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Eudora’s Avah Dye attempts a layup, only to be blocked by Bishop Miege’s Jayla McClinton during a 4A state quarterfinals girls basketball game on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
KANSAS CITY — Eudora opened up the 4A girls basketball state quarterfinals with a fast start, putting reigning state runner-up Bishop Miege on its heels early on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
But with a sizable advantage on the boards, as well as Miege senior guard Mary Grant drawing so much attention from the opposing defense, Miege ultimately used a few big scoring runs to keep Eudora at arms length late in a 61-48 loss for the Cardinals.
Grant ended up going 9 of 20 from the field, but a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to close out the game for the Stags. Grant finished with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Eudora head coach Brandon Parker pointed to Grant hitting a deep contested 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter as being the play of the game.
“We were making things tough for Mary, but she hit some tough shots,” Parker said. “That kind of opened the margin up. It’s a matter of we’re battling and it’s taking three people to guard one person. There’s going to be a little bit of fatigue that sets in on that. Sometimes when you have fatigue, you slip up a little bit on maybe your defensive assignments.
“We just had a couple moments of that, but they capitalized on it.”
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Bishop Miege’s Mary Grant dribbles the ball along the perimeter during a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Eudora opened the game by taking an early lead, which the Cardinals pushed to as much as five points with a 10-5 lead midway through the first quarter.
But Miege turned the tide quickly from there. The Stags put together a 10-0 run starting late in the first quarter and through the midpoint in the second quarter. After an 8-0 run in the third quarter left the Cardinals trailing the rest of the way.
“They’ve got a very strong inside, outside combination,” Parker said. “You have to be pretty much perfect defensively when you’re competing against that. I thought, plenty of times tonight, we were really good. They hit tough shots, and that’s basketball. That’s the way it goes.
“But overall, I thought our level of (resilience), we bounced back from those runs … not a greater number than theirs, but we bounced back from it.”
Eudora had a chance to close the gap late in the fourth quarter, thanks to a few scores from junior guard Brynn Deterding. Freshman guard Payton Lewis followed up by converting an And-1, pulling the team back to a 52-46 margin with just under three minutes remaining in regulation.
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Eudora’s Payton Lewis looks to the pass the ball out of a double team during a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Parker said he was not “shocked” by Lewis making that play, but definitely impressed.
“Payton’s a dog, and she doesn’t always know it,” Parker said. “But when she does, she’s really tough and she’s got good instincts for the game, and she’s only going to get better. But yeah, that’s a big play by a freshman.”
Despite Miege’s clear size advantage with forward Jayla McClintock in the post, Eudora ended up finishing the game tied with the Stags for points in the paint at 30.
McClinton started out hot by hitting six of her first eight shots, only to finish 8-of-14 shooting while delivering 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Avah Dye seemed frustrated with her matchup against McClinton early, but started to find a rhythm on her drives to the basket in the middle quarters of the game. Dye finished with a team-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds.
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Eudora’s Avery Warren hugs a member of the cheer squad after a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Lewis added another 13 points, four rebounds and a steal. Deterding contributed 11 points, a steal and team-highs in both rebounds at seven and assists at five. Sophomore guard Jayla Colter rounded out the team’s scoring with six points in the game. Junior guard Izzy Brunkow did not score, but did find her way into the box score with a pair of rebounds.
In her final high school game, senior guard Avery Warren finished with an empty stat line during her almost six minutes on the floor.
But in her coach’s eyes, Warren brought a whole lot more to this team’s run to the state quarterfinals and a 21-4 record this season than the stat line showed.
“She’s been amazing for us,” Parker said of Warren. “Battled back from thumb surgery at the beginning of the year. She’s a positive influence for everyone in the program. She sets the standard every day of what dealing with adversity, what resilience and what care for others looks like.
“Every person on our team, hopefully, learned more from Avery Warren than they ever learned from any of us coaches this year. Because she showed the standard of what you’re going to need to be if you’re a leader.”
Parker and the rest of this Eudora girls basketball program have a lot of optimism for next year, with Warren as the only member of the team graduating this spring. Parker is also hoping that this large group of likely returners will use the result of this game to help serve as motivation as well.
“They’re all hurting right now, and you need to lock that away somewhere,” Parker said. “You don’t dwell on it, but you lock it away because there’s times when it’s time for you to work on your game and get better and motivate you. Then you unlock it because they don’t like this feeling. Our kids work hard, but they’ve brought themselves up another level from where we were last year, and they’re capable of more levels.
“Let it be fuel in their tank to go ahead and keep achieving those levels.”
Jacob Rice/Lawrence Sports
Eudora’s players celebrate along the bench after a big play during a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Jacob Rice/Lawrence Sports
Eudora head coach Brandon Parker talks with his squad after a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Jacob Rice/Lawrence Sports
Eudora’s Avery Warren puts her face into her hands while sitting on the bench late in a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Jacob Rice/Lawrence Sports
Eudora’s Avah Dye walks back toward her bench before low-fiving with her teammates after a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Jacob Rice/Lawrence Sports
Eudora’s Brynn Deterding wipes tears away, while her dad, Cardinals assistant coach Kyle Deterding comforts her by putting his hand on her shoulder, after a girls basketball game against Bishop Miege on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
