The second day of the 32nd annual Lady Cat Classic got underway on Friday afternoon inside El Dorado High School. Four games, two decide who plays for fifth and another two to decide who plays for a championship.
The host El Dorado started the day by playing Goddard and the semifinals were a part of the night schedule.
In the end, we’ll see Maize South defend their back-to-back Lady Cat Classic championships against undefeated Topeka Hayden on Saturday afternoon.
We’re going to have all notes, breakdowns and recaps here for you during Day 2’s action.
Top scorer(s) of the night: Millie Ramsay, Hayden & Landri Schaffer, Gardner-Edgerton, each scored 19 points
We have a tie for the top scoring output on the night and they both did it in different ways. While Millie Ramsay of Hayden was a beast in the post, scoring 19 points, including 10 in the second half, she lived on the nice gather at the block and put off the glass bucket.
Schaffer, also scored 19 against Hayden, did hers at the free throw line. She was guarded tight all night and couldn’t really get open for a three so she adjusted and got to the free throw line. She went 10 of 11 at the line to gather her 19 points.
Top performance: Lizzy Lassley, Maize South
There were some amazing performances on Day 2. Millie Ramsay of Hayden, leading the come back back down in the second half to help Hayden stay unbeaten. There was also Leah Konen of Mill Valley’s sharpshooting or Marayah Coleman of Goddard who helped the Lions pick up the win.
None was more impactful than Lizzy Lassley of Maize South.
She smothered Zoey Buckner-Franklin of Kapaun all evening. Lassley, known for her softball skills on the diamond, took on the responsibility against Buckner-Franklin and thrived. When Lassley would sit, we would see Buckner-Franklin get some points and get to the line. Even when she would score, Lassley made her earn it with a contested shot or a hard foul.
In the end, Buckner-Franklin was a non-factor and Maize South was content with letting anyone else step up and beat them and no one did.
Goddard 47, El Dorado 32
Goddard had to turn right around after playing the final game on Thursday night and play host Wildcats in the first consolation game of the Lady Cat Classic.
It went well for them on the short rest.
Goddard opened the game outscoring El Dorado 12-0 before the Lady Cats were able to get settled in front of their large student section. Goddard would go on for the 47-32 win and advance to the fifth place match on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. The Lady Cats will play in the seventh place game at 11 a.m.
The first half was largely Marayah Coleman, who hit four 3s in the first quarter and it blew the game open, giving Goddard the 23-2 lead after the end of the first.
While El Dorado struggled from the field, shooting 3 of 22 from the field, they were able to get to the lien and were successful, going 3 of 4. Jenna Hadley capped in a 3 and Addison Hull hit a long jumper as El Dorado cut the deficit to 31-10 at the break.
The Lady Cats never really gave Goddard any space after the first quarter. They had an answer for everything after the first quarter. They were even in scoring in the second and third quarters and never let Goddard (5-7) pull away.
In the fourth quarter, El Dorado found success driving to the rim and forcing turnovers. They forced five in the fourth—as well as in the third—and turned all five into points. They scored on almost every one, scoring eight points on turnovers and won the fourth quarter.
El Dorado finished the game 10 of 16 at the free throw line. They were 7 of 10 in the third quarter alone.
Coleman led Goddard with 17 points, off five made 3s.
El Dorado was led by Jenna Hadley, who finished with 13 points for the Lady Cats.
Goddard 47, El Dorado 32
Goddard 23 8 9 7 — 47
El Dorado 2 8 9 11 — 32
Goddard 47: Schmidt 3 2-2 8; Bowyer 1 1-2 – 3; Potter 4 0-0 – 8; Coleman 1 (5) 0-0 – 17; Phillips-Blevins 0 (1) 0-0 – 3; Stevens 1 0-0 – 2; Healey 1 0-0 – 2; Kingery 1 0-1 – 2; Lange 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 13-28 6-23 3-5 – 47.
El Dorado 32: Hull 1 0-0 -2; Hadley 2 (2) 3-6 – 13; Bressler 2 1-2 – 5; Parker 3 2-4 – 8; Young 0 2-2 – 2; Lane 0 2-2 – 2. TOTALS: 8-33; 2-8 10-16 – 32.
Mill Valley 58, Augusta 37
Mill Valley hit nine three-pointers and forced 21 turnovers as the Jaguars rebounded from a tough loss on Thursday with a 58-37 win on Friday against Augusta.
Leah Konen hit four 3s and Riley Marshall hit 3 of them herself as the Jaguars never trailed after the first quarter and cruised to another Lady Cat victory.
Mill Valley built an early lead behind the shooting of Marshall when she hit a couple of 3s and got to the line, putting the Jaguars ahead 11-6 midway through the first quarter. Her super sidekick, Averie Landon was able to get into the paint and into the rim as they pushed the lead out.
Augusta tried to keep pace early, with Ella Bourm getting to the line and Briar Lichlyter hitting key buckets underneath. However, in the second quarter, Konen hit three 3-pointers, including two on back-to-back possessions, forcing an Augusta timeout and Mill Valley had built a 25-14 lead with 3:59 remaining until half.
Marshall would hit another and then Bourm responded with one of her own right before half, cutting the deficit to 29-17 at the break.
In the second half, it would be turnovers that were a big difference as it limited Augusta’s comeback attempt and helped the Jaguars eventually pull away. Augusta turned it over nine times in the second half, while Mill Valley had only one turnover through the first 11 minutes of the second half.
Then, Konen paired up with Landon to hit a pair of 3s and push their lead out to a comfortable double digit margin. Landon’s free throws at the start of the fourth put the game at a 20-point difference.
Mill Valley was 10 of 16 at the free throw line in the second half.
Augusta’s Ella Bourm tried to keep the Orioles within striking distance with her shooting but Mill Valley had an answer for everything.
Marshall finished with a game-high 18 points for Mill Valley. Landon had 10 and Alexa Short had four.
Augusta was led by Lichlyter’s 11 points and Bourm’s 10. Delaney Ratcliff had seven points to pitch in as well.
Mill Valley 58, Augusta 37
Mill Valley 16 13 18 11 — 58
Augusta 11 6 12 8 — 37
Mill Valley 58: Marshall 2 (3) 5-8 – 18; Landon 2 (1) 3-4 – 10; Short 2 3-4 – 5; Konen 0 (4) 1-2 – 13; Benson 1 1-2 – 3; Roth 2 0-0 – 4; Pittenger 1 0-0 – 2; Redden 0 (1) 0-0 – 3. TOTALS: 9-23 9-26 13-20 – 58.
Augusta 37: Ella Bourm 0 (3) 1-2 – 10; Lichlyter 5 1-1 – 11; Pfiefer 2 0-0 – 4; Fleming 0 2-2 – 2; Ratcliff 2 (1) 0-0 – 7; Emma Bourm 0 (1) 0-0 – 3. TOTALS: 9-24 5-15 4-5 – 37.
Maize South 58, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 42
Lizzy Lassley was up for the challenge. The tough-nosed defender took on the responsibility of taking on one of the best scorers in the state and she won.
Lassley’s defense on Zoey Buckner-Franklin, paired with some keen scoring led Maize South back to the Lady Cat Classic championship game with the 58-42 win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
Buckner was held to only three made buckets and Kapaun had no answer for Jaela Thompson.
The face guarding paid off tremendously in the first half until about the 5:38 mark when Lassley finally sat for a breather. From there, Buckner-Franklin was able to get to the line a couple of times for her first points of the game.
When Lassley checked back in, Maize South adjusted to the zone and while Kapaun still struggled to find shots in the half—going only 7 of 23 as a team—as Buckner-Franklin was able to finally work with some space. She hit her first bucket with a minute to go in the half, a cross over step back 3 from top of the key, cutting the Maize South lead to 34-23.
It was the Jaela Thompson show on the other side. The sophomore took defenders off the dribble, caught cutting passes and got to the rim. It felt any time she got near the block she was scoring. She had six in the second quarter alone as she helped Maize South fight off any Kapaun comeback.
Maize South had their first double league when Kaylee Burton scored on a nice spin and shot near the rim, putting the Lady Mavs ahead, 25-15 with about four minutes to go in the second quarter.
The second half was much of the same as Maize South was tenacious defensively, forcing turnovers and contested shots. While they were doing that on one end, on the other side they were getting to the rim and to the line. They got to the line 16 times in the second half.
They continued their blanket of Buckner-Franklin. While she finished with what felt like a pedestrian 15 points, she had to earn everything either at the line or contested shot. She finished unofficially 3 of 15 from the field with three turnovers and only three rebounds and two assists. It’s a stark comparison to the win over Mill Valley.
Addie Davee made Kapaun pay in the third. Her size and mobility was key as she scored six straight points and helped balloon the lead to 20 in the second half. By the time the fourth rolled around, Maize South was in cruise control and it was a Skyler Seals bucket that put them north of the 20-point margin.
It wouldn’t be until after most of the starters had checked out where Kapaun finally pushed back and cut it to as low as 14.
Thompson led all with 18 points for Maize South. Brunton chipped in with 11 for the Lady Mavs, with six in the second quarter. Davee finished with 10 as well.
Maize South 58, KMC 42
Kapaun 9 14 7 14 — 42
Maize So. 16 18 16 8 — 58
Kapaun 42: Buckner-Franklin 2 (1) 8-8 – 15; Rudy 2 1-2 – 5; Knipp 3 1-2 – 7; Hamilton 1 0-0 – 2; Phister 4 0-1 – 8; Romer 1 3-4 – 5; Jacobs 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 14-35 1-10 13-17 – 42.
Maize South 58: Brunton 5 1-2 – 11; Singhateh 2 4-6 – 6; Chandler 1 (1) 1-4 – 6; Thompson 6 6-11 – 18; Davee 5 0-0 – 10; Lassley 0 (1) 0-0 – 3; Seals 2 0-0 – 4. TOTALS: 20-37 2-10 12-23 – 58.
Topeka Hayden 57, Gardner-Edgerton 49
Down four in the third quarter, Carvel Reynoldson, called a time out to gather his team together. Gardner-Edgerton had already carried over the momentum from the first half and had taken a 33-29 lead.
It was enough to get his girls to focus and settle down.
What commenced was a 15-0 run that saw the No. 1 team in Class 4A survive a scare from 6A Gardner-Edgerton and take home the 57-49 win and advance to their first ever Lady Cat Classic title game on Saturday.
They were led in scoring by Millie Ramsay who was unstoppable at the block. She finished with a team high 19 points and it was consistent all night.
For Hayden, they didn’t shoot necessarily as good as they did in their win over El Dorado, especially from beyond the arc, going only 2 of 17 and it kept Gardner-Edgerton in the contest. Even when Hayden (12-0) had built a 21-15 lead midway through the second quarter, the misses piled up and Gardner-Edgerton was able to get to the free throw line and cut into the lead.
Schaffer hit a 3 at the top of the key with 25 seconds remaining to give the Blazers a 25-24 lead heading into the break. It capped a 7-1 run that was put together by free throws.
The Blazers (6-5) kept up the momentum in the early part of the second half. Even when Ramsay was scoring and collecting fouls, it was the Blazers answering back. Kylie Kyle scored an and-one and then Schaffer went to the line after being fouled on a 3-pointer. It gave Gardner-Edgerton the 33-29 lead.
It would be the last time they led.
Hailey Schmidtlein would score on a break away steal and then Brylee Meier would hit two free throws, followed by two more free throws from Schmidtlein. Norma Greco, the cool, calm, collected senior took over with back-to-back steals, a bucket and two free throws. It lead to another Gardner-Edgerton timeout.
Before you could blink, the Wildcats had erased a deficit and flipped it into a lead.
Greco canned an open 3-pointer and Hayden took a 44-33 lead after three quarters and a 15-0 lead.
Gardner-Edgerton turned up the heat in the fourth, eventually getting it down to six but Hayden had an answer and never let the Blazers get any closer. A bucket late by Gardner-Edgerton cut it down to the game’s final margin of eight.
Ramsay and Schaffer both finished with 19 points apiece.
Hayden was 12 of 12 at the line in the second half after going 3 of 4 in the first half. It was the opposite for Gardner-Edgerton. They were only 3 of 4 in the second half after going 14 of 16 in the first half at the line.
Schmidtlein finished with 14 points for Hayden, going 4 of 4 in the third quarter the line. Meier had nine and Greco finished with 13, including 11 in the second half. She had what felt like 10 steals in the game.
For Gardner-Edgerton, Kyle had 12 points and Ratley finished with 10.
It’ll be the third time in the last four years that Gardner-Edgerton will play for at third place.
Hayden 57, Gardner-Edgerton 49
Gardner-Edgerton 7 18 8 — 49
Topeka Hayden 15 9 20 — 57
Gardner-Edgerton 49: Schaffer 3 (1) 10-11 – 19; Kyle 1 (2) 4-4- 12; E. Holle 3 0-1 – 6; Ratley 3 (1) 1-2 – 10; Cox 0 0-2 – 0. TOTALS: 10-36 4-14 17-20 – 49.
Topeka Hayden 57: Ramsay 8 3-4 – 19; Schmidtlein 5 4-4 – 14; Meier 1 (1) 4-4 – 9; Watts 1 0-0 – 2; Greco 3 (1) 4-4 – 13. TOTALS: 18-35 2-17 15-16 – 57.
32nd Annual Lady Cat Classic
El Dorado High School
El Dorado, Kansas
Thursday, Jan. 30
Game 1: Maize South 52, Augusta 17
Game 2: Kapaun Mt. Carmel 66, Mill Valley 50
Game 3: Topeka Hayden 64, El Dorado 15
Game 4: Gardner-Edgerton 48, Goddard 46
Friday, Jan. 31
Game 5: Goddard 37, El Dorado 32
Game 6: Mill Valley 58, Augusta 37
Game 7: Maize South 58, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 42
Game 8: Topeka Hayden 57, Gardner-Edgerton 49
Saturday, Feb. 1
Championship game: Maize South (11-1) vs. Topeka Hayden (12-0), 4:15 p.m.
Third place game: Kapaun Mt. Carmel (8-4) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (6-5), 2:30 p.m.
Fifth place game: Goddard (5-7) vs. Mill Valley (6-6), 12:45 p.m.
Seventh place game: El Dorado (1-9) vs. Augusta (3-7), 11 a.m.
