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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

The Rossville Lady Bulldawgs' basketball season came to an end on Tuesday night against Ellinwood in the Class 2A state quarterfinals.

 

Rossville senior star Rylee Dick scored 31 points in her final high school game against Ellinwood on Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]

Before the season began, Rossville coach Derek Dick told TopSports.news that he and the team wanted to enjoy the little moments this year. They envisioned that goal of making it to the state tournament and before it all began, he said the first week of practice was the best he’d had in his 16 years of coaching.

 

While Derek and Rylee Dick only shared the court for two years in the Rossville uniform at the varsity level, it began way before that.

 

Rylee Dick knew she had a dream of playing college basketball some day at the next level and she will be doing that as she’s signed to play with Rockhurst University.

 

After the state quarterfinal game, Derek said it was something he’ll never forget with his daughter, cherishing those small moments.

 

“I made memories with my daughter that will last for a lifetime. We go to the gym every night to practice, I’m going to miss that,” Dick said after a tear rolled down his eye. “I was proud to share that moment with her and I know I was hard on her a lot, but I wanted her on the big stage. I thought she earned it through her work to be here.”

 

Derek Dick did say he was going to be a little lighter on Rylee this season, but they both know it’s out of love and wanting the best for Rylee.

 

“I know she’s my daughter, I’m super proud of Rylee,” Derek said, choking up. “When we were struggling to score or get things going, we put the ball in her hands and let her go and she made plays and gave us a chance, proud of her.”

 

When you look at the resume of Rylee, it’s quite remarkable. She became No. 2 all-time in Rossville scoring history back in January. She eclipsed the 1,500 point mark on March 3 and she nearly scored 50 points in a game, with 47 back in December against Kansas City-Ward.

 

Something people know about Rylee is her sharp shooting beyond the 3-point arc, creating for her teammates and making her teammates better.

 

But something that hasn’t bceen in Rylee’s favor is her height, with Dick listed at 5-foot-9. She recognized that from a young age and she needed to grind and put in countless hours even after practice.

 

“Ever since third or fourth grade, I always said I wanted to play college basketball and that’s definitely not an easy thing to do, especially being short,” Rylee said with a smile. “I know that I’m not that naturally gifted at basketball, so I had to put in a lot of time and effort and take it to where I am today and I knew that wouldn’t happen without being in the gym every night.

 

"I’m grateful for the grind. It’s taught me so much and I can use the skills and hardships I learned for everyday life… you’re not going to be anywhere without hard work. I’m glad that was instilled into me at a young age and so that I can accomplish other things, too.”

 

“I know there’s people all throughout the state that work hard but literally, she’s in the gym every night and with her height… she's a good athlete, not an elite athlete, but she has to do that stuff to give herself a chance. She understands that, she knows that, she’s earned everything she’s got,” Derek Dick said.

 

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

HUTCHINSON -- In their third try in consecutive years, the Hayden girls finally lifted the lid on the semifinal round, beating defending Class 4A state champion Wellington 50-45 Thursday to advance to the championship round.

Hayden girls basketball celebrates Thursday's 50-45 win over Wellington in a Class 4A semifinal in Hutchinson. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Hayden led by as many as 10 in the contest, but found itself in need of some late-game heroics Thursday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Hayden went cold in the middle of the fourth quarter, going more than four minutes without a point.

An 8-0 run by the Crusaders during that crucial interval turned a 42-37 Hayden lead into a 45-42 advantage for Wellington.

Hayden didn’t allow another point, reeling the Crusaders in with their defense and giving themselves a chance to win.

“We were down 45-42 and ended on an 8-0 run. Our girls stayed together the whole time,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “Some of those girls were involved in some huge games last year where they came out on top. If we had fizzled out there, it just seemed like, ‘Ok, they’re the better team.' They’re used to it. So, I’m glad we didn’t let that happen. We played really tough down the stretch and hit big shots and got big rebounds.”

Sophomore Sophia Wichman, scoreless for 30 minutes, hit a free throw at 1:23 left to cut the lead by one. Having seen the ball go through the net once, she was warmed up for the biggest shot of her career.

Wellington missed two free throws with under a minute remaining, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or take the lead. But the Wildcats struggled to produce a shot from their four-out offense. In the scramble, the ball came to Wichman as the shot clock ticked down. She drained the open look to put Hayden ahead 46-45 with 37 seconds left.

“I went in and I airballed that first three (earlier in the game) and I was like, ‘Wow!’ ” Wichman said. “But I didn’t let it get me down completely. I was like, ‘I’m gonna keep shooting, keep my head up,' because that’s what all my teammates told me to do.''

Wichman said the play was designed to create a shot for Lauren Borjon, who had two 3-pointers in the game.

“I would much rather have (Borjon) take that shot because I know that she’s such a good 3-point shooter,” Wichman said. “Everyone has so much faith in her. But I came around and was just like, ‘I’m open. We’re down. I need to make this shot.’ And I just let it fly.”

“She’s just got nerves of steel, I guess,” Reynoldson said. “She’s never nervous about anything and we had confidence when she shot it.”

The Hayden defense, which had been so successful all game, locked down the defending champs on four possessions, holding them scoreless as the seconds ticked away. The Wildcats’ defense was huge all day. A stiff full-court press forced 21 turnovers and held the defending champs to 35.4 percent shooting from the field. The Crusaders were hurt by 9-17 shooting from the free throw line.

“On the backside we run back so much, so we don’t give up too many easy ones, because when you press, that’s the fear, that you’re going to give up easy baskets and whatnot,” Reynoldson said. “We have girls with active hands and get deflections.”

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- Jack Becker’s desperate heave at the buzzer had the right distance. It appeared on line. Had it fallen, it would have given the Seaman Vikings a remarkable upset and a comeback for the ages. But the shot ricocheted high off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor as the crowd gasped.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner led the Vikings with 27 points in Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

The Vikings gave top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel all it could handle in the Class 5A state semifinals Thursday in Koch Arena, losing 54-52 after trailing by as many as 18 late in the third period. Seaman outscored the defending champion Crusaders 24-12 in a wild fourth-quarter comeback that nearly ended in Cinderella fashion.

Seaman could muster no offense in the first 16 minutes. The Vikings attempted just 15 shot attempts in the first half, but committed 10 turnovers to just one assist, putting Seaman at a 25-15 deficit at the intermission. A 6-2 Viking run to close the third period did little to portend what was to come. The fourth quarter began with Seaman trailing 42-28.

The Vikings’ high-scoring senior KaeVon Bonner provided most of the Vikings’ output for three quarters, but he had to work for every point. He found his groove late in the third period and sparked a 16-4 run that brought the Viking crowd back to life. Gradually the Vikings whittled the lead, helped by poor foul shooting down the stretch by the Crusaders.

When the Crusaders missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Seaman had a chance to tie or win on the final possession. Bonner probed the lane, first left, then right, trying to get off a shot. He forced up a jumper that was stuffed on the right block. He shuffled the ball to Becker for the desperation heave. Seaman coach Craig Cox was not happy with the no-call on Bonner’s drive.

Seaman coach Craig Cox reacts to a call during Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

“I get it, officials don’t want to decide games. But when it’s clearly a foul, it’s a very easy call,” Cox said. “You’ve got to blow that whistle. You cannot reward (the defense) in that situation.”

Cox recognized that Kapaun Mt. Carmel wasn’t going to gift Seaman an opportunity to get back in the game. The Vikings would have to force the opening.

“We kept talking about, ‘We need to take it to them,’ ” Cox said. “They make it very difficult with their outstanding defense. That’s why we struggled so much in the first half. And I thought we just got more aggressive and did a better job of rebounding, since the first half was not good at all.”

The Vikings outscored Kapaun Mt. Carmel 30-14 over the final 10 minutes. Bonner scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth -eriod rally. He was followed in the box score by Griffin Zuniga with 13.

“We just showed our character and showed what our kids were made of with that comeback,” Cox said. “There was probably a little bit of embarrassment in the first half with the way that we played and how much we struggled. I was proud of them for showing that they weren’t going to give up and lay down and get steamrolled, which could have happened.

“For our guys, everybody in the arena is saying the same thing about our team, how impressed they were in the second half with the comeback.”

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