in each one of those,” Henry said. “That’s frustrating when you get to the end of the season to know that just three possessions and you’re right there with the best.
“But it also lets you know that we are at that level.”
Miege (21-3) tries for its 20th state title on Saturday, and it currently sits among the state’s best because of its defense, which surrendered 50 or more points twice this season.
Circle labored to approach 40, making 5 of 28 shots in the first half and 6 of 27 in the second. The Thunderbirds never settled on a philosophy and Miege shut down all facets of Circle’s offense.
That was key to Miege’s own offense. The Stags sputtered at times in the halfcourt but turned many of Circle’s 14 turnovers into layups of free-throw chances.
“I tell them all the time, we’ll score some points somehow,” Miege coach Terry English said. “If we play great defense, rebound, hold our own on the boards, we’re going to win. It’s very important to me and it’s very important to the kids.”
Circle missed 7 of 8 three-pointers in the first half and became more focused on closer shots to start the second. It started successfully, as Carissa Beck drove for a layup on an early possession and Kali Martin drew a foul a bit later.
Those plays were important because Beck and Martin are Circle’s leading scorers, each averaging better than 14 points. Their encouraging starts to the half didn’t last, though – they combined for 34 points but made 10 of 40 shots.
“What we did was take them out of their offense,” English said. “They didn’t have the cutters going in and out like they did (Thursday) night, then all of a sudden (Martin) had to extend her shot. (Beck) was getting a little mad at herself, so we were starting to get in their heads a little bit.”
Circle didn’t find the balanced scoring that highlighted its quarterfinal victory over Paola. The players other than Martin and Beck scored five points on 1 of 15 shooting.
“I think their defense led to our poor shooting,” Henry said. “We haven’t faced a lot of teams that apply that much pressure. They put five people on the floor that are putting pressure on five people.”
McPherson 54, KC Piper 38 – McPherson reached the title game with an impressive third quarter, when it outscored Piper 22-11 to break open a four-point game.
Taylor Robertson matched her quarterfinal production by scoring 22 points from McPherson. Mandi Cooks had 17 points and 10 rebounds for McPherson, which will try for its first title since 2008.
This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 9:07 PM with the headline "4A-I girls: Circle falls in semifinal to Miege."