Big school vs. small town: East, Little River deliver girls basketball classic
For one night, all eyes in the Kansas high school basketball world were fixated on Little River.
The largest high school in the state versus one of the smallest. A Class 6A contender against a Class 1A Division I powerhouse. A city school with 2,481 students traveling to a town of 472 people, where just 92 students fill the halls of the local high school.
On Friday night, the rare matchup delivered on every bit of its hype.
Wichita East, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, held off top-ranked and unbeaten Little River 61-55 in a standalone girls basketball game that showcased not just two elite teams, but what can happen when programs dare to schedule outside the norm.
“That was a really high-level game,” East coach Willie Davis said. “It was competitive the whole way. As soon as you thought someone was pulling away, the other team would make a play. It was just a lot of good players making plays out there.”
The game itself was only possible because of a recent KSHSAA rule change that expanded the regular-season limit from 20 games to 23. Those three extra dates opened the door for ambitious scheduling and Friday’s matchup became the best example of what that change can produce.
Little River entered at 13-0, having outscored opponents by an average of 45 points per game while chasing its first girls basketball state title since 1998. East arrived at 12-3, riding a five-game winning streak and carrying the talent and athleticism typical of a 6A contender.
What followed was anything but a mismatch.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,” Little River coach Cy Rolfs said. “They rose to the occasion, just like I knew that they would and could. That’s why we put this game on. I believe in them so much. There’s a lot of good that came from this, going toe-to-toe with a 6A team like that. They played with so much heart and grit. It was just an incredible effort.”
The first half was tight and tense, featuring eight ties and three lead changes. Little River briefly took control in the second quarter with a 23-18 lead before East responded to tie the game at 30 by halftime. No team led by more than six points, as the margins remained razor-thin the entire night.
East grabbed momentum early in the third quarter behind freshman sensation Jada Davis, who scored seven straight points to give the Blue Aces a 37-31 lead. Little River answered immediately with back-to-back 3s, the second coming from Arika Feldman to tie the game and ignite a jam-packed gym.
The shot-making continued throughout the quarter, as Davis slipped through the defense for a floater late, then Feldman drilled an off-balanced 3 at the buzzer to trim East’s lead to 45-42 entering the fourth. The two star players put on a show for the crowd, as Davis finished with 17 points and Feldman scored a game-high 19.
When East threatened to pull away again in the final period, pushing its lead to 48-42, Little River responded again. Evie Look knocked down a 3 to pull Little River back within three, which set up the theme for the fourth quarter: Each time East scored, Little River answered at the other end.
After trading baskets deep into the fourth, East held a slim 53-51 lead when Little River missed a potential game-tying runner around the basket and the Blue Aces capitalized at the other end when freshman Miya Respress cleaned up an offensive rebound for a putback basket with 1:46 remaining.
Moments later, East made its biggest play of the night. Davis pushed the ball in transition, collapsed the defense and delivered a one-handed bounce pass to Respress for a layup that stretched the lead to 57-51.
Still, Little River refused to fade.
Havana Olander scored a layup, then the home team turned up the pressure. A full-court trap led to a deflection by Adelynne Strecker and a steal-and-score from Saelyn Raleigh, cutting the deficit to 57-55 with 46 seconds left.
East steadied itself from there. Senior Quinacy Galbert broke the press, drew a foul and calmly sank two free throws. After Little River came up empty at the other end, Galbert helped East seal the victory at the line with two more free throws.
“They definitely impressed us,” Galbert said. “You see that it’s a 1A school with 92 students and you’re not sure if they’re really all that. But they surprised me. When we got out there and they started scoring points back and forth with us, I was really impressed.”
For Davis, the atmosphere inside Little River’s gym stood out as much as the basketball.
“That was the best crowd we’ve had all season,” Davis said. “It was definitely different than the City League. We’re not drawing big crowds like that in the City League. We’ve got to somehow get back to that, like it was back in the day. Because tonight was a lot of fun.”
Davis said the game should serve as proof that smaller classification teams belong on the same stage when given the chance. Both sides hope that Friday’s game can inspire some more creative scheduling in future seasons.
“I hope other people look at this and see that those 1A, 2A, 3A schools really can compete with 6A schools,” Davis said. “It’s just that they’ve never been given the chance. This was a cool experience for both sides. I would definitely do it again. This was a big-time memory.”
After the final buzzer, both teams gathered at midcourt for a combined photo, players intermingled — a snapshot of a night that felt bigger than one game.
In a packed gym, with statewide buzz and two teams willing to take a chance, East and Little River showed what’s possible when Kansas high school basketball dares to think bigger.
“I don’t know if I would say it was a once-in-a-lifetime, but it was just really cool,” Rolfs said. “What an experience for those kids to play in that kind of electric environment. Everyone who came out got to see one heck of a game.”
This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 6:03 AM.
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