Girls in 1st round of playoffs this week
Staff writer
Three of five county teams already have experienced the first round of playoffs.
Centre and Peabody-Burns played Tuesday night.
Peabody-Burns won their second game of the entire season, 31-26 against Marmaton Valley.
Peabody-Burns will travel to Central Christain in Hutchinson on Monday for the second round.
Centres season came to an end against Natoma, losing 25-19.
Goessel advanced by forfeit. Marion and Hillsboro will play Thursday.
In final regular-season action:
Hillsboro
Hillsboro cruised to a 61-20 victory Friday over Nickerson. Daisy Klein hit four three-pointers, and Ella Potucek hit three. Maren Reed, Kingzley Ratzlaff, Addison Jost, Amyah Werth, and Riley Richert all scored at least one.
“The team has had an amazing year and I am so proud of them, but we are not done yet,” coach Micah Ratzlaff said.
The Trojans will be hosts for a first-round matchup at 6 p.m. Thursday against Wichita Classical.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of competing in a talent-loaded sub-state,” Ratzlaff said.
Marion
The Warriors won their final game of the regular season in overtime on the road Friday, defating Central Christian Academy, 42-38.
“This was another grind-it- out kind of game for us,” coach Jason Hett said. “We have had a lot of those this season, and we were prepared and ready for another one.
“Girls battled and made big plays down the stretch of the game and overtime to win the game.”
Kate Wessel scored 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Brylee Smith scored eight with four rebounds. Dylan Kraus scored seven and had four steals.
Marion finished the season 13-9 and 6-5 in league play.
“Very proud of this group and our body of work this season,” Hett said. “After graduating about 90% of our scoring from last season, to see where this group got to and the work they put in all season says a lot about them and their ability to be coachable and great teammates.”
“This group has competed and grown so much this season, and we were led by two pretty great seniors in Hailey Harshman and Shaliah Ensley.”
Marion will open playoffs Thursday on the road against Inman.
“This time of the season is always an exciting one,” Hett said, “and we will look to continue to work hard this week in practice and game plan for a tough Inman team on Thursday.”
Goessel
The Goessel girls were informed last week that Hartford would not be able to play the last regular season game Friday. They then were told that Bishop Seabury Academy has forfeited its first-round playoff game to Goessel.
The Bluebird girls (15-6) will travel to Troy (16-6) for the second round Monday.
Centre
Centre’s girls ended their regular season Friday with a 58-11 loss to Chase County.
“Chase County’s size, physical play, and pressure defense really disrupted us and we were never able to get comfortable during the game,” coach Landon Hinkson said.
Freshman Kaitlyn Kidd scored three points, pulled down five rebounds, and had two steals, one assist, and one block.
Addison Kitzmiller pulled nine rebounds and had a steal, an assist, and two blocks.
Anna Godinez Vinduska scored three points.
“The girls set several goals at the start of the season, and I am so proud that they were able to accomplish them,” Hinkson said. “I am proud that the team was able to earn a first round substate game,
Peabody-Burns
Peabody-Burns ended its regular season Friday, losing 49-20 on the road to Tescott.
Sarah Winfrey scored 12 of the 20 points.
“At times, we’ve struggled to find that rhythm, but Friday’s game could have had a different outcome if a few more shots had fallen,” coach Linsey Foth said. “As a team, we took 44 shots against Tescott, which shows the direction we’re continuing to build toward.”
Journey Needham and Adyson Winter pulled down six rebounds each.
“This season was about growth and laying a foundation,” Foth said. “We were tested in a lot of ways, but this group continued to show resilience, effort, and a willingness to compete every night.”
Looking ahead, she said playing in the first round was an important step.
“it shows the direction we’re headed,” she said. “No matter the outcome, this experience helps shape our identity and raises the standard for what we expect moving into next season.”