By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls took care of business on their home floor Tuesday, defeating Basehor-Linwood 39-32 in a Class 5A sub-state semifinal, setting up a big challenge Friday.
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot led the way with 16 points in Tuesday's 39-32 Class 5A sub-state win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds built a double-digit lead early in the second half and maintained it until late. With three minutes remaining, Basehor-Linwood collapsed the deficit to five points. Holding the T-Birds scoreless for more than four minutes, the Bobcats then pulled to within three, 31-28, with 1:35 remaining.
Shawnee Heights, led by sophomore KK Emmot, connected on enough free throws in the final minute to hold off the threat.
“We played sharp in the first quarter and continued that through the second quarter,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “We changed some things up on defense that we thought we might try, and it worked out well for us holding them down.
“We knew (Basehor-Linwood) would make it close because we’ve played them enough to know they are never going to give up and they’re going to play hard until the very end. We knew we were going to have to deal with that. I’m really proud of the girls who stepped up and made free throws.”
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 14-7 on the season, attempted 27 free throws in the game, knocking down 16. The T-Birds were led by Emmot’s 16 points. Kaydence Torrez scored eight and Tayler Hanshaw had seven.
“First round of sub-state, you never know what’s going to happen,” Wells said. “This is a testament to our girls to come out and really get after it and move on to the next round.”
Senior Kaydence Torrez (20) scored eight points in Tuesday's 39-32 sub-state win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“I felt like we were all really nervous at the beginning. But once we got going, we all just said we needed to play together and not stress about anything and just play our game,” Torrez said.
The T-Birds put themselves in position for a big win Friday night when they travel to Piper to take on the second seed in the 5A East bracket, the fifth-ranked Pirates. Shawnee Heights was beaten soundly by the Pirates in the two meetings between the teams during the regular season.
“One of our girls’ favorite quotes is the old, ‘We’ve got nothing to lose’ quote,'' Wells said. “It’s like one of those NCAA tournament games where it’s the one-seed against a 16, and the 16 comes out and all of sudden they’re hitting shots and playing free. That’s what we’re going to have to do. We’re going to have to play intense, but we’ve got to play free.”
“We’re going to watch a lot of film, and we have a couple of things that we’ve been working on for this game,” Torrez added. “I feel like we’re really excited just to get another opportunity to play, no matter who it is. I feel like we are all just trying to have fun.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 39, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 32
Basehor-Linwood 4 7 8 13 -- 32
Shawnee Heights 7 10 10 -- 39
Basehor-Linwood (10-11) – Schwisow 2 0-0 5, McKnight 5 2-4 13, Wittkop 1 0-0 3, Christopher 2 3-6 7, VanDonge 2 0-2 4, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Deters 0 0-0 0, Sifford 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 5-12 32.
Shawnee Heights (14-7) – Emmot 4 8-13 16, Brees 1 0-2 2, Torrez 3 2-2 8, Vega 1 1-2 3, Bowers 0 3-4 3, Euwer 0 0-0 0, Hanshaw 2 2-2 7, Hamilton 0 0-2 0. Totals: 11 16-27 39.
3-point goals – Basehor-Linwood 3 (Schwisow 1, McKnight 1, Wittkop 1), Shawnee Heights 1 (Hanshaw 1). Total fouls – Basehor-Linwood 21, Shawnee Heights 12. Fouled out – Brees, Wittkop, Schwisow. Technical fouls – None.
