If the second half of the girls basketball season is as good as the first half for Ottawa High, the rest of the teams in Class 4A better watch out.
The Cyclones are 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in 4A heading into this week's Top Gun Invitational at Wellsville. OHS, the defending Top Gun champion, will meet Gardner-Edgerton at 7:30 tonight in the first round.
OHS coach Clifton McCullough said his players, especially his seniors, started building for this season several years ago.
"You can sit there and tell them to keep motivated, but a lot of that has to come from within," McCullough said. "They've put in a lot of work to be in this position ever since recreational league basketball. It's starting to pay off. We still have half the season to go and it's not going to get easier, especially playing teams the second time around. We hope up we're up for the challenge."
Ottawa is explosive, averaging 69.9 points a game. The Cyclones have scored more than 80 points four times this season and everyone gets involved in the offense. Led by senior Lindsey Dieterich's 19 points per game, the Cyclones have four starters averaging in double figures.
"We've got other people scoring," McCullough said. "From a coach's standpoint you love to see that and that's something you want. We still look to Lindsey to carry the scoring load, but we're very unselfish as far as scoring."
Senior Jayme Vance, junior Liz Burks and senior Katie Sheffield join Dieterich in double figures.
No. 2 seed Baldwin (8-2) highlights the other side of the bracket. The Bulldogs, who play 3-6 Eudora at 6:15 tonight, have won four in a row since a 68-61 overtime loss to OHS in Baldwin.
"I'm sure our girls would look forward to playing them again," McCullough said of a possible final matchup. "They completely dominated us for 212 quarters (in the first meeting). I still think we have something to prove. It's not going to be easy for us to get there."
Santa Fe Trail at Louisburg
Unbeaten Santa Fe Trail, 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A coaches' poll, will meet winless Osawatomie (0-9) at 7:30 tonight in the first round of the Louisburg Invitational.
SFT, the tourney's No. 2 seed, could be on a collision course to meet No. 1 seed Spring Hill in Saturday's 7:15 p.m. championship. The Broncos are 10-0 and ranked No. 2 for 4A girls.
Jefferson North to host
Area schools McLouth (7-3), Oskaloosa (2-8) and Perry-Lecompton (3-7) will play this week at the Jefferson County North girls tournament, which starts today.
Perry-Lecompton will play Valley Falls at 6 tonight in Nortonville. McLouth, the No. 1 seed, will play Atchison Mount Saint Scholastica at 7:30 tonight in Nortonville.
In Winchester tonight, host JCN will play Topeka Heritage Christian at 6 p.m. and Oskaloosa will play Jefferson West at 7:30 p.m.
The semifinals are Friday and the championship is set for Saturday.
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