John Curtis
GateHouse News Service
SALINA — It looked for a while Wednesday that the Hesston Swathers were going to be one of the Cinderellas at the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament in their game against the Holton Wildcats.
It didn’t happen as the Swathers’ glass slippers were smashed by pressure defense by the Wildcats and cold shooting in the middle stanzas as Holton beat the Swathers 54-44 to end Hesston’s season at Salina’s Bicentennial Center.
Hesston hit only six field goals in the first three quarters and turned the ball over 26 times in losing to the unbeaten Wildcats. Holton was able to score 19 points off of those turnovers.
“Turnovers have been a point of emphasis all year, and we were facing one of the best presses we’ve seen all year,” Hesston coach Matt Richardson said. “Those girls just kept coming wave after wave after wave. It gets overwhelming for the ballhandlers when they’re causing that kind of pressure.”
Mallory Schroeder led the Swathers in scoring with 18 points in her final game for Hesston (17-7). Richardson said she was strong in her role all season as a scorer for the Swathers.
“Mallory has taken a lot of the scoring load, and that’s been one of her assets this year,” Richardson said. “Everybody stepped up to their role this season. I felt we did a wonderful job in the league and the rest of the season.”
Samantha Short added 12 points for Hesston in the loss.
The Swathers had trouble breaking the Holton press in the first quarter, but they were successful in getting points on the board when they did get by the Wildcats down the floor. Hesston was 3-of-6 from the field and hit all four of its free throws to lead 11-8 after the first quarter with Schroeder scoring seven in the stanza.
Hesston pushed the lead up to six early in the second quarter before the Wildcats started making a comeback. In the final seven minutes of the first half, Holton allowed only one Swather field goal and forced eight turnovers and outscored Hesston 15-6 to push ahead 26-22 by the end of the half.
“We knew that they were going to launch their run,” Richardson said. “They really thrive on that six- to 10-point run, and they got it. We knew we had to try to defend it, but we just couldn’t.”
The Swathers continued to have trouble getting their offense going, missing their first nine shots and committing seven turnovers as Holton built the margin up to 15 before a late Hesston field goal pushed the deficit down to 39-26.
The fourth quarter saw the Swathers make a comeback of their own, scoring nine of the first 12 points — seven off of Holton turnovers — to cut the margin to seven with five minutes remaining in regulation.
HESSTON (17-7) — Nebel 1-2 3-4 5, Weaver 0-2 0-0 0, Hageman 2-6 1-2 6, Schroeder 5-18 8-9 20, Short 2-6 6-6 10, Eitzen 1-1 0-1 2, Spencer 0-0 1-2 1, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Stutzman 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 11-36 19-25 44.
HOLTON (24-0) — A.Suarez 1-3 2-2 4, McManigal 2-2 1-2 5, Ryann Bowser 4-13 6-9 15, Dallman 1-8 1-5 3, Strader 3-7 3-4 9, Lutz 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Rylie Bowser 6-8 0-0 14, Miller 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 19-48 13-22 54.
Hesston 11 11 4 18 —44
Holton 8 18 13 15 —54
3-point goals — Hesston 3-13 (Schroeder 2-10, Hageman 1-2, Weaver 0-1), Holton 3-19 (Rylie Bowser 2-3, Ryann Bowser 1-7, A.Suarez 0-2, Smith 0-2, Miller 0-1, Strader 0-4). Total fouls — Hesston 21, Holton 20. Fouled out — Eitzen.
|
|
|
John Curtis
GateHouse News Service
SALINA — It looked for a while Wednesday that the Hesston Swathers were going to be one of the Cinderellas at the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament in their game against the Holton Wildcats.
It didn’t happen as the Swathers’ glass slippers were smashed by pressure defense by the Wildcats and cold shooting in the middle stanzas as Holton beat the Swathers 54-44 to end Hesston’s season at Salina’s Bicentennial Center.
Hesston hit only six field goals in the first three quarters and turned the ball over 26 times in losing to the unbeaten Wildcats. Holton was able to score 19 points off of those turnovers.
“Turnovers have been a point of emphasis all year, and we were facing one of the best presses we’ve seen all year,” Hesston coach Matt Richardson said. “Those girls just kept coming wave after wave after wave. It gets overwhelming for the ballhandlers when they’re causing that kind of pressure.”
Mallory Schroeder led the Swathers in scoring with 18 points in her final game for Hesston (17-7). Richardson said she was strong in her role all season as a scorer for the Swathers.
“Mallory has taken a lot of the scoring load, and that’s been one of her assets this year,” Richardson said. “Everybody stepped up to their role this season. I felt we did a wonderful job in the league and the rest of the season.”
Samantha Short added 12 points for Hesston in the loss.
The Swathers had trouble breaking the Holton press in the first quarter, but they were successful in getting points on the board when they did get by the Wildcats down the floor. Hesston was 3-of-6 from the field and hit all four of its free throws to lead 11-8 after the first quarter with Schroeder scoring seven in the stanza.
Hesston pushed the lead up to six early in the second quarter before the Wildcats started making a comeback. In the final seven minutes of the first half, Holton allowed only one Swather field goal and forced eight turnovers and outscored Hesston 15-6 to push ahead 26-22 by the end of the half.
“We knew that they were going to launch their run,” Richardson said. “They really thrive on that six- to 10-point run, and they got it. We knew we had to try to defend it, but we just couldn’t.”
The Swathers continued to have trouble getting their offense going, missing their first nine shots and committing seven turnovers as Holton built the margin up to 15 before a late Hesston field goal pushed the deficit down to 39-26.
The fourth quarter saw the Swathers make a comeback of their own, scoring nine of the first 12 points — seven off of Holton turnovers — to cut the margin to seven with five minutes remaining in regulation.
HESSTON (17-7) — Nebel 1-2 3-4 5, Weaver 0-2 0-0 0, Hageman 2-6 1-2 6, Schroeder 5-18 8-9 20, Short 2-6 6-6 10, Eitzen 1-1 0-1 2, Spencer 0-0 1-2 1, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Stutzman 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 11-36 19-25 44.
HOLTON (24-0) — A.Suarez 1-3 2-2 4, McManigal 2-2 1-2 5, Ryann Bowser 4-13 6-9 15, Dallman 1-8 1-5 3, Strader 3-7 3-4 9, Lutz 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Rylie Bowser 6-8 0-0 14, Miller 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 19-48 13-22 54.
Hesston 11 11 4 18 —44
Holton 8 18 13 15 —54
3-point goals — Hesston 3-13 (Schroeder 2-10, Hageman 1-2, Weaver 0-1), Holton 3-19 (Rylie Bowser 2-3, Ryann Bowser 1-7, A.Suarez 0-2, Smith 0-2, Miller 0-1, Strader 0-4). Total fouls — Hesston 21, Holton 20. Fouled out — Eitzen.
