BY CHARLES CHANEY

We’re going to crown some champions on Saturday.

at 4:15, Maize South will defend their title against undefeated Topeka Hayden. There should be four really good games today.

First is the seventh place game between Augusta and El Dorado. Then, Goddard and Mill Valley will battle for fifth. The rest of the afternoon slate goes as Gardner-Edgerton and Kapaun will play for third before the championship game.

Here’s a complete recap and breakdown of the championship and the other placement games, as well as the all-tournament teams when they’re announced.

Top scorer: Zoey Buckner-Franklin, Kapaun

Buckner-Franklin scored 17 points in the second half and another 15 in the fourth quarter for a combined 24 points in the 61-39 win over Gardner-Edgerton on Saturday in the third place game. While she gathered a lot of points in the fourth, nothing was forced and it came within the flow of the offense. She finished with 63 points in the tournament and two 24-point performances. There’s a reason why she’s one of the top scorers in Kansas.

Top performance: Skyler Seals, Maize South

After dealing with foul trouble on Friday, the senior came through big for Maize South. She had 16 points, including back-to-back possession buckets with less than three minutes left as Hayden was pushing through for the win. She was all over in the first and second half and made plays for her team when it mattered.

Championship Game: Maize South 50, Topeka Hayden 48

Maize South used a 13-1 run in the third and fourth quarters to knock off the top-ranked team in Class 4A, Topeka Hayden for their third consecutive Lady Cat Classic Championship, 50-48.

The win gives Maize South another notch in their already stellar resume and it has Topeka Hayden their first loss of the season.

Maize South trailed for most of the first half but after injuries and fouls caught up to Hayden, Maize south wasted little time taking advantage of a shortened roster.

Skylar Seals, who spent a good portion of Friday in foul trouble, stayed out of trouble and was a big difference for Maize South. She hit big 3s and helped Maize South keep pace with Hayden early in the game, including a large one to put Maize South up 18-14 late in the first quarter.

Brylee Meier started the Hayden Wildcats off with a couple of 3s to book end the first quarter and it helped set the pace for them going forward. They were going to be tenacious on defense and try to make Maize South uncomfortable. After all, it’s what worked on Friday night as they came back against Gardner-Edgerton

Hayden finally found something that worked in the second quarter. After 13 minutes of back-and-forth play, Hayden found some space in passing lanes, jumped it and it led to turnovers. This is where Hailey Schmidtlein was able to get out on the break for a lay up. She has a nice stutter and underneath move to put the Wildcats up 31-26 with 1:10 remaining.

Rylan Chandler converted 1 of 3 free throws after being fouled with a second remaining, ending the 9-0 Hayden run and sending Maize South into the break down 31-27.

Early in the fourth, Schmidtlein picked up her fourth foul with 5:40 remaining in the quarter on a charge. On the ensuing possession, Kaylee Brunton hit the reverse lay up to put Maize South back in front, 32-31 with 5:24 to go in the frame.

Then, Norma Greco rolled her ankle. It felt as if the storm was brewing against Hayden.

Maize South for all of their struggles in the first half, took advantage of the injuries and foul trouble. The Lady Mavs would go on a 9-0 run of their own to go up 41-33 with 2:30 remaining. That’s when Schmidtlein and Greco, ankle tapped and all, checked back into the game.

That third quarter would be the demise for Hayden. They were 0 of 10 from the floor, only hitting some free throws but were 3 of 6 at the line in the quarter. Maize South forced six turnovers, with five of them being steals. Maize South outscored Hayden 16-3 in the third.

Brunton’s weak side put back for Maize South pushed their lead to 45-34 just at the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when Hayden made their push to get back into the contest.

Hayden closed the game, outscoring Maize South 14-5 but it wouldn’t be enough as Seals hit a big 3 and a nice give-and-go lay up late in the game. Hayden missed two free throws, capping their rough night at the line with 3:19 remaining in regulation. Hayden went 7 of 18 at the line in the loss.

While Greco drained a 3 and Schmidtlein had a steal and a lay up to cut it to 50-48 with 19.8 seconds remaining. However, Hayden was unaware of how many fouls they needed, with only two at the time, unable to get the fouls and stops. Eventually, Maize South was able to avoid a late foul and dribbled out the win.

Seals finished with a game-high 16 points, making four 3s for the Lady Mavs. Thompson had 10 points, eight in the first half. Brunton finished with six points in the second half, helping Maize South to the win.

For Hayden, they were led by Meier who finished with 15 and Ramsay had 13 points. Schmidtlein and Greco each had 10 points apiece.

Maize South 50, Topeka Hayden 48

Maize South 18 9 16 7 – 50
Topeka Hayden 17 14 3 14 — 48

Maize South 50: Thompson 3 (1) 1-2 – 10; Singhateh 1 2-2 – 4; Chandler 0 (1) 1-3 – 4; Seals 2 (4) 0-0 – 16; Hill 0 (2) 0-0 – 6; Brunton 3 0-0 – 6; Lassley 2 0-0 – 4. TOTALS: 11-29 8-22 4-8 – 50.

Topeka Hayden 48: Schmidtlein 5 0-2 – 10; Ramsay 5 3-6 – 13; Meier 4 3-6 – 15; Greco 3 1-4 – 10. TOTALS: 10-27 7-14 7-18 – 48.

7th place game: Augusta 58, El Dorado 28

The Orioles have been waiting to put together four quarters in the Lady Cat Classic and on Saturday they finally were able to do just that.

Emma Bourm scored 15 points as the Orioles beat rival El Dorado, 58-28, in the seventh place game at the 32nd annual Lady Cat Classic.

The Orioles improve to 4-7 on the year. El Dorado drops to 1-9.

Augusta had played in some tough games, battled some bigger schools and were looking for the elusive win. It appeared early as El Dorado took an 8-5 lead they’d still be searching for that win. However, it was their defense that got them going on their way to a win. They used defense to force turnovers and that led to offense. The Orioles forced four turnovers on four consecutive possessions. During that time, Briar Lichlyter got her buckets and the Orioles turned a deficit into a big margin. They’d go on an 15-0 run that would span into the second quarter.

During their run it was the full court trap that helped them pressure El Dorado into a bunch of turnovers, forcing 17 alone in the first half. They also held El Dorado to 1 of 11 in the second quarter as the Orioles built a 32-15 lead at the break.

The trend continued into the second half as Augusta hit six of their first eight shots and Emma Bourm was able to hit a couple of 3s and then score on a lay up, pushing Augusta lead out to 49-17 with 2:01 to go in the third.

Bourm led all with 15 for Augusta. Lichlyter had 11 as well. Delaney Ratcliff has eight points and Ella Bourm finished with six points.

For El Dorado, Liz Kemboi, Addison Hull and Jenna Hadley all finished with six points apiece. Ellee Bressler had five points as well.

Augusta 58, El Dorado 28

Augusta 16 16 19 7 — 58
El Dorado 10 5 4 9 — 28

Augusta 58: Ella Bourm 3 0-2 – 6; Ratcliff 4 0-0 – 8; Lichlyter 5 1-1 – 11; Emma Bourm 2 (3) 2-4 – 15; Pfeifer 2 (1) 0-0 – 7; Cox 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 20-34 4-12 6-10 – 58.

El Dorado 28: Hull 3 0-0 – 6; Hadley 1 (1) 1-2 – 6; Bressler 2 1-4 – 5; Kemboi 2 2-4 – 6; Parker 1 0-0 – 2; Jefferis 0 (1) 0-0 – 3. TOTALS: 9-32 2-12 4-10 – 28.

5th place game: Mill Valley 44, Goddard 23

The last two days the Mill Valley defense has been locked in after their 66-point allowance in the first round against Kapaun on Thursday.

Mill Valley held Goddard to 17.9 percent shooting as they beat Goddard 44-23 to win fifth place in the Lady Cat Classic for the second consecutive season.

The Jaguars (7-6) were in control for most of the contest, forcing contested shots and limiting opportunities of Marayah Coleman after her big performance yesterday. She finished with zero points in the loss.

While Mill Valley led 18-14 at the break, they struggled to shoot the ball in the first half, with foul trouble limiting their opportunities. They shot just 6 of 16 in the first half and had seven turnovers. However, Riley Marshall and Alexa Short kept the Jaguars afloat, scoring all first half 18 points.

The game really turned in the second half when Presley Schmidt and Coleman were both hit with technical fouls. they never returned to the game and that’s when the starters for Mill Valley were able to take over. They turned a 7-point game into a double-digit blow out.

While the free throws from the technical fouls weren’t nearly as impact as the absence of two starters for Goddard. They struggled to defend the size and speed of the Mill Valley starters.

Mill Valley would go on an 11-0 run to push the game to 37-20 with 4:30 remaining in the game.

Finley Stevens for Goddard would hit a 3, bringing the Goddard scoring to a wrap.

Riley Marshall hit four threes in the win for Mill Valley, finishing with 22 points. Short went 3 of 5 at the free throw line and 13 total points. Faith Pittenger had a big fourth quarter, scoring five points in the final frame.

Schmidt finished with eight points, as did Sariah Potter for Goddard.

Mill Valley 44, Goddard 23

Mill Valley 13 5 10 16 — 44
Goddard 10 4 4 5 —23

Mill Valley 44: Marshall 3 (4) 4-8 – 22; Short 4 3-6 – 13; Konen 0 (1) 1-2 – 4; Pittenger 1 3-4 – 5. TOTALS: 9-20 5-13 11-19 – 44.

Goddard 23: Schmidt 1 (1) 3-6 – 8; Potter 2 4-4 – 8; Bowyer 1 0-1 – 3; Phillips-Blevins 1 0-0 – 2; Stevens 0 (1) 0-0 – 3. TOTALS: 5-34 2-15 7-11 – 23.

3rd place game: Kapaun Mt. Carmel 61, Gardner-Edgerton 39

Zoey Buckner-Franklin scored 17 second half points and Kapaun Mt. Carmel responded to a loss in the semifinals with a 61-39 win over Gardner-Edgerton on Saturday afternoon in the third place game of the Lady Cat Classic.

They were the runner-up last season but take home third place this season.

Buckner-Franklin did the bulk of her damage in the fourth quarter, as the game was already teetering on getting out of hand, with 15 of her 17 second half came in the fourth.

For Gardner-Edgerton they could never get their shot to fall. It was their demise in their loss to Hayden on Friday as well. They made only four shots in the first half and then in the second half made five more. Kapaun forced 24 total turnovers and made sure to capitalize on the mistakes.

The Lady Crusaders trailed for only a short minute in the second quarter as they struggled with their shot but once it started to fall, the buckets started to pile up. Kapaun ended the half on a 10-2 run, leading 23-16 at the break.

They came out in the second half and pushed it immediately into double digits. as Ella Rudy put back a miss to put the Lady Crusaders ahead 32-20.

Maddy Spiers hit a corner 3 and then Buckner-Franklin had a jumper to make it 37-23.

In the fourth, Buckner-Franklin hit three 3s as Gardner-Edgerton struggled to make shots and the lead exploded for the Lady Crusaders.

Phister finished with 14 to go along with Buckner-Franklin’s 24.

Kylie Kyle had eight points to go with Landri Schaffer’s team high 10 points.

KMC 61, Gardner-Edgerton 39

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 13 10 16 22 — 61
Gardner-Edgerton 12 4 10 13 – 39

Kapaun 61: Buckner-Franklin 5 (4) 2-2 – 24; Knipp 1 2-2 – 4; Phister 4 (2) 0-0 – 14; Rudy 2 0-0 – 4; Hamilton 0 (1) 2-2- 5; Garner 0 1-2 – 1; Spiers 1 (1) 0-0 – 5; Laufer 1 0-0 – 2; Bezdek 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 15-41 8-18 7-8 – 61.

Gardner-Edgerton 39: Schaffer 2 (1) 3-4 – 10; Ratley 0 4-4 – 4; Kyle 1 (1) 3-4 – 8; E. Holle 1 (1) 0-0 – 5; A. Holle 1 0-0 – 2; Roberts 0 (1) 0-0 – 3; Beasley 0 4-4 – 4; Holland-Hoffman 0 1-2 – 1; Harlan 1 0-0 – 2. TOTALS: 6-30 4-15 15-18 – 39.

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 61, Gardner-Edgerton 39
Fifth place game: Mill Valley 44, Goddard 23
Seventh place game: Augusta 58, El Dorado 28

All-tournament team

Landri Schaffer, Gardner-Edgerton

Zoey Buckner-Franklin, Kapaun

Jaela Thompson, Maize South

Millie Ramsay, Topeka Hayden

Kaylee Brunton, Maize South

Aliyah Singhateh, Maize South

Hailey Schmidtlein, Topeka Hayden

Brylee Meier, Topeka Hayden

Riley Marshall, Mill Valley

Averie Landon, Mill Valley

Most Valuable Player

Millie Ramsay, Topeka Hayden

Top free thrower shooter

Zoey Buckner-Franklin, Kapaun

All-Hustle team

Lizzy Lassley, Maize South

Emerson Holle, Gardner-Edgerton

Josie Benson, Mill Valley

Sariah Potter, Goddard

Addison Holle, Gardner-Edgerton