Salina ? Tonganoxie High’s girls basketball team couldn’t overcome a first quarter in which it didn’t make a field goal and only scored one point from the free-throw line, falling in the Class 4A state consolation match to Wichita Collegiate, 39-33, Saturday at the Bicentennial Center.

The Chieftains suffered through a nightmarish first quarter in which turnovers flowed freely against the Spartans’ aggressive man-to-man defense, much like they had the night before when they surrendered 34 turnovers to Buhler. Tonganoxie gave the ball away 12 times in the first quarter.

THS coach Randy Kraft blamed his team’s first-quarter play — which ended with the Spartans up 17-1 — on a letdown from the night before.

“I don’t think we were nervous, but a little exhaustion set in, fumbling balls around, shots not falling,” Kraft said. “I think early in the game, our mind knew what we wanted to do, but our bodies weren’t letting us get there.”

Most of Tonganoxie’s offensive possessions didn’t even result in scoring opportunities because Collegiate’s half-court trap forced it to make errant passes. The Chieftains only had two field-goal attempts in the first six minutes and scored their only point off an Ali Pistora free throw midway through the first quarter.

The turnovers translated into difficulty on defense as the Spartans ran with the ball off each turnover, resulting in easy transition points.

Spartans coach Chance Lindley said he was aware that type of defense had created problems for Tonganoxie in the tournament.

“That was our game plan most of the year, and it’s worked for us. We were pretty much in the 20s all weekend, and if you’re going to win a few games, it’s going to be because of the defense,” Lindley said.

Tonganoxie rallied to outscore Collegiate, 12-9, in the second quarter, pulling within 13 by halftime despite committing six turnovers for every field goal it made.

6Sports video: Chieftains’ season ends with loss

Then the Chieftains opened the second half on a quick 5-0 run to cut the deficit to eight.

“I think we just dug down a lot deeper and made sure we were taking better care of the ball,” Kraft said.

“I know all the kids are fatigued, and it’s an emotional time, and I think they relaxed and slowed down and didn’t get ahead ourselves.”

With just more than a minute in the game, Tonganoxie had the opportunity to cut the lead to five with a three-pointer, but couldn’t connect.

“It’s really disappointing. In spite of it, we had a comeback toward the later part of the game, and I think it showed a lot of heart,” Addie Heim said.

The defeat relegated Tonganoxie to a fourth-place finish in Class 4A, the highest-ever finish for the Chieftains. Tonganoxie will lose four seniors who were instrumental to the team’s rebuilding.

“I’m proud of our seniors. They’ve taken Tongie somewhere they’ve never been,” Kraft said. “We were basically starting over. It’s been a fun trip. I’ll miss them next year.”