photo by: Shane Jackson

Eudora's Harper Schreiner drives past a Clay Center defender during the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday afternoon at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina on March 11, 2020.

Salina — The reality that the season was over hadn’t fully sunk in when Eudora’s interim head coach Brandon Parker emerged from the locker room about 20 minutes after a 47-42 loss to Clay Center Community on Wednesday at Tony’s Pizza Events Center.

The Cardinals had accomplished so much this season, but Parker was hoping for a better ending for his talented team. For the fourth time in as many state appearances in program history, however, Eudora was eliminated in the opening round of the state tourney.

It put a sour end on an otherwise impressive season, in which the Cardinals went 20-3 and lost to only Kansas City Piper (21-2) and Clay Center (17-6) all year. Those two squads will actually square off in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament on Friday.

“It was tough,” Parker said. “That’s a group that cares a lot about each other. As much as we hate losing a game, we hate walking out of that locker room for the last time.”

Parker couldn’t have imagined guiding such a successful run when he took over the program during winter break. At one point in the year, the Cardinals won 16 games in a row before eventually earning their second straight sub-state title.

Even on Wednesday, No. 2 seed Eudora had every opportunity in a back-and-forth battle with No. 7 Clay Center in the first game of the event. The Tigers elected to face guard sophomore Harper Schreiner, who entered the game averaging 15.6 points per contest.

It forced other players to step up, which was often via the long ball by seniors Riley Hiebert and Reagan Hiebert. The latter twin led the team with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 6-for-8 from long range. Riley Hiebert added 8 points.

That recipe led to Eudora jumping out to a 9-5 advantage before Clay Center grabbed a 11-9 lead entering the second quarter on three consecutive baskets by junior Clara Edwards. She finished with a game-high 25 points.

EHS reclaimed a 21-20 advantage at the intermission after a trio of 3-pointers by the Hiebert twins in the final two-plus minutes of the second period. But the Tigers took the lead back for good on back-to-back triples by Lexi Liby in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

“We got more comfortable as we went on,” Parker said. “The third quarter really hurt us. That was the quarter that we probably would have liked to get back.”

The Cardinals never went away, however. Even when Riley Hiebert fouled out with 4:39 remaining in the game, a few other players stepped up in her absence. Sophomore Emma Durr took a late charge and scored the final basket of the game.

Junior Jayla Pierce provided a late basket, while juniors Kate Erpelding and Melia Martin played important minutes down the stretch. Schreiner, who finished with 8 points, even got free late and nearly completed the team’s comeback bid.

“I would have liked for us to have a couple more points on that scoreboard tonight,” Parker said. “As far as a group of young ladies giving us everything (and) giving everything to this town, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Clay Center (47)

Shelby Siebold 1-6 1-2 3, Lexi Liby 5-9 0-1 15, Reaghan Henry 0-2 0-0 0, Marcy Hammel 2-4 0-0 4, Clara Edward 8-12 4-8 25, Hailee Bent 0-1 0-0 0, Jayden Crimmins 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Lane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-36 9-12 47.

Eudora (42)

Reagan Hiebert 7-12 2-2 22, Riley Hiebert 3-7 1-2 8, Jayla Pierce 1-7 0-0 2, Harper Schreiner 3-11 1-3 8, Kate Erpelding 0-1 0-0 0, Sophia Ewy 0-0 0-0 0, Melia Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-43 4-7 42.

Clay Center 11 9 14 13 — 47

Eudora 9 12 7 14 — 42

3-point goals: CC 6-18 (Liby 5, Edwards); EHS 8-19 (Reagan Hiebert 6, Riley Hiebert, Schreiner). Turnovers: CC 11, EHS 15. Fouled out: Riley Hiebert, EHS.

photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin senior Josie Boyle drives through the Piper defense during the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday afternoon at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina on March 11, 2020.

Baldwin falls to Piper in opening round

For the first time in this recent three-year run of going to the state tournament, Baldwin’s girls basketball team did not advance to the semifinals.

The Bulldogs, who were the No. 6 seed, struggled to hit shots out of the gate in a 63-48 loss to No. 3 Piper on Wednesday afternoon at Tony’s Pizza Events Center. Baldwin, which won a state title in 2018 and claimed third in 2019, lost both of this year’s meetings against Piper.

The 15-point loss in the opening round of the Class 4A state tourney was an improvement from Baldwin’s 61-31 defeat to Piper on Feb. 19.

“We knew how aggressive they were and we didn’t come out and match that early,” BHS head coach Bob Martin said. “I thought we battled pretty good; they were just really good.”

The Pirates, who were the runner-ups in Class 4A a year ago, scored the first 9 points and never looked back against the Bulldogs. Still, strong play on the defensive end kept Baldwin within striking distance early on.

Senior Anna Burnett and sophomore Riley Smith both drilled a 3-pointer in the first quarter, keeping the score at 15-7 entering the second period. Senior Josie Boyle and junior Jenna Harvey also helped the Bulldogs keep it close at first.

Piper eventually pulled away in the second quarter, opening the period on a 8-3 run to grab a double-digit advantage. Smith netted Baldwin’s only two buckets in the second period, which led to a 31-12 deficit at halftime.

Baldwin never really had a chance after that, but the players still showed plenty of fight during the final two periods. The senior class of Boyle, Burnett, Kelsey Swonger, Nicolette Morgan and Carly Fursman got to exit the game to a standing ovation in the fourth period.

“They worked hard all year and they were important parts of the team,” Martin said of his seniors. “You can’t describe the contributions that they made because you don’t see it in the stats. I’m really proud of what they did all year.”

Smith and Morgan both scored 11 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring. Freshman Merrin Frost added 9 points, while Boyle finished with 7 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Burnett paced BHS with three assists in her final game.

Piper was led by senior Grace Banes, who finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Baldwin (48)

Josie Boyle 3-12 0-0 7, Anna Burnett 0-7 1-2 1, Lauren Russell 0-3 2-2 2, Jenna Harvey 0-1 1-4 1, Riley Smith 4-5 0-0 11, Karly Neufeld 1-2 0-0 3, Merrin Frost 3-4 0-0 9, Ambrynn Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Swonger 0-1 0-0 0, Isabelle Harvey 1-1 0-0 3, Nicolette Morgan 4-7 0-3 11, Carly Fursman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-44 7-12 48.

KC Piper (63)

Evelyn Vazquez 3-9 1-4 7, Riley Porter 3-7 2-2 9, Grace Banes 6-8 2-2 20, Ayreona Carter 1-8 1-2 3, Alison Vigil 3-4 0-0 8, Emma Serrano 3-6 1-2 8, Jennifer Guilbeaux 0-0 2-2 2, Shalom Searcy 1-1 0-0 2, Dawnyale Bruce 0-2 2-4 4, Marissa Covington 0-1 0-0 0, Ashley Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-48 11-18 63.

Baldwin 7 5 11 25 — 48

KC Piper 15 16 21 11 — 63

3-point goals: BHS 9-16 (Smith 3, Frost 3, Boyle, Neufeld, Harvey); KCP 10-16 (Banes 6, Vigil 2, Porter, Serrano). Turnovers: BHS 23, KCP 12. Fouled out: Carter, KCP.