photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora sophomore Avah Dye makes an off-balance shot against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY — Eudora girls basketball’s season ended in the quarterfinal round of the 4A state tournament on Tuesday with a 61-48 loss to Bishop Miege at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Eudora (21-4) entered the state tournament as the No. 3 seed after having won the Frontier League and winning its two substate games at home. But for the second-straight year, the Cardinals couldn’t get past the Stags in the first round of the state tournament.

“I thought we played hard,” Eudora coach Brandon Parker said. “We had some shots that didn’t fall that I like the shots. They hit a couple tough shots, some contested ones, deep 3s, that opened up the gap a bit. I thought that was a state championship-level game.”

Both teams started with a 3-pointer, with Eudora’s coming from freshman Payton Lewis on an assist from sophomore Jayla Colter. The Cardinals forced several turnovers over the next few possessions while sophomore Avah Dye and Colter both scored two points.

The Stags made their push with a driving layup from senior Jayla McClinton and two 3s from junior Finley Lemay. Eudora had four different Cardinals get buckets in the opening quarter, as they scored 15 points and held a two-point lead at the break.

Bishop Miege turned to its biggest mismatch in the 6-foot-1 McClinton to start the second quarter and took a lead over Eudora that the Cardinals had a hard time overcoming. McClinton, along with some shooting from senior Mary Grant, got the Stags a 21-15 lead three-and-a-half minutes into the quarter.

“She’s got a big size advantage over us, and it takes more than just one player,” Parker said. “When you do that, you have to have a couple players that don’t hit a few shots. They had a few kids that did that.”

Eudora junior Izzy Brunkow got the Cardinals on the board in the quarter and then came a bucket from Lewis to make it a two-point lead for the Stags. But the Stags went back to the paint as McClinton got them some additional cushion.

The Cardinals finished the quarter with junior Brynn Deterding and Dye scoring in the paint, with the latter coming on an assist from Colter as the two passed back and forth to get McClinton out of position.

“Finding an open teammate, making the extra pass when needed, we all work together, so we have that chemistry,” Dye said. “When we see an open teammate, we’re ready to kick, but we know when to take it in ourselves.”

Eudora only trailed 27-23 at halftime, but the Cardinals needed to limit McClinton and the Stags’ 3-point shooters to make a comeback. Grant kept the Cardinals from doing that, as she made several open shots on kick-outs when the Eudora defense collapsed around McClinton in the paint.

Deterding scored on an offensive rebound early in the third quarter, but the Stags took a nine-point lead early. Needing some offense, Dye drove aggressively to the paint, hitting layups and floaters for the Cardinals. She scored nine of Eudora’s 14 third-quarter points, all in a row. Dye said that having a taller player guarding her, she wanted to attack downhill and try to get to the free throw line.

“Avah is a great athlete, a great player,” Parker said. “She can get to the rim, and she had to do that because it wasn’t going to be a post-(McClinton)-up-and-shoot-over-her. Just like (McClinton) was trying to play underneath, we were trying to go over. And (Dye) did a good job.”

Coupled with Dye’s run, the Eudora defense picked things up in the third, keeping the Stags from scoring in the paint for the middle section of the quarter. Deterding drew a charge after Dye converted an and-1 to cut the Bishop Miege lead to four points.

Both teams scored before Deterding hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game late in the third, but a midrange jump shot on a baseline out-of-bounds play put the Stags back up by five entering the final eight minutes.

Dye scored the first points of the quarter almost a minute in to cut the lead back to three. But the Stags came back with another run, pushing their lead to 11 points with Grant and McClinton scoring most of the points. Deterding responded with back-to-back buckets, and Lewis converted a three-point play with an and-1 after an offensive rebound.

Lewis’s play cut the Stags’ lead to six points with about two minutes left, and the energy from the Eudora bench was loud. The Cardinals nearly forced a shot-clock violation on the following Bishop Miege possession, but Grant hit a deep buzzer-beater 3-pointer to give the Stags the nine-point lead.

“They’re fighters,” Parker said of Eudora’s late push. “Those kids fight. They don’t ever give up, and they were right on the cusp of that. (Grant’s 3-pointer) was a bit of a nail in the coffin. She’s one of the best players in the state. If that shot doesn’t go in and we get a rebound, it gets interesting.”

Bishop Miege’s Scarlett Singleton hit two free throws to make it an 11-point game soon after the 3. Dye scored in the paint to get to 18 points, but Grant closed the game with four free throws for the Stags to get to 26 points for herself and 61 for Bishop Miege.

“They did a great job of coming together and playing tough games against tough opponents,” Parker said. “I’m just really happy for them. I know right now is disappointing and tough, but they’ve done so many good things that far outweigh this moment.”

This was the second straight year the Cardinals lost to the Stags in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, and while the losses were disappointing ends for talented teams, the Cardinals have a lot of basketball ahead of them with a sophomore-heavy roster.

“This is just more motivation for us,” Dye said. “We’re going to come back next year and get it done.”

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora junior Brynn Deterding consoles senior Avery Warren after being taken out of the game against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora sophomore Avah Dye attempts to defend a shot by Bishop Miege senior Jayla McClinton during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora freshman Payton Lewis hits a 3-pointer against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora head coach Brandon Parker talks with his team during a timeout against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora junior Izzy Brunkow makes a short-range shot against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora sophomore Avah Dye struggles to get a shot off against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

The Eudora student section yells out in celebration for a made basket by sophomore Avah Dye against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora junior Brynn Deterding puts up a one-handed shot against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora sophomore Jayla Colter keeps the ball from going out of bounds against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora junior Brynn Deterding passes the ball off to a teammate against Bishop Miege during the KSHSAA state quarterfinals at Kansas City Kansas Community College on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City.

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

Eudora senior Avery Warren brings the substate plaque back to her team after the Cardinals defeated Ottawa on Friday, March 6, 2026, at Eudora High School in Eudora.