Olathe Northwest fends off Andover Central rally at Newton tournament
It was difficult for Lexi Tilson to explain the change in her game in the fourth quarter Friday against Olathe Northwest in the semifinals of the Newton Invitational.
For the first time since becoming eligible at semester, Tilson stopped being the reserved, steady presence for Andover Central and started being the aggressive, take-over player that the team needed.
“I think it was the adrenaline,” teammate Amanda Kakoulias said. “Toward the end there, she couldn’t miss.”
Tilson nearly rescued Central from a 12-point, second-half deficit, scoring nine of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, but the rally fizzled out and Olathe Northwest escaped with an 67-56 victory to advance to the championship game against Bishop Miege.
Although Tilson’s career-high didn’t lead the Jaguars (8-4) to a victory, her performance was all Andover Central was talking about afterward.
“It feels great,” Tilson said. “I just wish we could have won, though.”
Winning didn’t appear to be an option when Central, down two starters, struggled through an offensive performance that featured mostly missed shots in the paints and fell behind 52-40 in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Tilson jumpstarted a 7-0 run to pull within five, then drilled a three-pointer and a mid-range jump shot to answer Olathe Northwest scores to keep Central in the game.
“That was amazing,” Kakoulias said. “She’s so good. You can always count on her to hit those big shots.”
Central then forced two straight turnovers leading to a Jewell Bolden layup that cut the deficit to 58-56 with 1:04 to go. Central even had a chance to tie the score with free throws with 56 seconds left, but missed both and never had the same opportunity again.
In contrast, Olathe Northwest made 12 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter to secure its berth in the championship game.
“Even though we made some mistakes, we had the resiliency to step up and close it out,” Olathe Northwest coach Joel Branstrom said. “One of our core values is perseverance. Even when you’re winning, you still have to persevere and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Bishop Miege 60, Newton 52 – Facing a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to undefeated and No. 1-ranked Miege, Newton rode a wave of momentum to close the gap to three points when Savannah Simons jumped a passing lane and finished at the other end with 3:11 remaining.
“I knew I had to put it in,” Simmons said. “Everyone was too pumped for me not to. It felt great.”
But Miege would score on its next possession and Newton would never have a chance to tie the game. The Railers will play Andover Central in the third-place game, while Miege advanced to play Olathe Northwest in the championship.
Newton (7-5) nearly overcame its 27 turnovers with a game-high 17 points from freshman DesiRay Kernal and 13 points from Payton Roberts.
“This is a young team and I think it took them a while there to understand the true meaning of competing,” Newton coach Randy Jordan said. “Tonight I think they finally met that challenge. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Bishop Carroll 37, Garden City 27 — Carroll ramped up its defense to force 28 turnovers and hold Garden City to 21.6 percent shooting, as it overcame its own offensive struggles to advance to the fifth-place game against Dodge City.
“We started going back to the press in the second half because we wanted to come out with energy and force a few turnovers,” Carroll coach Taylor Dugan said. “I think that got us going with a little bit more energy. Steals always help with that.”
A balanced scoring attack for Carroll (9-3) was led by Ashley Carrillo with a game-high 10 points, while she also added three blocks and two steals.
Dodge City 58, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 28 — Kapaun trailed by one after the first quarter, but 23 turnovers and 29-percent shooting sunk the Crusaders (4-8) in this loser’s bracket game.
Brenna Monty led Kapaun with 10 points, while Anna Roulston grabbed 12 rebounds. The Crusaders will play Garden City in the seventh-place game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Garden City | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 | — | 27 |
Carroll | 8 | 8 | 8 | 13 | — | 37 |
Garden City: Dart 10, Butler 7, Munoz 3, Calzonetti 3, Hogan 2, Flowers 2.
Bishop Carroll: Carrillo 10, Cundiff 8, Schuckman 8, Sauber 6, Allen 3, McCorry 2.
Kapaun | 11 | 4 | 7 | 6 | — | 28 |
Dodge City | 12 | 15 | 17 | 14 | — | 58 |
Kapaun: Monty 10, Lickteig 6, Harpel 5, Mayberry 3, Hastings 2, Lickteig 2.
Dodge City: T. Bradshaw 13, Harshberger 11, Maple 8, Sehlor 8, Nichols 8, Nelson 6, Price 3, Cecil 1.
Olathe Northwest | 18 | 13 | 13 | 23 | — | 67 |
Ando. Central | 15 | 13 | 10 | 18 | — | 56 |
Olathe Northwest: Marks 20, Gueldner 12, E. Boeh 11, A. Boeh 8, Sellon 8, Curry 4, Heise 2, Kappelmann 2.
Andover Central: Tilson 18, Kakoulias 15, Bolden 10, Stearns 8, Wesley 3, Brown 2.
Bishop Miege | 23 | 14 | 14 | 9 | — | 60 |
Newton | 13 | 10 | 13 | 16 | — | 52 |
Miege: Piggie 17, Bentley 11, Lamaster 11, Harms 8, Joh. Gonzalez, 8, McFeders 5.
Newton: Kernal 17, Roberts 13, Bacon 7, Antonowich 5, Schmidt 4, Simmons 4, Nichols 2.
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Olathe Northwest fends off Andover Central rally at Newton tournament."