Garden Plain takes title over Arkansas City

Garden Plain point guard Madi Schmelzer had one basket in the first half on Saturday, so she got herself – and her team – going by getting baskets for her teammates instead.

Owls forward Lauren Costello turned away from scoring in favor of rebounding, tying for the team lead with seven. Taylor Joplin’s 12 points came from offensive rebounds, three pointers, free throws, effective dribbling and solid post moves.

Not all facets were clicking at all times, but Garden Plain kept those stretches short via its versatility in a 45-32 win over Arkansas City in the Mulvane Wildcat Classic championship.

Garden Plain (12-1) never trailed and held Ark City to 14 of 43 shooting, maintaining the lead when its own offense was inconsistent by doing pretty much everything else.

“I think everybody buys into their role,” Kody Kasselman said. “Mackenzie Thimesch is a defensive stopper. She’s our voice on defense (and) doesn’t look to shoot a lot. They buy into their role and everybody just gets after it. A lot of seniors, a lot of experience. They just play smart and they play composed.”

Schmelzer led Garden Plain with 13 points, scoring 10 in the second half. While she missed four of five shots in the first half, she helped the Owls take a 7-0 lead by dribbling into the lane and setting up Daylynn Doyle for a layup that became a three-point play.

In the second quarter, Schmelzer made a lateral pass on a fast break for an assist on a three-pointer by Joplin. Her scoring came around – Schmelzer made 3 of 4 shots in the third quarter – but she made sure everyone else’s did, too.

“She’s our point guard,” Joplin said. “The point guard is the one to lead the team, tell us where to be, what to do, what we can work on.”

Joplin, a 6-foot sophomore, keyed Garden Plain’s third quarter. Two Ark City players scored in the first half but the Bulldogs doubled that during the first five minutes of the third, when they scored 13 points.

Garden Plain kept up, and exceeded that output, thanks in part to two putbacks by Joplin and a three-pointer. At her height, she’s a difficult matchup because of her comfort on the perimeter and the ability to create her own shot.

“She’s pretty versatile,” Kasselman. “She’s an old sophomore. She plays a really smart game. She doesn’t ever put herself in bad positions. She’s very mature for a sophomore as far as basketball sense.”

Winfield 35, Campus 22 – Winfield took third place after turning a 6-5 halftime deficit into a 17-10 halftime lead. Ten players scored for Winfield, led by Tysha Henning’s seven points. Kortney Schutt scored 12 for Campus.

Mulvane 70, Wichita West 45 – Junior Emma Chambers scored 38 points for Mulvane, a school record according to athletic director Doug Evers. Chambers scored 26 points in the second half and made four three-pointers, helping Mulvane finish fifth. Alicia Ross led West with 24 points.

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Garden Plain takes title over Arkansas City."