Brooke Walker’s eruption helps Andover girls basketball stun Liberal for Salina title
It hasn’t taken Hannah Alexander very long in her first season as head coach of the Andover girls basketball team to learn the power of Brooke Walker’s will.
On Saturday, Walker might have taken it to another level.
The star junior guard, one of the state’s top recruits in the class of 2024, scored 13 points in a row in the fourth quarter of the Salina Invitational Tournament championship game against Liberal to force overtime, then her teammates came through in the extra period to help the Trojans stun Liberal in a 47-46 victory at Kansas Wesleyan.
“Earlier in the day at shootaround, Brooke was just walking around saying, ‘I want this so bad,’” Alexander said. “She’s just a fighter and a dog. She wanted this game so bad. You could see it with how she played there in the fourth quarter. She was ready to prove people wrong. I don’t think a lot of people thought we were going to get that one. On paper, Liberal was taller, bigger, stronger than us. But we played with so much heart and Brooke led the way.”
It was just the second loss of the season for Liberal (9-2), which is ranked No. 6 in Class 6A. It was by far the biggest marquee win of the season for Andover, which is currently ranked No. 6 in Class 5A and won its ninth straight game to improve to 11-1 behind Walker’s game-high 22 points.
Liberal had rallied to take the lead early in the fourth quarter before Walker would rattle off an all-time clutch performance in SIT history.
She hit three straight threes to put Andover ahead 36-33 with 4:27 left in regulation. When Liberal started to face-guard her, Walker started looking for gaps inside the arc. She popped free for a jumper for a 38-35 lead, then tied the game at 40 with a layup.
“It’s always fun to watch Brooke get going like that, but it was definitely a team effort,” Alexander said. “She couldn’t get all of those threes without our point guard making some great passes and our bigs setting some great screens. But everybody knew how bad Brooke wanted that one. I can’t remember the last time shaking like that because we were all just so hyped up and nervous.”
After both teams missed chances at a go-ahead basket in the final minute, Walker’s teammates rose to the occasion in overtime.
Alana Shetlar and Amelya Vance both hit key shots, but the biggest shot of the game came from sophomore Katie Evans, who swished a corner three with 21 seconds left for a 47-45 lead, which proved to be the game-winner.
Liberal was fouled with 6.4 seconds left and made the first free throw, but missed the potential game-tying second attempt.
“We came up with a lot of hustle plays in overtime,” Alexander said. “We never rolled over and quit and I’m very proud of these girls.”
Hesston clamps down Holcomb to capture Trojan Classic title
Hesston showed how effective it can be controlling a game with its defense and rebounding in a 40-29 victory over Holcomb in the finals of the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro.
The Swathers didn’t shoot particularly well and committed 15 turnovers, but they still won comfortably because they limited Holcomb to 18.6% shooting from the field and dominated the rebounding battle, grabbing 83% of available defensive rebounds and 32% of available offensive rebounds.
After surviving the final minute with some nervy moments in Friday’s semifinals against Eureka, Hesston had no such drama in Saturday’s finals. Kendal Brueggen helped the Swathers improve to 9-3 this season with a game-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
In a competitive third-place game, Eureka prevailed with a 47-43 win over Hillsboro. Ashley Singhateh led Eureka with 10 points, while Zaylee Werth scored a game-high 13 points for Hillsboro.
Saturday’s high school girls basketball mid-season tournament game scores
Salina Invitational Tournament
1st: Andover 47, Liberal 46 (OT)
3rd: Salina Central 49, Salina South 45 (OT)
5th: Junction City 54, Abilene 43
7th: Buhler vs. Highland Park
Trojan Classic (Hillsboro)
1st: Hesston 40, Holcomb 29
3rd: Eureka 47, Hillsboro 43
5th: Clay Center 48, Remington 41
7th: Riley County 57, Republic County 27
Hoisington Winter Jam
1st: Cimarron vs. Hoisington (postponed to Monday)
3rd: Pratt vs. Ellsworth (postponed to Monday)
5th: Ellinwood vs. La Crosse (canceled)
7th: Victoria vs. Otis-Bison (canceled)
SCBL Tournament (Cowley County)
1st: West Elk 36, Flinthills 31
3rd: South Haven 53, Udall 27
5th: Sedan 51, Oxford 44
7th: Burden-Central 33, Argonia 32
This story was originally published January 22, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
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