photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

The Eudora girls basketball team celebrates after defeating Wamego in the substate final at Eudora High School on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

Two Douglas County basketball teams — Eudora girls basketball and Baldwin boys basketball — will compete in the 4A state basketball tournament in Salina this week.

All 4A tournament games will be at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

Eudora girls basketball enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 20-2 record. The Cardinals won their first substate game 56-26 against Louisburg and beat Wamego 41-34 in the substate championship.

The Cardinals finished the regular season with an 18-2 record and won the Frontier League. Only one of the team’s two losses came against a 4A school. The Cardinals’ first loss of the season came to St. James Academy in Lenexa, a 5A school.

Eudora starts the tournament against No. 6 Bishop Miege (17-4), the most successful girls basketball program in 4A history. The only two state championships the Stags haven’t won since 2014 came in 2018 and 2020 (when the tournament was canceled after the quarterfinal round).

The Stags finished the regular season with 15 wins, including some over 5A and 6A schools. Their defense has been particularly strong as they held teams to an average below 39 points per game in non-forfeit regular season games. This is the team’s second year under coach Michael Allen, who previously coached Olathe South from 2017-22.

Last year, the Stags won the state tournament with a 75-64 win over Wellington, the No. 2 seed this year. This will be the first meeting between Eudora and Bishop Miege this season.

Topeka-Hayden gave the Cardinals their only 4A loss of the year, which came in the regular-season finale. The Wildcats similarly enter the tournament with a 20-2 record, although their two losses came against 5A Maize South and 6A Manhattan. The Wildcats beat the Cardinals 53-30 on Thursday, Feb. 27. If the Cardinals win their first-round match, they will likely face the Wildcats on Friday.

Eudora sophomore Brynn Deterding has been one of the best players in the state this year after earning a 4A all-state honorable mention as a freshman. Deterding had 12 points and four steals in the substate championship and 15 points with two steals in the first substate round.

Deterding previously told the Journal-World on Saturday that it was “surreal” to be heading to state, considering nobody on the team has reached the tournament before.

“This is amazing to experience with this team and these girls,” she said. “Our bond with each other is so strong. We play so hard and we just want to do well for each other.”

Eudora last participated in the state tournament in 2022 but lost to Bishop Miege in the championship game.

Eudora starts with Bishop Miege on Thursday at 8 p.m.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin junior Ethan Smasal passes to the corner during Baldwin’s 54-41 substate championship win over Field Kindley at Baldwin on Friday, March 7, 2025.

Baldwin’s boys basketball team is back in the state tournament for the third straight year. Last year, the Bulldogs finished fourth after losing in the first round in 2023.

The Bulldogs enter with an 18-4 record as the No. 5 seed after winning their two home substate games last week. They started with a 62-51 win over Bishop Miege on Tuesday before beating Coffeyville-Field Kindley 54-41 on Friday.

Baldwin went 16-4 in the regular season with three 4A losses. The Bulldogs finished second in the Frontier League behind a 22-0 Ottawa team that is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Cyclones accounted for half of the Bulldogs’ losses this year, with 5A Bonner Springs being one and 4A Hayden Catholic being the other.

The Bulldogs will start with No. 4 McPherson (18-4), whom the Bulldogs lost to in the second round of the tournament last year as the Bullpups went on to win the state championship. The Bullpups finished with the second-best record in the 4A East behind Andale. Their only 4A loss was to Towanda-Circle on February 24.

A win over McPherson would put Baldwin against either Ottawa or No. 8 Atchison (15-7) on Friday. Atchison entered the tournament with the lowest seed, but the Phoenix earned their spot with a 71-51 upset win over Wamego in the substate championship. They’re looking to reach the state championship for the third straight year and win it back-to-back times.

Ottawa, on the other hand, is a very familiar foe. The Cyclones won both games against the Bulldogs this season, 61-52 and 47-39. However, those were the Cyclones’ closest games of the season, along with a 65-56 win against Eudora on Friday, Jan. 31.

The Bulldogs are led by junior Cooper Carr, who averages nearly 19 points per game and almost four steals. He led the team with 20 points in the substate championship against Field Kindley.

Baldwin juniors Carr and Leo Schoenberger told the Journal-World that the Bulldogs are hungry to return to the tournament after failing to do so the last two years.

“Since the start of the year, this is what we envisioned,” Carr said. “We wanted to get back to Salina. Getting that done is rewarding, but we also know it’s just getting started. We’ve got nothing to lose — we’re just going to keep playing hard.”

The Bulldogs start the tournament against McPherson on Wednesday at 4 p.m.