State basketball recap: Here are the stories of Wednesday’s Wichita-area winners

State basketball is underway across Kansas.

Here is a recap of all the Wichita-area high school teams that won their Wednesday quarterfinal games and are heading into the semifinals.

Andover makes semis for first time in 12 years

With 15 seconds left, Blue Valley Southwest had a chance to send it to overtime until Isaiah Maikori lended a hand.

Southwest’s David Kim grabbed a handoff, and Maikori reached in for what proved to be a game-clinching steal just beyond the 3-point line. Andover’s Jack Johnson hit a free throw after a foul, and desite a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Southwest, the Trojans are going to their first state semifinal since 2008 with a 60-59 win.

It wasn’t Maikori’s best game offensively, shooting 4-of-10 from the floor. He found other ways to affect the game, he said.

“I just thought about how it’s not really about me,” Maikori said. “I wanted to do whatever it took to help us win.”

Junior Jack Johnson carried the load, finishing with 21 points against Southwest (9-14).

Wednesday marked Andover’s fifth one-possession game of the season. The Trojans have won them all. In fact, the Trojans (23-0) have lost a game in 2019-20. They are riding their second undefeated season in school history into the state tournament.

Andover coach Martin Shetlar said the way his group pulls out wins isn’t something he can teach.

“Jack and (senior) Harer (Jonas) are our leaders, and the are just kind of winners like that,” Shetlar said. “We try to simulate stuff in practice where we’re down, gotta come back. Those guys just refuse to lose.”

Andover has a rematch of this year’s AVCTL/GWAL Challenge game against Kapaun. That contest finished 54-52 on Dec. 13, the third game of the season.

Box score

Andover - Jack Johnson, 21; Harper Jonas, 13; Isaiah Maikori, 11; Jack Taylor, 9; Kaleb Gaddis, 6

Blue Valley Southwest - Christian Ryckman, 17; Thomas Zimmerman, 10; David Kim, 10; Sebastian Hamm, 9; Austin Murrow, 6; Tanner Curry, 5; Mac DeFever, 2

Derby girls survive in double overtime to reach fourth straight 6A Final Four

The constant message used throughout this season – “Stay together” – was printed on the back of every single shirt the Derby girls basketball team used during its final warm-ups. That message was how the Panthers would end up advancing to their fourth straight Class 6A semifinal.

Derby stuck together and prevailed with a 44-39 victory over Shawnee Mission Northwest in double overtime after producing two straight last-second defensive stops to end regulation and the first overtime.

“That’s been our motto all season and it really helped push us today and get us through,” Derby senior Heather Mills said. “When we were tired, we stayed together. Our bench players were hyping us up and we stayed together on the court and came out with a win together.”

No play better represented this philosophy than in the second overtime with Derby clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute. Kennedy Taylor, a 6-foot-2 junior for SM Northwest, was giving Derby problems inside and Derby coach Jodie Karsak knew she had to try something different against her in the second overtime.

“We haven’t really ever had to front the post before, but (Taylor) was the first legit big we’ve seen that could score over us,” Karsak said. “I knew I had to change the momentum of the game somehow and I just thought that these girls, they’re smart enough to execute that.”

That trust was put to the test when Derby freshman Addyson Brown did her job by fronting Taylor in the post and SM Northwest lobbed it over the top to Taylor. It would have been an easy layup if Derby’s backside defender didn’t make the right rotation to be in help position. Sure enough, Mills, a senior, was right there when Taylor caught the pass and forced the miss.

Derby rebounded the miss and made its free throws in the final minute to secure the win. The Panthers (21-2) will face No. 1 seed Liberal (23-0) in Friday’s 3 p.m. semifinal.

“Defense is something we really preach in our program, so I knew in that moment that I needed to be there and help out my post,” Mills said. “(Taylor) was more dangerous than my girl on the outside, so I really made sure that I had Addy’s help because I knew she needed someone behind her.”

Derby had no double-digit scorers, as Sydney Nilles (six rebounds, three assists), Maryn Archer and Mills all finished with eight points. Taylor led SM Northwest with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

“It just took a lot of grit for us,” said Nilles, who has been a part of the four straight Derby state trips. “We stuck together and if we keep doing that and keep believing in each other, we’ll be fine.”

SM Northwest: Grampsas 5-12 0-0 13, Dunn 1-4 0-0 2, Elfrink 1-3 2-2 4, Harris-Webster 1-5 0-0 3, Taylor 3-13 8-11 14, Mackiewicz 1-4 0-0 3, Ojeda 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 10-13 39.

Derby: Nilles 3-12 1-5 8, Archer 2-3 4-4 8, Schomp 1-3 3-4 5, Brown 3-10 0-0 6, Mills 2-2 2-4 8, Kennedy 3-5 0-0 7, Cobbins 1-4 0-0 2, Boettjer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 10-17 44.

Three-pointers: SM Northwest 5-16 (Grampsas 3-5, Mackiewicz 1-1, Harris-Webster 1-3, Dunn 0-1, Elfrink 0-1, Ojeda 0-3); Derby 4-8 (Mills 2-2, Nilles 1-2, Kennedy 1-2). Rebounds: SM Northwest 33 (Taylor 33); Derby 28 (Brown 7). Assists: SM Northwest 4 (Four tied at 1); Derby 6 (Nilles 3). Turnovers: SM Northwest 13, Derby 10. Fouls: SM Northwest 14, Derby 15.

Kapaun goes from 8-13 to state semis

Last year, Kapaun Mt. Carmel finished sixth in the City League with an 8-13 overall record, and now, the Crusaders are a game away from the Class 5A state championship game.

No. 5 Kapaun beat No. 4 De Soto 49-42 in the 5A quarterfinals to reach its fourth final four since 2012.

“It has been all year along,” Kapaun coach John Cherne III said. “They worked during the summer, and a lot of them played summer ball. They’ve been in the weight room. They’ve been listening, and they’ve been getting better as the year goes on.”

Kapaun (17-6) held a 27-16 lead at halftime, but that cushion disappeared midway through the fourth quarter as the Crusaders clung onto a 38-36 lead with 4 minutes to go. Kapaun was poised at the free throw line down the stretch.

The Crusaders were 9-of-14 from the stripe. De Soto (16-7) was 6-of-16.

Kapaun will meet No. 1 Andover (23-0) in the semifinals, a rematch of the Crusaders’ AVCTL/GWAL Challenge contest, which finished 54-52 at Koch Arena.

Kapaun - Danitschek, 16; Anciaux, 16; Kennedy, 6; Jones, 5; Johnson, 3; Thengvall, 3

De Soto - Noll, 18; Morton, 8; Schultze, 8; Barnhart, 4; Millman, 3; Priddy, 1

Heights girls lose on last-second heartbreaker in 6A quarters

The Heights girls saw their stellar season end in heartbreaking fashion, as the Falcons missed a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in a 49-48 loss to Olathe East in the Class 6A quarterfinals at Koch Arena in Wichita.

Heights erased a five-point deficit with an 8-0 run to go up 48-45 with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Olathe East scored the final four points of the game for the win. The Falcons ended their season with a 21-2 record.

“It felt like a rollercoaster, but as long as there was time on the clock, I felt like we had a chance to win,” Heights coach Ken Palmer said. “We had opportunities to win several times, but we just fell a little short.”

Heights junior Laniah Randle scored a game-high 22 points and added six rebounds and three steals, but missed a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining that could have tied the game. Palmer said he made it clear to Randle afterward that Heights would not have even been in that position without her efforts throughout the course of the game.

“She’s definitely heartbroken, but you tell the kid that you’re proud of her,” Palmer said. “She left everything out on the court. That’s all I can ask for. The girls gave everything that we had, so that means we can walk away from that game as a winner or loser and be fine. As long as they left it all out there on the floor, that’s all I can ask from my girls.”

Heights was motivated to try for a state championship, despite a season-ending injury to star Zyanna Walker. The Falcons also had two more double-digit scorers in senior Taylor Jameson added 11 points and five steals, while Dayjsha Fanning added 10 points too. Aubrey Rogers scored a team-high 18 points for Olathe East, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute.

Olathe East: Rogers 7-9 2-5 18, Perez 1-9 1-2 4, Kearney 2-5 1-2 5, Richardson 3-6 0-1 6, Kaemmer 5-6 2-2 12, Biddison 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 19-36 8-14 49.

Wichita Heights: Stanley 1-5 0-0 2, Randle 11-17 0-3 22, Jameson 5-12 0-1 11, Conley 0-7 1-2 1, Fanning 4-8 1-2 10, Kitchen 1-1 0-0 2, Bell 0-0 0-0 0, Zeigler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 2-8 48.

Three-pointers: Olathe East 3-10 (Rogers 2-3, Perez 1-7); Wichita Heights 2-12 (Fanning 1-2, Jameson 1-5, Stanley 0-2, Randle 0-3). Rebounds: Olathe East 26 (Kaemmer 12); Wichita Heights 27 (Randle, Conley, Fanning 6). Assists: Olathe East 11 (Perez, Richardson 3); Wichita Heights 7 (Jameson 3). Turnovers: Olathe East 16, Wichita Heights 9. Fouls: Olathe East 9, Wichita Heights 13.

Collegiate cruises to 4th semifinal in 6 years

Collegiate has a rich basketball tradition under coach Mitch Fiegel, but the Spartans haven’t been to a state semifinal since 2017.

That changed Wednesday as No. 2 Collegiate beat No. 7 Colby 58-46 in the Class 3A state tournament. It marks Collegiate’s fourth final four trip in the past six years.

The Spartans’ lead was never in too much danger as Collegiate (21-3) led at the end of each quarter. The Spartans will face the winner of No. 3 Beloit (20-3) and No. 6 Nemaha Central (17-6).

Box score

Garden Plain hitting its championship form

Throughout the regular season, there were times when Garden Plain didn’t look overly capable to make it three straight state titles.

As of Wednesday, the Owls are a win away from getting to its third straight title game after a 54-48 win over No. 3 Sterling in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Earlier this year, Garden Plain lost three of four games, and the Owls (19-5) lost two of their final four regular-season games.

Sterling (21-3) was considered a favorite for the 2A title coming into the tournament, with its only two losses against six-time defending 1A champion Central Plains and five-loss Hugoton.

Garden Plain will play No. 2 Trego (23-1) in the semifinals.

Box score

Nickerson makes back-to-back final 4s for first time

Nickerson entered the 2019-20 season with two final four appearances.

For the first time in school history, the Panthers have captured back-to-back semifinal games. No. 1 Nickerson beat No. 8 Buhler 61-36 in the Class 4A state quarterfinals in Salina.

Nickerson held Buhler under 10 points in each of the first three quarters.

Although Nickerson enters as the top seed in the tournament, the Panthers are considered an underdog against No. 3 KC Piper, runner-up last year, and No. 4 Bishop Miege, which has won five of the past six 4A titles.

The Panthers will play Miege (21-2) in the semifinal round for the right to go to their first championship game since 1994.

Box score

KANSAS BOYS

CLASS 6A

In Wichita; at Koch Arena

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Harmon vs. Olathe South, 3 p.m.

Blue Valley Northwest vs. Lawrence Free State, 4:45 p.m.

Campus vs. Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.

Blue Valley North vs. Lawrence, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

CLASS 5A

In Emporia; at White Auditorium

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Andover 60, Blue Valley Southwest 59

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 49, De Soto 42

Basehor-Linwood 76, Andover Central 72

Hays vs. Topeka Highland Park, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

CLASS 4A

In Salina; at Tony’s Pizza Events Center

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Parsons vs. Rose Hill, 3 p.m.

Augusta vs. Ottawa, 4:45 p.m.

Piper vs. Buhler, 6:30 p.m.

Bishop Miege vs. Andale, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

CLASS 3A

In Hutchinson; at Hutchinson Sports Arena

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Wichita Collegiate 58, Colby 46

Beloit 51, Nemaha Central 43

St. Marys 49, Haven 44

Galena vs. Burlington, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

CLASS 2A

In Manhattan; at Bramlage Coliseum

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Skyline vs. Hillsboro, 3 p.m.

Erie vs. Sterling, 4:45 p.m.

Bishop Seabury vs. Valley Heights, 6:30 p.m.

Hoxie vs. Garden Plain, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

CLASS 1A

In Dodge City; at United Wireless Arena

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Little River 65, St. Francis 46

St. John-Hudson 59, Frankfort 38

Stockton 38 Berean Academy 33

Lebo vs. South Central, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 4:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m.

KANSAS GIRLS

CLASS 6A

In Wichita; at Koch Arena

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Liberal 41, Olathe South 33

Derby 44, Shawnee Mission Northwest 39 (2OT)

Topeka High 79, Olathe North 55

Wichita Heights vs. Olathe East, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 5A

In Emporia; at White Auditorium

Thursday’s quarterfinals

McPherson vs. Basehor-Linwood, 3 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Maize South, 4:45 p.m.

Andover Central vs. De Soto, 6:30 p.m.

Topeka Seaman vs. Maize, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 4A

In Salina; at Tony’s Pizza Events Center

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Clay Center 47, Eudora 42

Piper 63, Baldwin 48

Nickerson 61, Buhler 36

Bishop Miege vs. Chapman, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 3A

In Hutchinson; at Hutchinson Sports Arena

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Nemaha Central vs. Osage City, 3 p.m.

Phillipsburg vs. Cheney, 4:45 p.m.

Frontenac vs. Jefferson West, 6:30 p.m.

Halstead vs. Scott Community, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 2A

In Manhattan; at Bramlage Coliseum

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

Trego Community 45, Bennington 31

Garden Plain 54, Sterling 48

Spearville 55, St. Mary’s Colgan 41

Valley Heights vs. Wabaunsee, late

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 1A

In Dodge City; at United Wireless Arena

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Cunningham vs. Centralia, 3 p.m.

Olpe vs. Norwich, 4:45 p.m.

Central Plains vs. Ingalls, 6:30 p.m.

Hanover vs. Otis-Bison, 8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 5:21 PM.

Hayden Barber

The Wichita Eagle

316-269-6760

Wichita Eagle preps reporter Hayden Barber brings the area updates on all high school sports while adding those hard-to-find human-interest stories on Wichita’s student-athletes.