Olathe South girls fall to Washburn Rural in Kansas Class 6A state tourney

The grimace on coach Steve Ingram’s face said it all as he somberly walked into the Olathe South locker room on Thursday evening.

Olathe South had come close — even tying the score with just less than seven minutes on the clock — but eventually fell 52-43 to Washburn Rural in the Kansas Class 6A state quarterfinals at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.

Regardless, he had the Falcons laughing again before they emerged and returned to the court to greet their friends and family.

He said their success without Kansas signee Kylee Kopatich, who sustained a preseason ACL injury, made this year’s share of the Sunflower League title and 11th consecutive trip to state a cause to celebrate.

“It’s a very emotional time, and you have to let them know what they accomplished,” Ingram said. “Who would have thought that we could win league, or share it, or get to state or win 19 games. The credit goes to those girls and how hard they worked.”

Olathe South trailed by one point going into the fourth quarter and tied up the score with 6:54 on the clock but was outscored 18-9 in the final stretch.

Kacey Kennett and Jordan Morton each scored 12 points for the Falcons, who finished with a 19-4 record.

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Olathe South girls fall to Washburn Rural in Kansas Class 6A state tourney."