By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel girls matched their win total for all of last season Friday, following up their Waverly Tournament title with a 39-12 romp past Heritage Christian School.
Sophomore London Backman led Cair Paravel with 18 points in Friday's 39-12 win over Heritage Christian. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions defeated Waverly and Northeast Kansas Homeschool in the last weekend’s tournament, falling to Burlingame, but winning the event based on defensive points allowed.
“It was a great way to start the year. It got us all pumped and we’re holding that to keep us going,” said sophomore London Backman, who led the Lions with 18 points against Heritage. “I’m so excited for this season to keep on growing.”
The tournament championship was a big accomplishment for a team that didn’t have enough players to practice five-on-five a year ago. The Lions’ roster now consists of 14 players, seven of whom are freshmen.
“Last year we only had six, maybe eight girls, and we were still a strong team. We just struggled with (not having) many people on the bench,” said Backman. “Now it really helps with all that support.”
Backman dropped four three-pointers and directed the offense from the point. Nine Lions got into the scoring column Friday.
“Having the numbers on the bench is so helpful, just having more voices, cheering each other on, just that camaraderie,” said Cair Paravel coach Jayley Barkley. “We have a lot of freshmen, so it is super cool to see almost all of those freshmen got in tonight. It’s just fun to see the joy on their faces. Even when they don’t get in, the encouragement they give on the bench is huge.”
A loss to Lyndon on Tuesday didn’t deter Barkley from believing the team has made tremendous strides from last year.
“It comes from our leadership and that experience having two great seniors and two freshmen who started last year now as sophomores,” Barkley said. “I can see so much growth from last year, their ability to slow down, control the floor better.”
CAIR PARAVEL GIRLS 39, HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 12
Heritage Christian 1 0 4 7 -- 12
Cair Paravel 14 14 11 0 -- 39
Heritage Christian (3-3) – Milikan 0-2 0-0 0, Strahm 0-3 0-0 0, May 2-10 1-6 5, Tindell 0-4 2-2 2, Martens 1-11 0-0 2, Current 1-2 0-0 3, Raj 0-0 0-0 0, Seashols 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 4-33 3-10 12.
Cair Paravel (3-2) – Hastert 1-6 1-2 3, Donaldson 1-5 0-0 2, Welshans 1-3 0-0 2, K. Chada 3-10 0-0 8, Backman 7-14 0-0 18, M. Chada 1-5 0-0 2, Rosenow 1-5 0-2 2, Habiger 0-3 0-0 0, Barker 0-1 0-0 0, Harshberger 0-1 1-2 1, Erp 0-0 0-0 0, Ellis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 15-54 3-8 39.
3-point goals – Heritage Christian 1 (Current 1) Cair Paravel 6 (Backman 4, K. Chada 2). Total fouls – Heritage Christian 7, Cair Paravel 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
