Eagles end on upside

Veritas girls claim consolation crown

? The Veritas Christian girls basketball team finished off their 2006-07 season in positive fashion Friday night, knocking off Topeka Heritage Christian, 60-44, to win the consolation championship at the six-team Kansas Christian Athletic Association state tournament.

“We feel really good about where we finished in the state this year, not having any seniors on the team,” Veritas coach Kevin Shelton said.

The Eagles (9-14) found themselves in an early 10-10 deadlock against Heritage Christian before using a big second stanza to take control. The difference was Shelton’s decision to switch out of a zone defense and use a full-court, man-to-man press that resulted in plenty of turnovers and transition buckets.

As has been the case all season, the biggest beneficiary was Veritas junior Kristie Tiegreen, who scored a game-high 25 points and just missed out on a triple-double with 15 rebounds and eight steals.

However, an encouraging sign for the Eagles as they look forward to next season was the balanced support provided by Tiegreen’s teammates, including 10 points by Caroline Mayhew.

“We got 35 points from everybody else,” Shelton said. “That’s been one of our goals, to develop scoring with everybody else.”

Topeka Cair Paravel 69, Veritas Christian boys 35

Lenexa – Topeka Cair Paravel grabbed a 25-point first-quarter lead and cruised past the Eagles in the Kansas Christian Athletic Association boys basketball state semifinals.

Veritas (5-19) will play Wichita Christian at 12:30 today for third place.

“Cair Paravel is a very good team,” Veritas coach Doug Bennett said. “They were a much better team than us tonight.”

Taylor Zook scored six points to lead Veritas.