Area high school basketball roundup: Tongie sweeps Turner

Girls cruise; boys rally in second half

? Tonganoxie High’s girls basketball team nailed 10 three-pointers Friday and saw little resistance inside on the way to a one-sided, 72-30 victory over Kansas City Turner.

The Chieftains got four three-pointers apiece from junior guards Amanda Holroyd and Haley Smith, plus one from sophomore point guard Hannah Kemp and a surprising Senior Night three from center Tayler Miles, who banked home her first-ever attempt from behind the arc in the fourth quarter.

Smith, who came off the bench and scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, was told by Tonganoxie coach Randy Kraft after halftime that he wanted her to hit four threes.

After the romp, when Kraft saw Smith leave the locker room, he told her: “Next time I’ll ask for more.”

Smith caught fire late, hitting all four of her long bombs in the final 8:25. She hit one in the final minute of the third, capping a 17-2 run for the Chieftains (9-11 overall, 6-8 Kaw Valley League), and hit all three of her attempts from deep in the fourth.

Holroyd, who finished with 12 points, drained three straight three-point attempts in the first and second quarters.

Tonganoxie only led by seven after the first quarter, but a 12-0 run to close the second quarter widened the margin.

Holroyd’s third three-pointer of the night started the run. Senior forward Danielle Miller stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a lay-in, Jenny Whitledge (who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds) cut to the hoop for a basket and later moved a skip pass to Kemp for a three, and Tavia Brown hit a pair of free throws.

The victory over Turner (1-18, 0-14) marked the end of the regular season for the Chieftains. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, they will play at K.C. Sumner Academy in a first-round sub-state game.

Boys

Tonganoxie 66, K.C. Turner 55

Tonganoxie — Down at the half to one-win Turner, the Tonganoxie boys recovered in the second half.

Chieftains senior point guard Jeremy Carlisle played his best quarter in the third to help his team out of a hole.

Carlisle assisted on two of Tonganoxie’s first three baskets of the second half — first, a Colby Yates three-pointer, then a fast-break layup by Yates — before scoring six straight points himself, all on drives to the basket.

The senior, who finished with team highs of 17 points and seven assists, put an off-balance shot off the glass and through the net with 5:09 left in the third to give his team a 39-37 lead, and Tonganoxie didn’t trail the remainder of the game.

Junior center Dane Erickson, who scored 15 points, extended the Chieftains’ lead to double digits in the fourth quarter with a basket and a free throw with 4:53 remaining.

The game was tied at 15 after a quarter, and Tonganoxie (9-11 overall, 4-10 Kaw Valley League) opened the second with a 10-0 run — with five points from Austin Vickers, three from Carlisle and two from Dylan Jacobs — before going cold and scoring just three points in the final 5:21 of the first half, allowing Turner to take a 31-28 lead.

With 10-point outings for Yates and Jacobs, the Chieftains finished with four players in double figures in their regular-season finale against Turner (1-19, 1-13).

Tonganoxie will play host to Jeff West at 7 p.m. Monday in the first round of sub-state.

Ottawa 76, Spring Hill 58

Ottawa — Adam Hasty paced Ottawa with 31 points, while Semi Ojeleye poured in 28.

Ottawa improved to 17-3 and will play host to Iola in the first round of sub-state on Monday.