BY CHARLES CHANEY
AUGUSTA, Kan. — Six games in nine days isn’t easy for anyone.
It’s just a part of life when you deal with tournaments and have make up games from the snow that fell on the state.
“Toughen up,” Augusta junior Ragan Pfeifer said about the rigorous schedule. “It’s no excuse [to be tired] because everybody plays the same amount of games we do. We just need to play how we know we can play.”
Fresh off their first ever win over McPherson on Thursday night, Augusta found the strength and determination to blow by rival El Dorado, 56-46.
The win caps off a 3-win week and with the win from last week’s Lady Cat Classic, Augusta now has won four in a row, and now they’re facing a chance a hosting a home playoff game.
Even when El Dorado fought back in the game, Augusta had a response. Whether it was Pfeifer, who scored big 3s in the first half or sophomore Briar Lichlyter getting to the line, using her size and physicality, it was a team effort.
“We’re giving everybody a chance to score,” Pfeifer said of the balanced attack. “We’re all giving assists and helping each other. When we bring each other up, we come out strong.”
Early on it appeared there was a let down from the night before. Such a monumental win over a McPherson team who had beaten Augusta so many times, 19-0, before Thursday’s game.
It wasn’t without its scary moments.
El Dorado came out with a quick 6-0 lead on two 3s but a timeout helped shape their mind right.
“I felt like they were just feeling sorry for themselves because of this is their sixth game in nine days,” Kyrsten Crawford said. “Sometimes you have to do things when you’re tired and sore and fatigued. You have to push through.”
Augusta pushed through enough to pick up the big win over El Dorado, moving to 7-7 on the season.
Even when Augusta had built a 31-25 halftime lead, a 7-0 run out of the half had given El Dorado their first lead since early in the game. It was Lichlyter who was able to get the Orioles to calm down. Pfeifer found her standing alone underneath the basket for the easy lay up and the lead once again.
Augusta would never trail again as they would run off a 19-3 run that spanned more than nearly eight full game minutes and it was enough to put El Dorado (1-13) away. They’d never let El Dorado any closer than seven over the game’s final five minutes.
It was the Lichlyter and Pfeifer show in the second half. The two combined for 17 of Augusta’s 27 second half points. Pfeifer’s ability to run the point and allow the Bourm sisters to work off ball and move has opened the offense.
“I’m so proud of Ragan that we made that switch to have the ball in her hands more to kind of take the pressure off, Ella and she has stepped up,” Crawford said. “She’s risen to the occasion and all of the girls trust her. Her confidence has grown with every game.”
Pfeifer, a junior, played like a savvy veteran in the game, finding movement of her teammates and when they attacked the basket, they found success a lot of the time. She capped off the run in the fourth by hitting a big win 3 to put Augusta up 50-35 with 5:26 remaining.
Augusta held El Dorado to only one bucket over a over seven minutes. They would hold them to only free throw shots.
Lichlyter finished with 13 points for the Lady Orioles. She went 5 of 8 at the line and had eight second half points. She’s like her team’s own energizer bunny.
“We all feed off her energy,” Pfeifer said. “I love her energy and she’s doing great out there and what she brings to the team.”
“I try and really help as the underclassmen on the varsity squad,” Lichlyter said. “It really just means a whole lot for me to be playing with these girls.”
Coach Crawford is loving the team contributions after Friday night’s win.
“It’s just a situation where you have to trust your teammates and chances for other people to step up,” she said. “They did that tonight and that’s where the confidence is growing for us.”
Pfeifer’s 16 led all scorers. She scored nine in the second half, including a big bucket to push it back to double digits in the final minute of the game. She finished with a half dozen assists, too.
Lichlyter’s 13, contributed with Emma Bourm’s 10 points were huge. Bourm had seen in the first half, with two made 3s. Delaney Ratcliff was big time, being able to cut to the basket and finding openings as she finished with 13, with 11 of those coming in the first half.
Augusta shot 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) in the first half and were 5 of 11 from 3 in the first half. They were 10 of 23 (43.5 percent) in the second half but only 1 of 6 from deep. As a team, they were 8 of 12 from the free throw line.
Augusta held El Dorado to 15 of 39 for the game (38.5 percent). After El Dorado went 6 of 11 from 3 in the first half, they held the Lady Cats to only 2 of 4 from deep and forced 14 turnovers in the second half.
El Dorado was led by Liz Kemboi who had 15 points, with four made 3s in the first half.
Augusta now has a chance to push into playoff position over the last few weeks of the season. Their schedule is brutal but it’s nothing new. After playing 6A schools last week in their tournament, they’re prepared for almost anything by this point.
“We’re going to break down a few things, tweak some things and continue to push through,” Crawford said. “This is the time where you really got to push and dig deep and really be locked in mentally to those little details.
“Those little details are what’s going to make a huge difference down the line.”
AUGUSTA 56, EL DORADO 46
El Dorado 12 13 9 12 —46
Augusta 14 17 10 15 — 56
EL DORADO 46: Young 2 0-0 – 4; Hadley 2 (2) 4-6 – 14; Parker 0 (1) 1-2 – 4; Hull 1 (1) 0-0 – 5; Scott 0 1-2 – 1; Kemboi 1 (4) 1-2 – 15; Bressler 1 1-2 – 3. TOTALS: 7-24 8-15 8-14 – 46.
AUGUSTA 56: Ratcliff 5 (1) 0-0 – 13; Ella Bourm 1 0-0 – 2; Lichlyter 4 5-8 – 13; Pfeifer 3 (3) 1-2 – 16; Emma Bourm 1 (2) 2-2 – 10; Fleming 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 15-32 6-17 8-12 – 56.
