Class 5A girls: Two-time champ Leavenworth knocks off Carroll

Not many guards have been able to survive the 32-minute wrath of Leavenworth girls when the two-time defending champion sets its sights on a single player.

Standing in Leavenworth’s path for a third straight title on Saturday in the Class 5A semifinals was Bishop Carroll and junior guard Brynn Maul, so the best defensive team in the tournament set its best defensive player on her.

Maul was unable to lead Carroll to a victory, as Leavenworth’s pressure ultimately was too much for the Golden Eagles to handle as a whole in the 54-36 loss, but she did gain respect by scoring 16 points against the team that will play St. Thomas Aquinas for its third straight title on Saturday.

Carroll will play Salina Central at noon for third place.

“Brynn Maul is a very good player and we knew she was going to get hers,” Leavenworth coach Jordan Mellott said. “I thought (Alisha Brown) did a good job on her, but she’s just a really good player. Brynn battled in there.”

Carroll briefly led in the first quarter when Maul and Ashton McCorry drilled back-to-back three-pointers, but struggled to piece together any runs after that.

The lone constant was Maul, who handled the pressure and was able to make Leavenworth pay in its pursuit on an array of drives and pull-up jump shots.

“Brynn played her heart out,” Carroll coach Taylor Dugan said. “She just worked her butt off and she came out ready to win. She was so good for us.”

Once Leavenworth took a 15-8 lead after the first quarter, Carroll had a difficult time climbing out of the deficit. It would never have an opportunity to tie the game after the first quarter.

Carroll did build some momentum in the fourth quarter by forcing three turnovers in a four-possession span, but failed to convert any of those chances into points.

“There could have been a turning point in there, I’m sure,” Dugan said. “When we got a few of those steals, we had our chances. But we just couldn’t get anything to fall. I’m just really proud of the way the girls fought to the end.”

Leavenworth forced 23 turnovers and held Carroll to 25-percent shooting in the second half.

“We did a very good job on their guards and not allowing them to get into a rhythm,” Mellott said. “They have eight shooters on that team that can knock it down. I think our team takes pride in shutting teams like that down.”

But Maul stood the test and came away heartbroken from the loss, but with the respect of everyone afterward.

“She just never stopped out there,” Dugan said. “She fought the whole game and that’s what the great ones do.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Class 5A girls: Two-time champ Leavenworth knocks off Carroll."