Bishop Miege girls win, will play Paola for state title in battle of 24-0 teams

The Bishop Miege girls took the lead with 2 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in Friday’s Kansas Class 4A Division I state semifinal game and the Stags, it seemed, collectively exhaled.

“I thought, when we got the lead, we relaxed and played pretty well down the stretch,” Miege coach Terry English said. “We made our free throws. We dominated the boards.”

Miege defeated Topeka Hayden 53-44 at the Salina Bicentennial Center. The Stags will play Paola in the state championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday in a battle of 24-0 teams.

“It’s nice to be back again,” Miege senior forward Madeline Homoly said. “You know, we (won) it last year, so hopefully we’ll get to repeat again this year. It would be really cool to do it with my team.”

Miege, according to English, didn’t play well until late in Friday’s semifinal.

“I thought for three and a half quarters they outplayed us,” English said. “Their legs were a lot better than our legs. We couldn’t stay with them. We had to call off the press, they were going right by us. (Hayden’s Kirah Lohse) had the most speed on the floor tonight …. They did a good job against us all night.”

Homoly tied the score at 42-all by hitting two free throws with 3:31 left in the game. Less than a minute later, she scored inside to give Miege the lead. After Lakesha Lamaster-Stephens blocked a Topeka Hayden shot, Shelbie Piggie drove inside and scored for a 46-42 lead.

Miege went on a 13-2 run during the game’s final 3 minutes, 31 seconds.

“We were not really playing together,” said Homoly, who had a game-high 17 points. “We were off a little bit. I think we really pulled it together. Everyone fought to get it done.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Bishop Miege girls win, will play Paola for state title in battle of 24-0 teams."