Andover Central, Maize South win Kansas high school girls basketball tournament titles

When the time came to help Andover Central win a championship, Haven Deckinger and Jaylee Jefferson were ready for the moment.

Neither player is a star scorer for the Jaguars, but they each came up clutch with two of the biggest three-pointers of the season in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Newton Invitational Tournament title game against Bishop Carroll, the undefeated and No. 2-ranked team in Class 5A.

Deckinger and Jefferson hit the two key shots to help deliver the NIT championship to Andover Central in a 41-34 win over Bishop Carroll, as the Jaguars (9-3) won their eighth straight game and dealt the Golden Eagles (12-1) their first loss of the season.

It was a championship-worthy game between two of 5A’s best, as the score was locked in a 25-25 tie entering the fourth quarter.

Deckinger drilled a corner three within the first 15 seconds of the fourth quarter to arm Andover Central with a lead it never relinquished. When Carroll trimmed the deficit to 30-29, Jefferson swished a three-pointer in the same left corner on a kick-out pass by Taylin Tabor to extend Central’s lead to 33-29 with 3:10 remaining.

Carroll’s Leah Henke made two free throws to trim the deficit and Carroll had a good look in the paint trailing 35-32 in the final minute but missed and had to foul. Brynn Steven scored in transition to cut Central’s lead to 37-34 with 16 seconds left, but Deckinger made two straight free throws with 13 seconds left to secure the victory.

Central also had strong games from its two leading scorers in junior guard Haven Snodgrass (team-high 13 points, seven rebounds) and senior forward Maddie Amekporfor (eight points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals).

With Kansas high school girls basketball midseason tournament championships being decided on Saturday, here are three other Wichita-area winners to know:

1. Maize South rallies for dramatic win to claim El Dorado championship

Needing stops and scores trailing Gardner Edgerton by eight points with less than four minutes left in the Lady Cat Classic title game, Maize South found exactly what it was looking for.

The Mavericks ended the game on a 9-0 run, culminating with a game-winning layup by senior Avery Lowe in the final minute, to pull off a stunning 44-43 win over Gardner Edgerton to win the El Dorado tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.

The comeback began at the foul line, as Amani Lipscomb and Ava Howie both made a pair of free throws to trim Gardner Edgerton’s lead to 43-39 with 2:46 remaining.

That’s when Lowe, a Nebraska Kearney recruit, took over.

A scramble for the loose ball was won by Maize South and the 6-foot-2 senior was left wide open at the top of the key, where she calmly buried a three-pointer to bring the Mavericks to within 43-42 with 2:12 left. Seconds later, Lowe swarmed on defense to force a turnover.

But a charge on Lowe wiped out what would have been a go-ahead basket, meaning Maize South needed another stop in the final 90 seconds. Lipscomb, the Mavericks’ scrappy junior point guard, came up with the big play to swat away a pass and force a turnover.

On the game’s biggest play, Maize South ran a pick-and-roll with Sophie Hurley as the ball handler and Lowe as the screener. Lowe was open on the roll, but Hurley didn’t have the angle, so she passed to the top of the key to freshman Kaylee Brunton, who was able to find Lowe inside with a mismatch for an easy go-ahead basket with 45 seconds left.

Gardner Edgerton missed a potential go-ahead three with 10 seconds left and had a desperation heave from half court as the buzzer sounded, but both shots missed their mark.

Lowe finished with a team-high 16 points and earned tournament MVP honors, while Hurley added eight points and Lipscomb and Brunton both had seven for a Maize South (9-3) team that extended its winning streak to six games.

2. Cheney overwhelms Garden Plain to capture Haven tournament title

Cheney looked every bit like a Class 3A championship contender this week in Haven to capture the Wildcat Classic with three straight double-digit wins, including Saturday’s 45-31 victory over Garden Plain in the finals.

The No. 4-ranked team in Class 3A, the Cardinals improved to 12-1 won their 11th straight game of the season, including two over their Central Plains League rival Garden Plain, which dropped to 8-5 on the season.

Always gritty, Garden Plain held Cheney scoreless for the first six minutes of the second quarter to trim the deficit to 12-10. But the Cardinals would end the half on an 8-0 run, as San Diego State volleyball commit Campbell Hague scored or assisted on seven of the points to put Cheney up 20-12 at halftime.

The Owls had one more run left in them, as Madelyn Rolfs drilled a three to trim Cheney’s lead to 27-21 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter. But Cheney once again had an immediate answer.

Within 20 seconds of Rolfs’ three, Cheney responded with a triple of its own when Anna Martin canned a corner three to kick off an 8-0 run to close out the quarter. Reagan Ayres (game-high 14 points) ended the rally with another three to stake Cheney to a 35-23 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Cheney once again found success in its post combination of Hague (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Leah Durr (10 points), while Madelyn Rolfs led Garden Plain with nine points and Ryleigh Stuhlsatz added eight.

The two teams will meet for a third time this season, this time in league play, in just three days when Garden Plain hosts Cheney on Tuesday.

3. Wellington has few issues keeping undefeated season going with Mulvane title

There was little turbulence in keeping the perfect season alive for Wellington at the Wildcat Classic.

The Crusaders cruised to three straight victories to claim the tournament title in Mulvane, culminating with a 39-23 win over host Mulvane on Saturday.

Val Norwood scored a team-high 12 points, as the Crusaders methodically pulled away from Mulvane to improve to 13-0 this season. Norwood was named the tournament MVP, while Britt Zeka and Kylan Gregory were both named to the all-tournament team.

Kansas high school girls basketball mid-season tournament game scores

Glaciers Edge (Emporia)

1st: Topeka Seaman 46, Emporia 43

3rd: Derby 50, Wichita Heights 33

5th: SM West 57, BV Southwest 39

7th: Maize 47, SM East 41

Firebird Winter Classic (Lawrence)

1st: Topeka 56, Blue Valley 51

3rd: Lawrence 50, Goddard Eisenhower 38

5th: Wichita Northwest 59, Topeka West 53

7th: Great Bend 64, Lawrence Free State 19

Thunderbird Classic (Shawnee Heights)

1st: SM South 53, Wichita South 48

3rd: Washburn Rural 44, Hutchinson 28

Mid America Classic (McPherson)

1st: St. James Academy 49, Wichita Southeast 38

3rd: McPherson 62, Clearwater 39

5th: Manhattan 46, Dodge City 35

7th: Olathe South 51, Valley Center 29

Newton Invitational Tournament

1st: Andover Central 41, Bishop Carroll 34

3rd: Olathe Northwest 31, SM Northwest 22

5th: Newton 40, Garden City 30

7th: Trinity Academy 35, Olathe East 30

Lady Cat Classic (El Dorado)

1st: Maize South 44, Gardner Edgerton 43

3rd: Wichita East 40, Goddard 32

5th: Kapaun Mt. Carmel 57, Augusta 43

7th: Mill Valley 52, El Dorado 20

Wildcat Classic (Mulvane)

1st: Wellington 39, Mulvane 23

3rd: Conway Springs 33, Arkansas City 31

5th: Winfield 34, Wichita North 26

7th: Collegiate 52, Campus 26

Wildcat Classic (Haven)

1st: Cheney 45, Garden Plain 31

3rd: Andale 31, Haven 29

5th: Circle 35, Halstead 29

7th: Nickerson 57, Rose Hill 33

Eli J. Walter Tournament (Berean Academy)

1st: Sunrise Christian 73, Little River 65

3rd: Berean Academy 46, Ell-Saline 13

5th: Hutchinson Central Christian 52, Wichita Homeschool 41