Harden guides Aquinas to Shawnee Mission South Tournament title in Kansas

The smile Dashawn Harden was wearing following Saturday's 58-54 win over previously unbeaten and Class 6A third-ranked Shawnee Mission West said it all.

For nearly four years, these seniors playing under Aquinas (Overland Park) coach Rick Hetzel had come close to winning a basketball tournament. But each time, the Saints fell short.

Not on Saturday. Harden scored 30 points in the win, including nine of Aquinas' 15 third-quarter points.

"This feels really good," an elated Harden said following the championship game of the Shawnee Mission South basketball tournament. "All we talked about was how we hadn't won a tournament since we've been here. So it feels really good to win a tournament. We lost last year to Shawnee Mission West, so it feels really good to win this one."



In order to improve his team's chances of tasting success, from beginning to end in the tournament, Hetzel knew the Saints would have to at least slow down Viking star Lizzy Jeronimus. So he put 6-foot senior Katie Brown on her.

The strategy worked.

"We just focused on pushing Lizzy to the right because she's really good," Harden said of the 5-11, left-handed senior guard. "She's really, really good."

Harden recalled the Saints coming out with a lot of emotion, allowing the 2009-10 Class 5A runners-up to get off to a hot start. Aquinas never trailed in the first half, building leads of 16-9 and 27-21 after the first and second quarters respectively. At one point, Harden and company found themselves up by a dozen points in the first 16 minutes.

The 9-1 Vikings made a run in the third quarter and momentarily took the lead at 42-40, before Aquinas drew even at 42-42 going into the final eight minutes. Shawnee Mission West used pressure to force the Saints into uncharacteristic errors during the second half run.

"We didn't really expect them to press us," Harden said, "so they rattled us a little bit. But we got it done. We just kept playing. We always talk about winning the first three minutes and unfortunately we lost the first three minutes coming out at halftime. But in the fourth quarter we stepped it up."

Brown and Nelly Weledji scored eight points each. Brooke Katterhenry led the way for the Vikings with 13 points, while Jeronimus and Sophie Stallbaumer added 12 each. Whitney Knightly contributed 10 points for Shawnee Mission West.



With the win, Aquinas rests firmly atop the 5A ratings and remains third in the Kansas girls Top 10 followed by West at fourth. West is not punished for the loss, remaining third in the Kansas big school poll.

BULL PUP RALLY FALLS SHORT AGAINST HEIGHTS BOYS
Before a rowdy ‘Roundhouse' crowd, Heights (Wichita) demonstrated exactly why it is the best Kansas has to offer when it comes to boys high school basketball, upending the home team 81-73 in the championship game of the McPherson Invitational basketball tournament Saturday.

But it wasn't easy.

The Falcons outscored the Class 5A top-ranked Bullpups 19-14 in the opening quarter and pushed the margin to 41-25 at the half. But McPherson opponents get no free rides when entering the ‘Roundhouse,' and the Bullpups rallied in the second half.

"I told my guys at halftime what a lousy scouting report that I came up with," McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon told the Wichita Eagle after watching the Falcons get off to a hot start. "And the demoralizing thing was they were shots that bounced way up and then you thought it was coming out, then it goes in.

"The roof was coming off the place when we made our run. If you can't smile after that…we had a lot of fun."



McPherson was led in the title game by Christian Ulsaker's 39-point effort. Jack Pyle chipped in another 24 points.

Wichita Heights, meanwhile, used a balanced approach to winning the game, led by Perry Ellis' 23 points. Terrence Moore and Evan Wessel added 16 and 15 points respectively for the two-time defending 6A champions. Dreamius Smith added 14 points, while E.J. Dobbins contributed 11.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}REYNOLDS COMMITS TO KANSAS
Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel defensive end Michael Reynolds became the latest prep football player to announce his decision to play football for Turner Gill and the University of Kansas Sunday morning.

The 6-3, 215-pounder, who has 4.61-second speed in 40-meters, led the Crusaders to an 8-2 record this past season and to the Kansas Class 5A state football playoffs where Kapaun fell to Emporia 29-12 in the opening round.

Reynolds had 53 total tackles, 12 tackles for losses and six sacks during his senior season. The first team Class 5A all-stater also received offers from TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Bowling Green and Wyoming.

TOP KANSAS BOYS BASKETBALL PERFORMANCES
Gunner Phelan of Quivira Heights scored 32 points and was credited with three assists, a couple of blocked shots, 12 rebounds and six steals in a 78-68 win over Russell…McPherson's Christian Ulsaker scorched the nets for 39 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in an 81-73 loss to Wichita Heights…Braden Lebeda of Caldwell ripped the cords for 31 points in a 53-37 win over Cedar Vale-Dexter…Troy's Eli Smith scored 15 points, blocked 11 shots and pulled down 10 rebounds in a 50-42 loss to Falls City (Neb.)…Noah Thornbrugh of Humboldt scored 60 points and ripped down 44 rebounds in a loss to Jayhawk Linn (50-45) and wins over Pleasanton (48-19) and Uniontown (47-33) collectively.



TOP KANSAS GIRLS BASKETBALL PERFORMANCES
Hillary Chvatal of Rawlins County scored 59 points and yanked down 57 rebounds in a win over St. Francis (53-39) and losses to Oakley (55-34) and Decatur Community (47-38) collectively…Waverly's Ashley Romig scorched the nets for 24 points, blocked eight shots and took in 16 rebounds in a 68-32 win over Marais des Cygnes Valley…Valerie Hecht of Bern ripped the cords for 31 points and reeled in 16 rebounds in a 64-22 win over Linn…Washington County's Kylie Penning scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 65-52 win over Valley Heights…Bethany Thompson of Kansas City East Christian Academy scorched the nets for 14 points and 19 rebounds in a 53-31 loss to North Platte.

Continue reading for rankings{PAGEBREAK}KANSAS BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

TOP 10
1. Wichita Heights (11-0) 1
2. Blue Valley Northwest (10-0) 3
3. McPherson (11-1) 2
4. Topeka Washburn Rural (10-1) 10
5. Olathe Northwest (9-2) 7
6. Olathe South (9-2) –
7. Basehor-Linwood (10-0) 8
8. Kansas City-Washington (8-1) 4
9. Olathe East (9-2) –
10. Kansas City-Harmon (8-1) 6

CLASS 6A
1. Wichita Heights (11-0) 1
2. Blue Valley Northwest (10-0) 2
3. Topeka Washburn Rural (10-1) 5
4. Olathe Northwest (9-2) 4
5. Olathe South (9-2) 8
6. Olathe East (9-2) 7
7. Blue Valley North (9-2) –
8. Leavenworth (8-2) 6
9. Topeka High (7-3) 10
10. Dodge City (9-2) 9

CLASS 5A
1. McPherson (11-1) 1
2. Kansas City-Washington (8-1) 2
3. Kansas City-Harmon (8-1) 3
4. Topeka Highland Park (9-2) 4
5. Kansas City-Schlagle (8-2) 5
6. St. Thomas Aquinas (7-4) 10
7. Andover Central (7-3) 7
8. Lansing (7-3) 6
9. Hays (7-4) –
10. Pittsburg (7-4) –

CLASS 4A
1. Basehor-Linwood (10-0) 1
2. Kansas City-Sumner Academy (11-1) 5
3. Holton (10-1) 3
4. Topeka Hayden (7-3) 7
5. St. James Academy (7-4) 6
6. Abilene (9-2) 2
7. Wichita Trinity Academy (9-2) 4
8. Ottawa (9-3) 8
9. Buhler (10-1) 9
10. Towanda-Circle (10-2) 10



CLASS 3A
1. Scott City (10-1) 1
2. Wichita Collegiate (10-1) 4
3. Effingham-Atchison County (11-0) 9
4. Beloit (10-1) 5
5. Sterling (11-1) 6
6. Hutchinson Trinity (10-1) 2
7. Minneapolis (10-1) 7
8. Hoisington (10-1) 3
9. Silver Lake (9-2) 8
10. Central Heights (9-1) –

CLASS 2A
1. Berean Academy (11-0) 2
2. Pittsburg-Colgan (9-1) 3
3. Plainville (13-0) 4
4. Syracuse (10-1) 5
5. Nemaha Valley (9-2) 8
6. Herington (11-2) 7
7. Washington County (10-2) 1
8. Meade (9-2) 6
9. Oswego (9-2) 10
10. Rock Hills (10-2) –

CLASS 1A-1
1. South Gray (10-0) 1
2. Ashland (11-0) 2
3. Hanover (9-1) 4
4. Lakeside-Downs (11-0) 8
5. Macksville (11-1) 9
6. Pretty Prairie (11-1) 3
7. Waverly (11-1) 10
8. Quinter (9-2) 5
9. Baileyville B&B (10-2) 6
10. South Haven (11-1) –

CLASS 1A-2
1. Wilson (9-1) 1
2. Chase (10-1) 5
3. Fowler (8-2) 6
4. Hope (10-2) 3
5. Caldwell (8-3) 2
6. Elwood (7-3) 4
7. Tribune-Greeley County (10-3) 8
8. Weskan (9-3) 9
9. South Barber (9-4) 7
10. Moscow (5-3) –

KANSAS GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

TOP 10
1. Olathe South (10-0) 1
2.Wichita Heights (10-0) 2
3. St. Thomas Aquinas (11-0) 3
4. Shawnee Mission West (9-1) 4
5. McPherson (9-1) 7
6. Olathe Northwest (8-1) 9
7. Cheney (10-0) 6
8. Bishop Miege (8-1) 10
9. Maize (7-2) –
10. Salina South (11-1) –

CLASS 6A
1. Olathe South (10-0) 1
2. Wichita Heights (10-0) 2
3. Shawnee Mission West (9-1) 3
4. Olathe Northwest (8-1) 5
5. Maize (7-2) 9
6. Wichita Northwest (8-1) 7
7. Topeka Washburn Rural (7-3) 4
8. Dodge City (7-2) 6
9. Goddard (7-2) –
10. Olathe East (5-3) 8



CLASS 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (11-0) 1
2. McPherson (9-1) 3
3. Bishop Miege (8-1) 4
4. Salina South (11-1) 5
5. Newton (9-1) 2
6. Topeka Highland Park (7-2) 10
7. Blue Valley (6-3) 6
8. Andover (8-2) 7
9. Wichita Bishop Carroll (7-3) 9
10. Emporia (6-3) 8

CLASS 4A
1. Cheney (10-0) 1
2. Holton (11-0) 2
3. Colby (12-1) 3
4. Girard (10-0) 4
5. Rose Hill (9-1) 6
6. Haven (9-1) 9
7. Ottawa (9-2) 7
8. Towanda-Circle (8-2) 5
9. Basehor-Linwood (7-3) 8
10. Abilene (9-2) 10

CLASS 3A
1. Jefferson County North (8-0) 1
2. Southeast of Saline (9-0) 6
3. Effingham-Atchison County (8-1) 9
4. Smith Center (10-1) 2
5. Osage City (12-1) 8
6. Thomas More Prep Marian (9-2) 10
7. Southwestern Heights (9-2) 4
8. Riley County (9-2) 3
9. Holcomb (11-2) 5
10. Sabetha (9-2) 7

CLASS 2A
1. Berean Academy (10-0) 1
2. Washington County (12-0) 2
3. Hill City (9-1) 3
4. Cimarron (11-1) 4
5. Oskaloosa (8-1) 5
6. Moundridge (7-2) 8
7. Oakley (10-2) 6
8. Lincoln (8-3) –
9. Ell-Saline (7-3) 7
10. Kansas City-Immaculata (7-3) –

CLASS 1A-1
1. Olpe (8-0) 1
2. Claflin (10-1) 3
3. South Central (9-1) 4
4. Hoxie (11-1) 9
5. St. John Hudson (8-1) 2
6. Little River (8-1) 7
7. Macksville (7-3) 5
8. Cedar Vale-Dexter (10-3) –
9. Sylvan-Lucas (8-3) 6
10. Hanover (8-2) 8

CLASS 1A-2
1. Argonia (12-0) 1
2. Hutchinson Central Christian (8-1) 2
3. St. John's Beloit (10-1) 3
4. Thunder Ridge (9-2) 4
5. South Barber (8-3) 6
6. Wilson (8-2) 9
7. Quivira Heights (7-5) 7
8. Natoma (8-4) –
9. Frankfort (6-5) 5
10. Bucklin (6-4) 8