Aquinas girls capture third straight Kansas 5A state championship

A textbook example of team play carried St. Thomas Aquinas to its third straight Kansas 5A girls state championship.

Leading from start to finish, the Saints beat Bishop Carroll 54-40 on Saturday at the Kansas Expocentre and concluded their season 23-2.

“It is so much fun. We have a such a close relationship with each other,” said Aquinas senior center Allison Thomas, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. “We worked hard for this all season.”

The Saints relied on each other down the stretch to pull out the victory. A 10-point lead quickly slipped to five when Bishop Carroll knocked down a three-pointer, making it 45-40.

Aquinas answered by using crisp passing to break a full-court press. That led to a layup by sophomore Molly Hartnett that pushed the lead back to seven.

“That play was pretty important,” said Hartnett, who scored a team-high 14 points. “It helped us grow our lead and got us more pumped up.”

Throughout the second half, the Saints had moments in which they needed to rely on each other for clutch baskets. One of the biggest came early in the third quarter. Bishop Carroll scored the first six points to start the second half, closing to 28-24.

Aquinas coach Rick Hetzel called a timeout. The Saints came out and made several quick passes that led to a wide-open, three-pointer by junior Blythe Pearson. She swished it, and the Saints were up 31-24.

“We are all fighting together,” said Pearson, who finished with13 points. “It is a team sport. That is the most important part of it.”

Late in the third quarter, Bishop Carroll again cut its deficit to four at 37-33. Aquinas responded with a combination of passes that led to an open look for Pearson beyond the three-point arc. She nailed it with one second left. Aquinas went into the final quarter ahead 40-33.

“Any three-pointer at the end of a quarter, a buzzer-beater, it gets us pumped up,” Pearson said. “We worked together to get that shot. No one is like, ‘I’m taking this shot’ We get that shot together.”

In the first half, Aquinas proved that five players scoring will top a lone scorer nearly every time. Because the Saints used balanced scoring, they went into halftime ahead 28-18.

Aquinas scored the first six points in the game, getting inside buckets from Thomas and junior Alayna Townsell. Senior Sereena Weledji chipped in two free throws.

Bishop Carroll finally got on the scoreboard on a basket by senior Ashton McCorry, and she had that look in her eye that she was going to carry the Golden Eagles.

After a basket by Weledji, McCorry knocked down a three-pointer. She ended up scoring all nine points for Bishop Carroll in the first quarter.

But Aquinas went into the second quarter with a 14-9 lead because four of the Saints' five starters scored at least two points.

And at the start of the second quarter, the fifth starter scored. Hartnett knocked down a long three-pointer, making it 17-9.

The Saints were efficient behind the arc in the first half, knocking down all three attempts.

Boys' third place: Pittsburg 58, Mill Valley 56

Mill Valley gave up the first 10 points and spent the rest of the game trying to catch Pittsburg, but was never able to complete the comeback. Despite several runs, Mill Valley lost Saturday afternoon in the Kansas 5A boys third-place game at the Kansas Expocentre. Mill Valley finished its season 12-13.

After its slow start, Mill Valley closed to 12-8 on a basket by senior Samuel Rebeck. The Jaguars went into the second quarter trailing 17-10.

Pittsburg opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, pushing its lead back to 10. The closest Mill Valley got in the second quarter was 25-19 after a three-pointer by senior Cooper Kaifes, who finished with a game-high 28 points.

Mill Valley stayed close. At halftime, the Jaguars trailed 31-24. Pittsburg got a little separation in the third quarter, building a 47-35 lead with one quarter left.

The Jaguars made another push, scoring the first six points in the fourth quarter, making it 47-41. Pittsburg called a timeout and scored the next four points for a 10-point advantage once again.

Mill Valley had one more run in it. With 1:03 left, Rebeck knocked down a three-pointer, pulling the Jaguars within two at 55-53.

This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Aquinas girls capture third straight Kansas 5A state championship."