photo by: Courtesy photo

Baldwin's girls basketball team poses with the sub-state championship plaque on Friday after its win over Labette County. The Bulldogs are ready for their third consecutive trip to the state tournament, which this year's event is slated to take place at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.

Fresh off its sub-state title win, Baldwin’s sixth-seeded girls basketball program is embracing an underdog mentality this week as it prepares to face No. 3 Kansas City Piper (20-2) in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Baldwin (17-5) and Piper (20-2) will tip off at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

Piper, which hasn’t lost since Jan. 4 and was a state runner-up a year ago, handed Baldwin a 61-31 loss in the lone regular-season meeting between these two teams on Feb. 19. The Bulldogs, who are two years removed from winning a state title and placed third last season at the state tourney, are approaching this year’s event with a different mindset.

“A lot of people put up their basketballs this week,” Baldwin senior Josie Boyle said. “We still get the opportunity to play this week, so that has really been a big deal. We are just happy to be here.”

At the same time, though, Baldwin isn’t the same squad it was when the two teams last squared off in mid-February. As has been the case during its stretch of three consecutive state berths, BHS is hitting its stride at an opportune time.

“I think we are playing our best basketball right now,” BHS head coach Bob Martin said. “We know we have a really big challenge. I think they have approached it really well, and will give us a battle (Wednesday) and we are looking forward to it.”

The Bulldogs have won three games in a row, two of which were double-digit wins in sub-state action. Baldwin bested Louisburg in the sub-state semifinals before securing the title with a 44-32 win over Labette County on the road.

Baldwin has been focusing on offense in the tail end of the season. The Bulldogs scored at least 44 points in each of their last three games. Senior Anna Burnett has reached double figures in all three contests. Sophomore Riley Smith had two such performances over that stretch, and Boyle had a 13-point outing against Bonner Springs.

Smith has emerged as one of the team’s up-and-coming leaders, averaging 9.2 points per game, a mark that only trails Boyle’s team-best average of 11.6 points. Junior Jenna Harvey is also posting an average of 8.8 points to go along with a team-high 9.6 rebounds.

Another thing the Bulldogs have been stressing is endurance. That’s partly because February’s loss to Piper came in the same week that Baldwin fell to Eudora, another team that will be in action in Salina this week.

“We learned how to play tough teams in the same week,” Burnett said. “We learned how to play together more. Throughout the year, we have learned to play together.”

A lot of the season’s growing pains were to be expected. Burnett and Boyle were the only two returning starters from last year’s team, and five players who went 83-8 in their high school careers graduated last year.

But the team eventually clicked, and that’s why Baldwin hoisted a third consecutive sub-state championship plaque last weekend.

“It was pretty special for us,” Martin said. “And one thing I liked about it was how hard we had to work to get here. They really had to battle all year to do it.”

Class 4A girls state pairings

No. 1 Nickerson (20-2) vs. No. 8 Buhler (14-8), 6:30 p.m.

No. 4 Bishop Miege (20-2) vs. No. 5 Chapman (18-4), 8:15 p.m.

No. 2 Eudora (20-2) vs. No. 7 Clay Center Community HS (16-6), 3 p.m.

No. 3 Kansas City-Piper (20-2) vs. No. 6 Baldwin (17-5), 4:45 p.m.