Playing for a program that had suffered 65 straight Wichita City League losses,
Kenesha Jones and her
West (Wichita) teammates didn't enter Friday's contest against Wichita North brimming with confidence.
That may change some, however, after Jones snuck behind the North defense and took an inbounds pass to the rim allowing the Pioneers to take a 44-40 advantage over their league rivals with 11 seconds remaining in the contest. West eventually won the contest 44-42.
"Oh wow," Jones told the Wichita Eagle of West's first league win since a 66-64 triumph over North on Dec. 15, 2006. "We look down on ourselves a lot. We didn't expect to win any games. We never gave ourselves a chance to win anything. So this win really boosts us up."
Led by Jones, who topped all scorers against North with 20 points, West was set to start a streak of the good kind Tuesday when the Pioneers traveled to Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel. With the two-point win, Sandy Nixon's squad also snapped an overall losing skid dating back to a 52-47 win over Anthony-Harper-Chaparral on Jan. 30, 2009.
SIZABLE TRANSFEROlathe Northwest big man
Willie Cauley had to sit out the first month of the 2010-11 basketball season due to his transfer from Class 2A Spearville. But he wasted little time in making an impact for the Ravens last week.
In his first action since Spearville lost 52-48 to eighth-seeded Nemaha Valley in the Class 2A state basketball quarterfinals at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan last March, Cauley warmed up for 21 points and nine rebounds in a 45-38 overtime win over 10th-ranked Olathe South.
He scored the game's first points following a backdoor lob from Northwest guard
Shavon Shields.
"We weren't nervous for our first game with Willie, but we were anxious because we had a long break for winter break," Shields told the Olathe News of his newest teammate. "We were anxious to get playing again. He changed how we played and it took us a half to learn how to play around him and play off him, but it's a good start."
As a sophomore a season ago, the 6-foot-9-inch Cauley scored 13.8 points a game and pulled down 10.4 rebounds a contest. Cauley also dished out three assists, blocked 4.5 shots and earned nearly two steals a contest while leading the Lancers to a 22-2 record.
KNIGHT NETS 1,000th POINTOlathe South standout guard
Natalie Knight kept the spotlight on Olathe last week when she tallied the 1,000th point of her prep career with an 18-point performance during a 58-42 win at Lincoln College Prep (Mo.).
Beforehand, Falcon girls basketball coach Steve Ingram opted to remain silent on how close the senior was getting to the milestone.
"I'm glad he didn't tell me how close I was or that I needed a certain amount of points to get there that game," Knight told the Olathe News. "I wouldn't want to know beforehand. I wouldn't have been nervous because we have a lot more games to go, but I wanted to focus on winning as a team. I feel like it's a great accomplishment, but we have bigger goals this season as a team."
Knight, who reached the milestone in 64 varsity contests, led Olathe South to the Kansas 6A state title with a 54-49 win over Wichita Heights last March. The 5-6 senior, who now sits at 1,000 points-even, is within striking range of the school's record for total points in a career, held by Carrie Stewart (1,335 points). Jadhon Kerr (1,126) and Lacole Hook (1,075) are the only other Falcons to rip the cords for 1,000 points on the girls side of the court.
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