3A girls: Sterling finishes fourth after loss to TMP
With four senior starters and five on the roster overall, Sterling coach Jill Rowland knew the post-game talk following Saturday’s Class 3A girls third-place game would be difficult.
It’s just not easy to say goodbye to a class like that.
After the Black Bears squandered away a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to fall 76-70 to Thomas More Prep, that chat got even harder. The last way Rowland wanted to send her seniors out was with two straight losses.
“Let me just tell you about my seniors, they are a super-special group,” Rowland said. “All five of them sat on our bench their freshman year when we got third in 2A. They’ve been a huge part of our program and the type of kid they are — they’re all good athletes — they are some of the best kids I’ve ever coached in terms of quality and character.”
Senior Kylah Comley scored 20 points and fellow senior Emma Lambert added 12, while junior Emma Horsch came off the bench for 16 points for the Black Bears (23-3).
Sterling was poised send the group out winners, finishing the third quarter on a 14-6 run to open up a 61-51 lead. After trailing by as much as 15 in the first half, TMP had rallied to get within two three times before Sterling hit five straight shots to end the quarter, three coming off Monarch turnovers.
But the start of the fourth was nightmarish for Sterling as the Black Bears turned it over four straight possessions. TMP took advantage, scoring eight straight to get back within two.
Sterling fought off the initial charge, going back up 66-63 on a pair of Lambert free throws, but the Monarchs wouldn’t be denied this time, finishing the game on a 13-4 run and taking the lead for good on a pair of Kayla Vitztum free throws.
That was an all-too-frequent sight for the Black Bears, who saw Vitztum go 15 of 20 at the line as part of a 28-of-36 effort overall by the Monarchs. Vitztum finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Monarchs to a 35-22 edge on the glass.
“We put them on the line, we gave up easy shots in the paint and we gave up boards,” Rowland said. “Last night, we didn’t shoot well and tonight it was something different.”
While the loss of Comley and Co. will be huge, Sterling got a glimpse of a bright future as well in the loss. Horsch sparked the Black Bears to a 38-25 lead in the second quarter, hitting her first four three-point attempts, including three in a 17-7 run to start the second.
Sophomore Kadie Smith also came off the bench for eight points, hitting all four shot attempts.
“They both came in and did well and that’s what you need — young kids coming in doing something great,” Rowland said. “Emma shot the ball really well and kept a nice lead for us in the first half.”
Silver Lake 57, Sabetha 44 – Silver Lake capped a 26-0 season with the program’s sixth state title as Rachel Heiman scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds and Alexis Gifford led the way with 18 points. The Eagles used a 19-11 edge in the second quarter to pull free from a slim 11-10 first-quarter lead and never let Sabetha (24-2) get closer than six.
Alexis McAfee scored 16, Mariah Huneke added 14 and Emily Meyer had 11 for the Bluejays, which suffered its only other loss to 4A Division I runner-up Paola.
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "3A girls: Sterling finishes fourth after loss to TMP."