The Bishop Carroll women’s basketball team’s perfect record survived its jittery moments of the season this week.
On Tuesday, Carroll arrived in the clutch on his way to triumph in a back-and-forth battle with South-East for a 45-42 victory to take full control of the City League championship race.
Playing their third game in as many days on Thursday, the Golden Eagles survived a late Shawnee Mission Northwest rally to hold on for a 50-47 victory in the semifinals of the Newton Invitational Tournament.
In his two closest games of the season, Carroll showed why he’s ranked No. 2 in Class 5A and improved his season record to 12-0 under head coach Taylor Dugan. The team will have a day off before preparing for what is expected to be another tough challenge in Saturday’s 5pm championship game against Andover Central (No. 9 in 5A) or Olathe Northwest (No. 9 in 6A) .
While the Southeast game was a real back-and-forth affair, Carroll’s semifinal against SM Northwest on Thursday was more one-sided.
All five starters scored for the Golden Eagles as they opened the game on a 12-0 run, which included layups by Brynn Steven and Lilly Martin, a jumper by Landon Forbes, and three-pointers by Ellie McKellips and Leah Henke.
But Carroll turned icy after his fiery start, clinging to a 17-15 lead at halftime. The hot shooting returned in the third quarter, as Henke hit two straight layups and McKellips added another 3-pointer to make it 7-0 at halftime.
It looked like Carroll would cruise to another double-digit victory as he opened up a 41-26 lead early in the fourth quarter. SM Northwest had other plans.
The Cougars connected on three straight 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 49-43 in the final minute. Carroll led 50-43 with 12.2 seconds left, but SM Northwest scored, intercepted the inbound pass, and then scored again to get within three points in the final second.
Henke, a 5-foot-7 sophomore guard, was superb for Carroll during this critical week, scoring 17 points in Southeast’s win and adding 20 points against SM Northwest.
Carroll also had contributions from Liza Dugan, Laynie Winfrey and Avery McCorry during her undefeated season.
Thursday Kansas High School Girls Basketball Midseason Tournament Game Results
Edge of the Glaciers (Emporia)
Derby 61, SM East 43
Emporia 56, Corn 27
Topeka Seaman 60, SM West 52
Wichita Heights 61, BV Southwest 31
Free State Winter Classic (Lawrence)
Valle Blu 61, Grande Ansa 41
Goddard Eisenhower 53, Lawrence Free State 14
Lawrence 41, Topeka West 33
Topeka 61, Wichita NW 34
Classic Thunderbird (Shawnee Heights)
Hutchinson 48, SM North 23
Washburn Rural 44, Life Prep 41 (OT)
Wichita South 31, Shawnee Heights 28
Mid America Classic (McPherson)
Clearwater 49, Dodge City 38
McPherson 47, Centro Valle 27
St. James Academy 64, Manhattan 31
Wichita Southeast 62, Olathe South 57
I invite Newton
Suits: Bishop Carroll 50, SM Northwest 47
Andover Central 55, Trinity Academy 15
Olathe Northwest 48, Newton 22
Lady Cat Classic (El Dorado)
Gardner Edgerton 46, El Dorado 16
Goddard 43, Kapaun Mount Carmel 31
South Corn 52, Mill Valley 20
Wichita East 47, Augusta 32
Classic Wildcat (Mulvane)
Mulvane 36, Conway Springs 31
Wellington 62, Arkansas City 53
Wichita North 48, Collegiate 37
Winfield 43, Campus
Wildcat Classic (Shelter)
Andale 53, Halstead 34
Cheney 48, Nickerson 9
Garden Level 50, Circle 41
Haven 52, Rose Hill 23
Invitation to Sedgwick
Chaparral 44, Sedgwick 28
Moundridge 50, Belle Plaine 36
Eli J. Walter Tournament (Berean Academy)
Little River 63, Hutchinson Central Christian 35
Sunrise Christian 51, Berean Academy 49
Friday’s Kansas High School Girls Midseason Basketball Tournament schedule
Note: All game times listed are pm
Edge of the Glaciers (Emporia)
SM West versus SM East, 3:15
Corn vs. BV Southwest, 4:45am
Semifinal: Topeka Seaman vs Derby, 6:15am
Semifinal: Emporia vs. Wichita Heights, 7:45am
Free State Winter Classic (Lawrence)
Great Bend vs. Topeka West, 3
Lawrence Free State vs. Wichita Northwest, 4:30pm
Suits: Blue Valley vs. Lawrence, 6
Seeds: Goddard Eisenhower vs. Topeka, 7:30
Classic Thunderbird (Shawnee Heights)
Shawnee Heights vs. SM North, 4
Seeds: Wichita South vs. Hutchinson, 5:30
Suits: SM South v Washburn Rural, 7
Mid America Classic (McPherson)
Olathe South vs. Dodge City, 3
Valley Center vs. Manhattan, 4:45pm
Semifinal: Wichita Southeast vs. Clearwater, 6:30
Semifinal: McPherson vs. St. James Academy, 8:15am
I invite Newton
Trinity Academy vs Newton, 4
SM Northwest vs. Garden City, 6
Seeds: Andover Central vs. Olathe Northwest, 8
Lady Cat Classic (El Dorado)
Mill Valley vs. Augusta, 2:30
El Dorado vs. Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 4:15
Suits: Gardner Edgerton vs. Goddard, 6
Semifinal: Maize South vs. Wichita East, 7:45am
Wildcat Classic (Shelter)
Rose Hill vs. Circle, 3
Nickerson v Halstead, 4:30pm
Semifinal: Cheney vs. Andale, 6
Semifinal: Haven vs. Garden Plain, 7:30am
