The Hype Box

Monday, March 3, 2008
The members of Fort Scott High School's 2008 State Tournament team are (from left): Front row -- Monica Dikeman, Katelyn Simpson, Hannah Hawkins, Ashley Cavin, Joce Allen and Elizabeth Meech; Back row -- Brieanna Jones, Courtney Carpenter, Jolee Sharp, Sammi Therwanger, Afton Gray, Rachel Allen, Jamie Collins, Brittany Bingesser, Kori Page Rienbolt and manager Kim Henry. (Special to the Tribune/Tom Braker).

Class 4A Girls' State Basketball Tournament

Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Bicentennial Center, Salina

Last year: Colby (24-2) defeated Augusta (23-3) in the championship game, 58-46. Andover Central (23-3) defeated Tonganoxie (23-3) in the third-place game, 56-46.

2008 seeds and records: 1. Colby, 23-0; 2. Andover Central, 23-0; 3. Abilene, 23-0; 4. Basehor-Linwood, 22-1; 5. Holton, 22-1; 6. Labette County, 21-2; 7. Fort Scott, 17-5; 8. Andale, 15-8.

Ranked teams: Andover Central is No. 1 in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll while Colby is No. 2, Basehor-Linwood is No. 3, Abilene is No. 4, Holton is No. 5 and Labette County is No. 6. Nos. 7 through 10, Tonganoxie, Louisburg, Buhler and Topeka Hayden, respectively, did not qualify.

Who's back: Abilene, Andover Central, Colby and Holton qualified for this tournament last season.

Schedule: You can find the schedule by going to the State Tournament Schedule page.

Previous champions in the field: Andale was Class 4A champion in 1984, 1999 and 2002. Colby was 4A champion in 2007. Holton was 4A champion in 1994.

About your Tigers: This is Fort Scott's first trip to State since 2004. The Tigers lost to Abilene in the first round that season....The Tigers might just sneak up on some teams -- literally. The Tigers create 24 1/2 turnovers per game and also pick up an average of 14 steals. Sophomore Jolee Sharp, who just has that nose for the ball, averages 4.5 steals a game to lead the team. Fort Scott does turn the ball over 18 times a game and that is a number that coaches would like to see be a bit lower. But it could be that high just because it's the pace the Tigers play....Sharp is also the Tigers' leader in scoring (11.9 points per game) and rebounds (8.1 rebounds/game). Sharp has recorded seven double-doubles this season. For those unfamiliar with the term, that's when a person gets 10 or more in any particular stat. In Sharp's case, all of her's are 10+ points and 10+ rebounds....Junior Kori Page Rienbolt is second in scoring (10.3) while senior Afton Gray is third (9.9). Senior Hannah Hawkins is second in rebounds (4.5) with Rienbolt third (3.6)....Fort Scott averages 50 points a game on offense while allowing 40.6....The Tigers' five losses will probably be deceiving to the other teams. Of the five teams to beat Fort Scott, only Willard failed to advance in the playoffs. Labette County, who has given the Tigers two of their losses, is in this very tournament (indeed, its first-round game follows Fort Scott's and if FSHS and LCHS both win, they'd play each other in the semifinals). Shiloh Christian made it to the Arkansas Class 3A semifinals and Greenwood (Ark.) was 20-6 when we last were able to find a result....

Andover Central: Fort Scott's first-round opponent finished third here last season and is one of three undefeated teams (research by the Topeka Capital-Journal shows that the last time three unbeatens qualified for any girls' State Tournament was in Class 1A in 2002). The Jaguars allowed an average of 40 points in their three Sub-State games while scoring 69. They got here by beating Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League rival Rose Hill (19-4), 65-45, in Saturday's Sub-State final at Andover Central behind the 24-point, 12-rebound performance of senior Bailey Gee and 26 points from Tiffany Bias....The Jags pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Rockets 37-15....

Labette County: You know them well and it may be hard to believe that a 21-2 record gets a No. 6 seed, but that's how packed this tournament is....Senior center Kendra Frazier scored 25 points in the Grizzlies' 62-45 win over Girard in the finals at Coffeyville, a much faster-paced game than Thursday's semifinal win over Columbus in which the Titans tried to stall most of the game. That didn't work out well since the Grizzlies went out to an 8-2 lead anyway and held on to win 35-33. Despite the stall, Frazier still scored 13 points....Jade Lambkins will continue to miss playing time as she has a torn anterior-cruciate ligament and guard Jymie Graham missed the majority of Thursday's game with bronchitis....

Abilene: The Cowgirls defeated North Central Kansas League rival Marysville, 42-37, at Abilene to win their Sub-State Saturday night. It was a cold-shooting night as the two teams combined to make only 28 percent of their shots from the field. Marysville was within 38-37 with 1:08 remaining. But Abilene made their foul shots when it counted and escaped with the win. Emma Ostermann led the Cowgirls with 16 points and Stephanie Holm followed with 15....

Colby: You may remember the Eagles from three years ago, when they deflated the ball in an attempt to beat high-powered Topeka Hayden. Colby won its Sub-State final over Ulysses at Russell, 36-35, but this time, the low-scoring pace was dictated by the opposing Tigers, who were just 10-10 coming into the Sub-State. The Eagles had 97 and 53 points in the first two rounds....Besides Ulysses, the only other team to stay within 10 points of Colby this season is Norton, which qualified for Class 3A State....Colby is 47-2 in the last two seasons....Lissa Mazanec averages 13.6 points for the Eagles. April Gee follows at 12.3 ppg and Paige Stephens is third at 11.3. All three play on the front line....

Andale: All of Andale's losses were to AVCTL opponents, including two against Andover Central. The Indians avenged two others when they beat Clearwater in Saturday's final at Andale, 45-31. Jessi Reichenberger led Andale with 15 points while Melissa Easter added 14....The Indians had just lost to Clearwater nine days prior to the finals in the last game of their regular season. Their 15-8 record makes them the lowest seed here, which makes sense in a way as they were the lowest-seeded team (No. 6) in any Sub-State to make it to the finals, much less win....

Basehor-Linwood: If you've been following Tiger basketball the past few seasons, then you'll remember the Bobcats from their host role at the Basehor-Linwood Bobcat Classic. You might also remember seniors Cassie Lombardino and Ashley Jeannin. Eudora certainly will after those two combined for 38 points in Saturday's Sub-State final at Spring Hill....The Tigers lost to the Bobcats in the consolation semifinals of the Bobcat Classic last season, making them somewhat familiar with Basehor-Linwood....

Holton: The Tigers are also somewhat familiar with Holton. They met the Wildcats in the first round at Basehor-Linwood last season and fell into consolation with a loss. On Saturday night, Holton denied a return trip to State for Tonganoxie by beating the Chieftains, 67-52, at Holton. The Wildcats were scorching the nets all night as they made 23 of 38 field-goal attempts. Tonganoxie tried to keep up as it shot 50 percent on 20 of 40. The difference came at the free-throw line as Holton went 15 of 19 and Tonganoxie was just six of 16....Seniors Melissa Nelson and Crista Bechard each scored 19 points for Holton. Each also hit six three-point shots. Junior Maggie Schuetz added 16 points.