ONLINE FIRST: Jayhawk girls face No. 2 seed Oakley Thursday

Monday, March 7, 2011

MOUND CITY -- For the second time in three seasons, Jayhawk-Linn's girls have qualified for State Tournament competition.

Two seasons ago, the Jayhawks qualified for the Class 3A State Tournament. Saturday, they completed a run through their own Class 2A Sub-State Tournament as the No. 5 seed to advance to the Class 2A State Tournament at Kansas State University.

The official State Tournament bracket can be seen here. (Click the link, then scroll down to see the girls' bracket)

The Jayhawks (13-10) went on the road in the first round to beat Chase County, 52-41.

Friday night in the semifinals at Mound City, the 'Hawks downed No. 1 seed Burlingame, 44-40, to set up a championship showdown with No. 3 Madison/Hamilton, which had eliminated No. 2 Lyndon, 40-34.

Saturday's game went to overtime, where Jayhawk-Linn's better performance at the free-throw line carried them to a 41-39 victory.

"We are very excited to be able to go Manhattan for the State tourney," Jayhawk head coach Charlie Beckman said. "It's the goal of every team to be able to go to State. All three games of this Sub-State, our defense carried us. These girls have worked so hard and fought all year long to be able to get to where we are now. I couldn't be happier for them."

The Jayhawks will be the No. 7 seed at State and will face No. 2 seed Oakley (18-5) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum on the campus of Kansas State University.

Playing against Class 4A and 3A competition as a member of the Pioneer League, the Jayhawks' record may not reflect the kind of team they might actually be. Against Class 2A and 1A competition, the Jayhawks are 7-0.

Friday: Jayhawk-Linn 44, Burlingame 40.

Jayhawk-Linn trailed at the end of each of the first three quarters but outscored the Bearcats (15-6) in the fourth quarter, 16-9, by making 10 free throws.

"We showed a lot of toughness to come back from 12 down versus the No. 1 seed," Beckman said. "There's no quit in these girls. It was a big win for our program."

Chelsea Beckman led the Jayhawks with 15 points. Baylea White added 14 points and led with 9 rebounds. Beckman also had 4 steals.

Jayhawk-Linn made 15 of 29 free throws while Burlingame was just 6 of 9.

Saturday: Jayhawk-Linn 41, Madison/Hamilton 39, OT.

Defense and free-throw shooting went a long way in this one as Jayhawk-Linn's stats show they shot just 32 field goals, making 14, and had only 10 rebounds.

But the 'Hawks were 12 of 20 at the free-throw line. They made 9 of 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Madison/Hamilton -- a co-op of two Class 1A schools whose combined student population bumps it up to 2A -- went just 2 of 7 at the charity stripe during those periods.

The Jayhawks' free throws were enough to overcome the fact that they made only 3 field goals in the fourth quarter (2) and OT (1).

Beckman had 12 points and 5 steals for the Jayhawks while Emma Hargrove finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

No one reached double figures for Madison/Hamilton. Three players -- Michala Shaklee, Cassidy Barnard and Nicole Farthing -- scored 8 points each.

The Bulldogs led 5-4 after one period and 14-9 at the half. But Beckman scored 6 points and Hargrove had 5 in the third as the Jayhawks rallied to tie the score at 26-26.

The score was tied at 32-32 going into the extra session.


NOTES -- Jayhawk-Linn went to the free-throw line 87 times in the three Sub-State games. Their opponents got there just 57 times....

None of the teams from last year's Class 2A State Tournament return this year. Defending champion Olpe is playing in the Class 1A-Division I tournament this season....

Jayhawk-Linn is making its third State appearance. The first time the Jayhawks appeared in a State tourney was in 1993. The 'Hawks are seeking their first tourney victory.....

Every other school is making their at least its third State tournament appearance with the exception of Brookville--Ell-Saline, which is here for the first time. Moundridge is making its 18th appearance but its first since 2004. Moundridge has won 10 State titles, the most recent in 2003.

Oxford and Valley Falls are each making their first appearance but their first one since the mid-1980s. Meade is here for the third time, but its first since 1986. Republic County is also making its third appearance. Its first two were as Belleville in 1990 and 2006.

Oakley, Jayhawk-Linn's first-round opponent, also makes its fifth appearance. The Plainswomen won Class 2A in 2007....


Friday's Game

(5) JAYHAWK-LINN: Bruner 0 0-0 0, Krull 0 0-0 0, White 5 4-7 14, Clark 1 0-0 2, Beckman 6 3-8 15, Walters 2 3-4 8, Hargrove 0 5-10 5. TOTALS: 14 15-29 44.

(1) BURLINGAME: B.Lewis 4 1-2 9, Aubokrsty 0 0-0 0, Greenwood 1 0-0 2, Briggs 0 0-0 0, McKanna 0 0-2 0, H.Lewis 5 2-2 12, Creviston 1 2-2 4, Dorr 0 0-0 0, Love 6 1-1 13. TOTALS: 17 6-9 40.

Jayhawk-Linn.... 7 8 13 16 -- 44

Burlingame........ 13 8 10 9 -- 40

Three-point field goals: Jayhawk-Linn 1 (Walters), Burlingame none.

Total fouls: Jayhawk-Linn 11, Burlingame 21. Fouled out: Creviston.

Saturday's Game

(5) JAYHAWK-LINN: Bruner 0 0-0 0, Krull 0 2-2 2, Murrow 0 0-0 0, White 2 3-7 7, Clark 0 0-0 0, Beckman 3 5-6 12, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Walters 4 1-3 9, Hargrove 5 1-2 11. TOTALS: 14 12-20 41.

(3) MADISON/HAMILTON: Schroeder 1 1-2 3, Melton 1 1-2 3, T.Farthing 1 2-3 4, Shaklee 2 3-5 8, Barnard 4 0-2 8, N.Farthing 2 4-6 8, Bond 2 1-1 5. TOTALS: 13 12-21 39.

Jayhawk-Linn. 4 5 17 6 9 -- 41

Madison/Hamilton 5 9 12 6 7 -- 39

Three-point field goals: Jayhawk-Linn 1 (Beckman), Madison/Hamilton 1 (Shaklee).

Total fouls: Jayhawk-Linn 19, Madison/Hamilton 20. Fouled out: T.Farthing, N.Farthing.