Kansas high school basketball state scores: Kapaun wins OT thriller to reach 5A final
Semifinal scores from the Kansas high school state basketball tournaments are rolling in, as teams punch their tickets to championship games.
Here is the one-stop place to find the scoreboard, KSHSAA brackets, game times and locations for all state basketball games, as well as the final schedule for Saturday’s games.
Class 5A boys: Kapaun wins overtime thriller to advance to finals
For the second straight year, the Kapaun Mt. Carmel will play for the Class 5A championship in Emporia.
A go-ahead 3-pointer by freshman Blaise Dalian in the final minute of overtime lifted the Crusaders to a dramatic 67-64 win over Topeka Highland Park at White Auditorium.
Kapaun (21-3) will face Kansas City Piper in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game, as the Crusaders look for their first title since 2012 while legendary head coach Steve Eck looks for his seventh career title and first since 1996 at Wichita South. Eck is in his third year back on the sidelines after a Hall-of-Fame junior-college career.
The Crusaders trailed by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but William Thengvall mounted the comeback with a flurry of points on his way to a game-high 31. A back-and-forth fourth quarter left Kapaun holding the ball for the final shot, but Corbin Johnson’s turnaround jumper from the free-throw line bounced off the rim.
Thengvall staked Kapaun to an early lead in overtime with two straight baskets, but Highland Park roared back to take a 62-61 lead with 1:08 remaining on a steal and dunk by Jacorey Robinson. Kapaun briefly took a 63-62 lead when Johnson found Owen Herlocker for a basket inside, but Robinson answered right back to put Highland Park back in front with 38 seconds left.
Following a Kapaun timeout, Johnson broke full-court pressure to collapse the defense in the paint and kicked out to Dalian, standing wide open in the left corner. The freshman calmly drilled the 3-pointer to put the Crusaders back in front, 66-64, for good with 25 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Robinson tried to attack for the game-tying basket but lost control of the ball and Johnson emerged with the loose ball and was fouled. Robinson finished with a team-high 20 points for the Scots (22-2).
Johnson split a pair of free throws for a 67-64 lead, then Highland Park had a pick-and-pop play for a potential game-tying 3 in the closing seconds but missed; Thengvall grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.
5A girls: Andover’s unbeaten streak ends in semifinals
A late push wasn’t enough for Andover to climb out of an 11-hole deficit in the second half, as the Trojans suffered their first loss of the season in a 49-45 setback to Topeka Seaman in the 5A semifinals at White Auditorium in Emporia.
Andover led 22-17 at halftime, but Seaman reeled off 19 straight points in the third quarter to bury Andover in a 40-29 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The Trojans had one final push in them, as Oral Roberts signee Alana Shetlar drilled a jumper to cut Seaman’s lead to 43-42 with 1:05 left. After Seaman scored to extend its lead, Andover committed a turnover on its next possession to all but end its chances of winning. Freshman Bella Bouddhara banked in a late 3 to briefly cut it to 47-45, but Seaman made both free throws to ice the game with 7.4 seconds left.
Utah signee Brooke Walker scored a team-high 12 points for Andover, which will play either Maize South or Emporia in Saturday’s third-place game at 2 p.m.
5A boys: Maize South suffers first loss in semifinals
The undefeated season of Maize South suffered its first loss in the state semifinals, where the Mavericks lost 61-55 to Kansas City Piper at White Auditorium in Emporia.
Maize South played at the state tournament without key player Tory Homan, who was out with an injury. The Mavericks (23-1) will play Topeka Highland Park in Saturday’s third-place game at noon.
After the first half was controlled mostly by Maize South, KC Piper rallied to take a 38-37 lead entering the final quarter. The Pirates steadily increased their lead in the fourth quarter with consistent baskets.
A basket by Maize South’s Sam Kemp cut the deficit to 57-55 with 11.2 seconds left, but that was as close as it would come with KC Piper sinking free throws late to seal a date with Kapaun Mt. Carmel for the title.
6A girls: Derby’s comeback falls short in overtime loss
Derby erased a four-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, but Washburn Rural emerged with a 69-62 win in a semifinal game at Koch Arena in Wichita.
Derby sophomore Macayla Askew scored 35 points on 17-of-24 shooting with 12 rebounds, as the Panthers (20-4) will play Blue Valley North (19-5) in Saturday’s third-place game at noon.
Askew banked in the game-tying basket with 18 seconds left in regulation, which forced overtime after Derby’s defense came up with a final stand.
She also scored a put-back to give her 35 points and trim Washburn Rural’s lead to 64-62 with 51 seconds left in overtime, but the Junior Blues secured the win with five straight points at the foul line. Maddie Vickery scored 24 points to lead Washburn Rural, which will play Shawnee Mission South in its third straight appearance in the 6A final.
4A boys: McPherson back in title game for second straight year
State powerhouse McPherson punched its ticket to the Class 4A state championship game for the second year in a row with a 62-49 win over Baldwin at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
The Bullpups (24-0) will play either Atchison or Hugoton in Saturday’s 6:15 p.m. final, as they look for their 14th title in program history and first since 2015.
Cory Muehler scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting to lead McPherson to the comfortable victory, as Kyden Thompson added 15 points and Gabe Pyle chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
2A girls: Wichita Independent knocks off unbeaten Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan to reach championship
Behind 23 points from freshman Zoey Buckner-Franklin, Wichita Independent handed top seed Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan its first loss of the season in a 48-40 win.
Buckner-Franklin scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone to help the Panthers separate in a tied game.
Independent (21-3) will play Riverside (23-2) in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City.
4A girls: Wellington earns first state-title berth in program history
Wellington’s first trip to a state championship game had about every twist possible.
The Crusaders trailed 10-0 to start its semifinal game against McPherson, then pulled off a 21-point swing to take an 11-point lead in the second half, only for McPherson to rally and force overtime.
In the end, Wellington made 10 of 12 free throws in the extra period to come out on top of a 65-56 victory in overtime to secure a spot in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game against either Fort Scott or Bishop Miege at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Valerie Norwood scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way for the Crusaders (23-1), while Cruz Cornejo added 10 points. Karter Alvord scored 21 points to lead McPherson, while Jayla McLeod had 13, including the game-tying basket with 18 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
The Bullpups (19-5) will play in the third-place game at noon Saturday.
1A girls: Little River continues perfect season to finals
Alaina Eck scored a team-high 20 points to lead Little River to a 50-42 win over Centralia in a semifinal game at the Class 1A Division 1 state tournament at Colby Event Center.
No. 1 seed Little River (25-0) will look to complete its undefeated season with the program’s fifth championship and first since a four-peat from 1995-98 when it plays either South Gray or Frankfort in Saturday’s 6:15 p.m. final.
Little River led 36-34 entering the fourth quarter, but Eck helped give her team a cushion with a steal and three-point play early. That’s all Little River needed to close out the victory.
1A boys: Cunningham stuns top seed to advance to first title game in history
After erasing a 17-point deficit in its opening-round win, Cunningham followed it up by taking down No. 1 seed Dighton, 61-58, to advance to the program’s first state championship game.
Cunningham (21-3) will face either Axtell or Lebo in Saturday’s 4 p.m. final in the Class 1A Division 2 state tournament at Barton Community College in Great Bend.
Luke Albers and Will Wegerer combined for 49 points to engineer the upset. Wegerer’s go-ahead layup with 38 seconds left put Cunningham in front for good, while he added two more free throws in the closing seconds to help secure the victory.
Dighton had three possessions to potentially tie or take the lead, but Cunningham limited the damage to just one point in the final 30 seconds.
KSHSAA basketball state tournament game scores
Class 6A (Koch Arena in Wichita)
Girls: Shawnee Mission South 65, Blue Valley North 49
Boys: Shawnee Mission Northwest 63, Mill Valley 51
Girls: Washburn Rural 69, Derby 62 (OT)
Boys: Wichita Heights 74, Wichita Northwest 32
Class 5A (White Auditorium in Emporia)
Boys: Kapaun Mt. Carmel 67, Topeka Highland Park 64 (OT)
Girls: Topeka Seaman 49, Andover 45
Boys: Kansas City Piper 61, Maize South 55
Girls: Maize South 55, Emporia 47
Class 4A (Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina)
Girls: Wellington 65, McPherson 56
Boys: McPherson 62, Baldwin 49
Girls: Bishop Miege 61, Fort Scott 32
Boys: Hugoton 39, Atchison 38
Class 3A (Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Boys: Wellsville 68, Beloit 49
Girls: Silver Lake 64, Topeka Hayden 49
Boys: Goodland 55, Southeast of Saline 38
Girls: Hesston 40, Goodland 31
Class 2A (United Wireless Arena in Dodge City)
Girls: Riverside 53, Valley Heights 45
Boys: Lyndon 63, Salina Sacred Heart 56
Girls: Wichita Independent 48, Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan 40
Boys: Moundridge 56, Sterling 45
Class 1A Division 1 (Colby Event Center)
Boys: South Gray 68, Olpe 62
Girls: Little River 50, Centralia 42
Boys: Bishop Seabury Academy 73, Quinter 45
Girls: Frankfort 48, South Gray 31
Class 1A Division 2 (Barton Community College)
Boys: Cunningham 61, Dighton 58
Girls: Hanover 56, Northern Valley 28
Boys: Lebo 45, Axtell 38
Girls: Lebo 46, Wallace County 36
Saturday’s KSHSAA basketball state tournament schedule
Class 6A (Koch Arena in Wichita)
Girls 3rd: No. 5 Blue Valley North (19-5) vs. No. 3 Derby (20-4), noon
Boys 3rd: No. 5 Mill Valley (18-5) vs. No. 6 Wichita Northwest (18-6), 2
Girls 1st: No. 1 Shawnee Mission South (23-1) vs. No. 7 Washburn Rural (17-7), 4
Boys 1st: No. 1 Shawnee Mission Northwest (24-0) vs. No. 2 Wichita Heights (23-1), 6:15
Class 5A (White Auditorium in Emporia)
Boys 3rd: No. 2 Topeka Highland Park (22-2) vs. No. 1 Maize South (23-1), noon
Girls 3rd: No. 1 Andover (23-1) vs. No. 3 Emporia (22-2), 2
Boys 1st: No. 3 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (21-3) vs. No. 4 Kansas City Piper (21-3), 4
Girls 1st: No. 4 Topeka Seaman (22-2) vs. No. 2 Maize South (23-1), 6:15
Class 4A (Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina)
Girls 3rd: No. 4 McPherson (19-5) vs. No. 2 Fort Scott (22-2), noon
Boys 3rd: No. 5 Baldwin (20-4) vs. No. 2 Atchison (21-3), 2
Girls 1st: No. 1 Wellington (23-1) vs. No. 3 Bishop Miege (21-3), 4
Boys 1st: No. 1 McPherson (24-0) vs. No. 3 Hugoton (22-2), 6:15
Class 3A (Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Boys 3rd: No. 1 Beloit (23-2) vs. No. 7 Southeast of Saline (15-10), noon
Girls 3rd: No. 5 Topeka Hayden (20-5) vs. No. 2 Goodland (21-4), 2
Boys 1st: No. 4 Wellsville (22-3) vs. No. 3 Goodland (22-3), 4
Girls 1st: No. 1 Silver Lake (25-0) vs. No. 3 Hesston (22-3), 6:15
Class 2A (United Wireless Arena in Dodge City)
Girls 3rd: No. 8 Valley Heights (19-6) vs. No. 2 Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (24-1), noon
Boys 3rd: No. 4 Salina Sacred Heart (21-4) vs. No. 2 Sterling (22-3), 2
Girls 1st: No. 5 Riverside (23-2) vs. No. 6 Wichita Independent (21-3), 4
Boys 1st: No. 1 Lyndon (25-0) vs. No. 3 Moundridge (22-3), 6:15
Class 1A Division 1 (Colby Event Center)
Boys 3rd: No. 5 Olpe (21-4) vs. No. 3 Quinter (21-4), noon
Girls 3rd: No. 5 Centralia (22-3) vs. No. 2 South Gray (23-2), 2
Boys 1st: No. 1 South Gray (23-2) vs. No. 7 Bishop Seabury Academy (21-4), 4
Girls 1st: No. 1 Little River (25-0) vs. No. 6 Frankfort (22-3), 6:15
Class 1A Division 2 (Barton Community College)
Boys 3rd: No. 1 Dighton (23-2) vs. No. 2 Axtell (22-3), noon
Girls 3rd: No. 8 Northern Valley (13-12) vs. No. 3 Wallace County (21-4), 2
Boys 1st: No. 4 Cunningham (21-3) vs. No. 6 Lebo (18-7), 4
Girls 1st: No. 5 Hanover (22-4) vs. No. 2 Lebo (23-2), 6:15
