High school basketball scores: Andover Central girls rally for overtime win at Heights
There were two phrases written on the white board the Andover Central girls basketball team stared at before their highly anticipated game at Heights between two of the state’s best on Friday.
1. Composure
2. Do not panic
Those phrases written by coach Stana Jefferson turned out to be prophetic, as the Jaguars did not panic when they trailed by as many as 13 points and kept their composure to rally for a 56-48 overtime victory. Andover Central, ranked second in Class 5A, improved to 2-0, while Heights, ranked fourth in Class 6A, fell to 2-1.
“Wichita Heights has some great athletes on their team and they’re going to win a ton of games,” Jefferson said. “For us to come in here and get a win at their place, I’ve never been prouder of this group of kids I coach.”
The game delivered on the promise pitting arguably the two best girls basketball teams in the Wichita area against another in a matchup that featured four Division I prospects sharing the court in Heights’ duo of Laniah Randle and Cayanna Stanley and Andover Central’s Brittany Harshaw (Creighton) and Bailey Wilborn (Maine). The highest-rated Division I prospect of them all — Heights junior Zyanna Walker — did not play due to injury.
Randle was spectacular and a devastating force in transition, where she scored most of her game-high 26 points, and was needed on the defensive end to limit Harshaw in scoring.
With Heights’ defense focused on Harshaw, that presented opportunities for 5-foot-11 sophomore post Maddi Amekporfor. Skilled in her own right, Amekporfor capitalized on the single coverage in the post with an array of crafty moves that allowed her to deliver her best game in a Jaguar uniform with a career-high 25 points.
“We tried to stay very composed and not let ourselves get down,” Amekporfor said. “We know how good of a team we are and we know no matter what, we can always fight back and that proved right in the end.”
Andover Central trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and trailed 42-34 with five minutes remaining in regulation. That’s when Harshaw, who had been contained for the majority of the game, stepped up when her team needed her the most.
Harshaw started by leaking out in transition for a layup, then followed with a crucial corner three-pointer and capped a personal 7-0 run with two free throws to erase the deficit and tie Heights at 42 with 2:11 remaining. Harshaw finished the game with 13 points.
Andover Central actually took a brief lead, 46-44, when Jaden Newfarmer collapsed Heights’ defense and found Amekporfor for the go-ahead layup with 40 seconds remaining. But Randle drove for the game-tying layup at the other end, which forced overtime after each team missed chances to win it late.
“I’m super proud of the fight tonight,” Jefferson said. “I saw moments in the first half where we panicked and rushed some of our shots. I felt like we focused the second half, slowed down and took better shots, took care of the ball better. But most of all, we fought hard.”
After trading baskets in overtime, Andover Central took control of the game when Wilborn drove the lane and scooped in a left-handed layup for a 50-48 lead with 2:03 remaining. The Jaguars never trailed again, as Heights missed its ensuing shot and had to play the foul game the final minute. Andover Central made six of eight free throws to ice the game.
Andover Central (2-0) | 13 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 10 | — | 56 |
Heights (2-1) | 20 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 2 | — | 48 |
ANDOVER CENTRAL: Amekporfor 25, Harshaw 13, Wilborn 6, Stearns 6, Newfarmer 6.
HEIGHTS: Randle 26, Stanley 7, Chandler 4, Gails 3, Mayberry 3, Zeigler 3, Proffit 2.
Boys scores
Friday
Maize 60, Andale 28
Salina South 66, Salina Central 61 (OT)
Clearwater 58, Winfield 51
Abilene 56, Augusta 53
Chanute 68, Rose Hill 64
El Dorado 59, Chaparral 35
Belle Plaine 67, Fredonia 49
Garden Plain 51, Caney Valley 49
Kingman 41, Conway Springs 33
Sedgwick 66, Douglass 41
Hillsboro 37, Inman 35
Concordia 45, Smoky Valley 33
Dodge City 64, Nickerson 48
Oxford 58, Udall 48
Eureka 59, Wichita Homeschool 54
West Elk 53, Marmaton Valley 19
Little River 62, Hutchinson Central Christian 50
Goessel 62, Burrton 22
Thursday
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 38, Heights 36
Maize 66, East 56
Mulvane 70, Parsons 67
Cheney 76, El Dorado 53
Labette County 51, Circle 43
Belle Plaine 54, Sedgwick 48
Haven 47, Conway Springs 34
Hutchinson Trinity 64, Chaparral 49
Hillsboro 50, Lyons 49 (2 OT)
Northeast-Arma 45, West Elk 30
Girls scores
Friday
Andover Central 56, Heights 48 (OT)
Derby 61, Bishop Carroll 44
Southeast 46, Andover 41
North 35, Newton 25
Goddard 54, Northwest 41
Campus 42, West 14
Salina Central 67, Salina South 39
Hutchinson 49, Buhler 28
Chanute 44, Rose Hill 38
Rock Creek 44, Augusta 29
Garden Plain 54, Caney Valley 30
Belle Plaine 39, Fredonia 25
Sedgwick 41, Douglass 35
Hesston 55, Conway Springs 24
Hillsboro 39, Inman 23
Smoky Valley 56, Concordia 27
Dodge City 64, Nickerson 56
West Elk 44, Marmaton Valley 15
Eureka 43, Wichita Homeschool 31
South Central 63, Flinthills 39
Little River 40, Hutchinson Central Christian 33
Burrton 49, Goessel 31
Thursday
Cheney 83, El Dorado 35
Collegiate 54, Independence 38
Labette County 60, Circle 58
Liberal 66, Trinity Academy 56
Haven 40, Conway Springs 32
Douglass 58, Classical 11
Chaparral 54, Hutchinson Trinity 49
Sedgwick 40, Belle Plaine 34
Hillsboro 41, Lyons 28
Nickerson 55, Colby 46
West Elk 45, Northeast-Arma 23
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 7:14 AM.
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