By Nikol Babb [email protected]
Last week, the Towanda Fire Department was one of 20 volunteer firefighters given special equipment designed to help remove carcinogenic chemicals from the bunker equipment used to protect volunteers as they work. Thanks to the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment & Safety Grant, the department was able to receive the machine at no cost to them.
The Continental Girbau Inc. EH020 Commercial Washer Extractor will clean your department equipment significantly better than the regular washer they previously had. Extractors are more energy and resource efficient, using less water and energy resources to wash tools, saving on water and electricity/gas bills. The extractors are also programmed to spin the gear at a much higher speed, allowing the machine to extract more soot and chemicals than a typical washing machine.
This machine is important to the team because it reduces the risk of members developing cancer from exposure to carcinogens. The leading cause of death for firefighters is cancer from prolonged exposure to chemicals released during home fires.
In addition to receiving the puller, the fire crew also received $15,000 in funding to purchase new bunker equipment. They will purchase five new sets to provide to volunteers. Bunker equipment sets include pants, coat, helmet, gloves, boots, and a flashing hood.
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Gardner-Edgerton 15;9;8;11—43 Corn South;12;11;3;18—44 GARDNER-EDGERTON (6-5): Schaffer 18; 9 0-0 18; Leiker 4 0-0 8; Cunningham 1(1) 2-2 7; Ratley 1 1-1 3; Pemberton 1 0-0 2; Moss 1 0-0 2; Green 1 1-2 3. TOTAL: 18 (1) 4-5 43.
SOUTH CORN (9-3): Lowe 4 (1) 5-8 16; Hurley 1(2) 0-0 8; Lip crest 1 (1) 2-2 7; Brunton 3 1-2 7; Kratzer 1 0-0 2; Howie 1 2-4 4. TOTALS: 11 (4) 10-16 44.
Free throws go their own way as East gets to third
Just hours after allowing 49 free throws, Wichita East found themselves the benefactor of the whistle.
Wichita East hit 23 free throws, including 13 in the second half as the Blues Aces pulled away late against Goddard, 4032 to secure third place in the Lady Cat Classic.
Third-place finish for Wichita East is the highest finish in the tournament since they took third place in 2018.
After Goddard’s Potter hit a runner at the buzzer in the first quarter, it was the Wichita East defense that turned up the dial. They forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter and that led to a handful of opportunities on the offensive end. However, twice Wichita East was called for a charge or player control foul. It was Jayliah Manuel and Amiyah Hamilton who teamed up for five points in the half to take Wichita East out of fourth.
It wasn’t until a Nyah Chandler breakaway layup that the Blue Aces found some momentum. Lui also hit two free throws with less than a minute left in the half to give them a 17-12 lead at the half.
Marayah Coleman tried to keep her team going as she hit a three, then caught the defense off guard, sliding behind for the lay up.
Goddard retook the lead just early in the fourth quarter on two free throws by Coleman but the Blue Aces soon had an answer. It was Cimea Hadley who scored on a layup and then Heyei Davis who had a unique opportunity.
Wichita East (5-6) definitely took the lead as Coleman would hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final three minutes of the game.
The Wichita East defense proved to be a big difference. They forced 24 turnovers in the win and kept Goddard out of the free throw line, with only eight attempts in the game.
Chandler finished with 20 for the Blue Aces to lead all scorers. Coleman had 11 before a late bust for Goddard.
WICHITA EAST 40, GODDARD 32
Goddard;10;2;14;6—32 Wichita East;9;8;10;16—40 GODDARD (2-10): Coleman 2 (1) 4-4 11; Potter 3 0-0 6; Gordon 0(1) 3-4 6; Albino 2 0-0 4; Bower 0 (1) 0-0 3; LaPlant 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 8 (3) 7-8 32.
WICHITA EAST (4-7): N. Chandler 5 10-12 20; Manuel 2 2-2 6; Davis 1(1) 0-15; Hadley 1 3-4 5; Hamilton 2 0-0 4; LaPlant 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 (1) 15-23 40.
Romer’s 27 put Kapaun in fifth place
Lizzie Romer scored 27 points as Kapaun Mount Carmel overcame a slow start to the tournament, finishing strong to beat Augusta 57-43 to secure fifth place in the Lady Cat Classic.
Romer’s 27 points are seventh in tournament history, tied with two others. It hasn’t been done since 2012.
Kapaun came in as the No. 2 seed in the tournament but was upset by Goddard on day one. However, they compensated with two impressive victories on Friday and Saturday, winning both games by comfortable margins. The Crusaders (7-5) caught fire in the first quarter against Augusta, despite hot shooting by Avery Williams, making three 3s in the quarter. They had shot 56% in the first half, building a 36-21 lead before halftime.
The Orioles (5-7) were able to go within 11 early in the third quarter on consecutive field goal shots. However, Kapaun used his speed to drive and hit the line, going 3 for 6 over the next few minutes. After an error by Williams, it was Meave Fleming who reclaimed the lead to make Augusta up 41-27 with just over three minutes left in the third.
Williams then began to get into her groove. He found success blocking, getting fouled and making a couple of free throws. Then, he rounded the baseline, putting up a layup. He followed that up with a 3-pointer with 6:55 to go in the third as Augusta shot with 41-36.
Kapaun finally stopped Augusta’s run when Romer caught a ball on pace and drained a corner three to put KMC ahead by eight. Then, they tied up the offensive foul at the other end. It allowed the Crusaders to beat the press, and Romer was able to draw the old 3-point game to get Kapaun into double figures less than 50 seconds after Augusta cut it to five.
Romer scored 15 of Kapaun’s 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Crusaders pulled away from Augusta.
Williams finished with 21 points for the Orioles, including hitting four threes in the game.
KAPAUN 57, AUGUSTA 43
Augsburg;16;5;10;12—43 Kapaun;21;15;5;16—57 AUGUST (5-7): Williams 2(4) 5-8; Brundège 3 1-3 7; Wells 2 0-0 4; Fleming 2 0-1 4; Quezada 0 2-2 2; Haskell 1 0-0 2; Peterson 0 3-4 3. TOTALS: 10 (4) 11-18 43.
KAPAUN (7-5): Romer 3(5) 6-7 27; Phister 3 (1) 5-8 14; Spires 2 (1) 7; Gimini 1 3-6 5; Jones 2 0-2 4.TOTALS: 11 (7) 11-23 57.
The three-point barrage puts Mill Valley in seventh place
Mill Valley opened a close game in the second quarter with five 3-pointers as Mill Valley captured seventh place in the Lady Cat Classic, with a 52-20 victory over El Dorado.
The Lady Cats (2-9) never had an answer for shots as they opened and hit them contested. El Dorado had opportunities but kept turning the ball against the trap they’ve been seeing all tournament long.
Mill Valley led 30-8 before Sydney Scholes scored a bucket and was hurt. Then, Kaydence Voyles hit a key high 3-pointer to bring El Dorado within 20 once again. She also hit a floater down the baseline to keep up El Dorado’s pace.
However, filming Mill Valley was a bit too much for the Lady Cats. Already playing in the always tough Sunflower League, Mill Valley proved to be better than their record (3-10), with shooting performance improving in every game as the tournament went on. They sank seven threes all together and shot 43 percent in the afternoon. They also forced 30 El Dorado turnovers in the win.
The Jaguars were led in scoring by Keira Franken, who scored 15 points in the win for Mill Valley. Averie London also had 12 points for Mill Valley.
Scholes and Voyles each had five points to lead El Dorado in scoring.
MILL VALLE 52, EL DORADO 20
El Dorado;6;2;7;5—20 Mill Valley;7;21;16;8—52 EL DORADO (2-9): Scholes 1 0-0 3-9 5; Voyles 1 (1) 0-0 5; Baker 0(1) 0-0 3; Motter 1 0-0 2; Parsons 0 2-2 2; Nesmith 0 1-2 1; Wade 1 0-3 2. TOTALS: 4 (2) 6-18 20.
MILL VALLEY (3-10): Franken 2 (3) 2-3 15; London 5 2-3 12; Kennedy 0(2) 0-0 6; Pringle 1 (1) 0-0 5; Special 1 0-0 2-2 4; Kurzejeski 1 0-0 2; Benson 0 2-2 2; Roth 1 1-2 3; Hoelting 0 (1) 0-0 3. TOTALS: 11 (7) 9-12 52.
30TH ANNUAL LADY CAT CLASSIC
Thursday 26 January Race 1: n. 1 Maize South 52, no. 8 Mill Valley 20 Game 2: No. 5 Wichita East 47, No. 4 Augsburg 32 game 3: no. Carmel 31 Race 4: No. 3 Gardner-Edgerton 46, No. 6 El Dorado 16 Friday Jan. 27 Race 5: Augusta 32, Mill Valley 31 Race 6: Kapaun 55, El Dorado 23 Race 7: Gardner-Edgerton 54, Goddard 20 Game 8: Maize South 68, Wichita East 45 Saturday, January 28 7th Game: Mill Valley 52, El Dorado 20 5th Game: Kapaun 57, Augusta 43 3rd Game: Wichita East 40, Goddard 32 Championship: Maize South 44, Gardner-Edgerton 43
