How Olathe North, Blue Valley North advanced at Kansas 6A girls state basketball tournament

Here are some highlights from Thursday’s action at the Kansas Class 6A girls high school basketball tournaments in Wichita.

The state tournaments for boys and girls basketball in all classifications continue through Saturday.

Visit 810Varsity.com for more recaps, brackets, broadcasts links and more.

Wichita Heights 60, Olathe West 57 (OT)

Olathe West’s heroics in the final seconds were one-upped by SaMiyah Ellis.

The Wichita Heights senior hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Falcons a thrilling 60-57 win in overtime in their Class 6A quarterfinal.

Six seconds earlier, Owls junior Jessica Borders hit a step-back 3 to tie the game at 57-57. But following a timeout, Ellis received a pass and fired up a 3 from 28 feet away — which splashed in as the buzzer went off. And on went the celebration.

“It was awesome for us to handle adversity and come back from it and do the things that we had to do to find a way to win,” stated Falcons head coach Kenneth Palmer.

Heights held a 37-29 lead after the third quarter, but West came out hot in the fourth with senior Emma Sales scoring four quick points alongside a 3 from junior Lexi Cooley. The rest of the quarter went back and forth as Cooley finished the quarter with nine of her 15 points to will Olathe West into the extra period.

The Falcons endured a sluggish fourth, mustering 10 points as leading scorer senior Kennadi Jackson, who finished the game with 17 points, managed four after the third period.

With 0:17 left in regulation, Owls junior Molly Collins made a layup to send the game into overtime with both teams deadlocked at 47-47.

Both teams traded buckets through overtime Then, with 0:18 left, junior Halle Clemons made both free throws to give the Falcons a 57-54 lead. But the huge 3 by Borders from the right side of the arc tied the game and Heights called timeout.

Out of the timeout, Jackson brought the ball up and then passed it to Ellis at the edge of the logo. She threw up the game-winning 28-footer at the horn. Teammates swarmed Ellis at midcourt after the ball went through the net.

“Everyone was excited, we had some great bench play tonight that made huge plays at the end of the game,” said Palmer. “Now we’ve got to get everybody focused and ready as we’ve got two more games to try and win”.

Olathe West finished its season with a record of 16-7. Wichita Heights moved to 20-3 and advanced to face No. 3 seeded Blue Valley North in the semifinals Friday.

BV North 45, Washburn Rural 39

In a rematch of the 2023 state championship game, Blue Valley North once again ended the run of Washburn Rural.

The No. 3-seeded Mustangs beat the No. 6-seeded Junior Blues 45-39. In a game with seven lead changes, BV North was able to hold the lead when it mattered.

At halftime, the Mustangs were down 21-20. Neither team could seem to pull away in a half ruled by defense.

“Our shots weren’t falling, so just being able to make it up on the other side of the court was super important,” said senior All-American Jaliya Davis.

Neither team could get much of anything rolling on offense. Washburn Rural shot 30% from the field whereas BV North shot 37% and 11% from beyond the arc. Senior Aubrey Shaw and Davis combined for all 12 of the team’s third-quarter points and finished with 12 and 26 respectively.

Sophomore Maddie Vickery scored six of Rural’s eight in the third, finishing the game with 12 points.

Washburn Rural came into the fourth on a scoring drought that had lasted the final 6:05 of the third and the first 3:19 of the fourth. Junior Ella Hirschi ended the drought with a 3-point jumper, making the score 32-25 with 4:41 left, but North sealed the game down the stretch.

“We’re going to come out tomorrow with the same energy,” said Davis. “Try and come out with more energy in the first half to make up for today, but staying together and playing our game”.

Washburn Rural ended its season with a record of 16-7. Blue Valley North improved to 19-4, advancing to the semifinals to face No. 2 seeded Wichita Heights.

Olathe North 63, Olathe South 52

In a crosstown rivalry game nearly 200 miles south of each school, Olathe North repeated the result just the same.

The No. 5-seeded Eagles beat No. 4-seeded Olathe South 63-52 in a Class 6A quarterfinal Thursday. The Eagles controlled the game from the opening tip to the final buzzer in advancing to the semifinals. Olathe North beat South earlier in January 38-30.

At the end of the second quarter, the Eagles built a 27-15 lead over the Falcons. O-South could only score four points on two made field goals in the second quarter from sophomore Eve Long, who finished the game with 19 points.

Asia Lee exploded for 17 of the Eagles’ 18 points in the third, finishing the game with 37 points. Late in the quarter, the Falcons rallied for an 8-3 run led by senior Keira Ho, sophomore Brooke Maupin, and freshman Morgan Steinmueller to bring the score to 40-31.

The fourth opened with eight consecutive empty possessions by both teams. The first points of the quarter came on a layup by Lee. Long tried to keep the Falcons in the game, scoring 11 points in the fourth. But O-North hit its free throws down the stretch to keep O-South at an arm’s reach.

Olathe South finished the season at 18-5. Olathe North improved to 18-5 and advanced to meet No. 1-seeded Derby on Friday in the semis.

More state basketball action, including Class 5A boys

Piper 70, Shawnee Heights 52 (5A boys)

Just when Shawnee Heights looked to give Piper a scare, the Pirates put their foot down for good.

Piper used a 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter in its Kansas Class 5A quarterfinal and rolled over its United Kansas Conference rival 70-52 on Thursday in Emporia. The Pirates advance to the semifinals for the second straight year.

Piper (20-3) swept the two meetings earlier in the season, and looked to blow the doors off White Auditorium after a PJ Moore 3 in the corner for a 37-21 lead with 1:45 left before halftime. The Pirates scorched the nets by hitting 7-of-10 3-point attempts in the first half.

But Moore picked up a technical, and from that point the Thunderbirds mounted a charge fueled by a pair of Ontarius Emmot 3s. Heights pulled to 50-48 after a Da’Quan Lee stick-back at the horn of the third quarter.

“The tech certainly didn’t help, and we got out of sync there for awhile, and missed some shots while Heights hit some big buckets,” said Piper head coach Steve Wallace.

But the Thunderbirds (19-4) cooled while freshman Isaiah Sayles hit two inside buckets, including one for an and-one, and junior Johnny Vogel canned a 3 on the left side. Then junior Alamar Brooks got a steal and layup, then hit a 3 from the right corner, and suddenly Piper exploded for a 65-48 cushion with 3:11 left.

“We started moving the ball better and cranked up our defensive intensity, challenging shots better and getting out in transition,” Wallace said.

Moore led the Pirates with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Sayles posted 16 points. Jaret Sanchez paced the T-Birds with 16 points and seven boards

Piper advanced to face No. 1 seed Highland Park at 4 pm on Friday.

Other scores

Class 5A boys

Andover 76, Bonner Springs 60

Class 4A girls

Bishop Miege 68, Eudora 35

Class 3A boys

Galena 55, Bishop Ward 48

This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 12:47 AM.