BY DAN CLAYCAMP
CANTON, Kan. — The second-seeded Flinthills Mustangs quest for their first state berth since 2021 came up short on Friday night with the Colony-Crest Lancers closing out the 37-34 win.
A physical game filled with foul trouble for both teams, turnover issues and poor shooting percentages, managed to come down to the wire and was in doubt for both teams throughout. Still, it was a game that Flinthills coach Daniel Scribner felt like they should have closed out.
“It’s one we felt like we let get away.” Scribner said. “We had a number of two-footers we didn’t hit. We had a couple of their players in foul trouble and ran some things their way and couldn’t take advantage of it.”
The game started with a flurry of turnovers by both teams until senior Emily Scribner opened the scoring with a three to take the early lead. Paige Corter, also a senior, would bury a three late in the first quarter to take an 8-7 advantage. It would be Flinthills last lead of the game, as the Mustangs only managed five points for the remaining 9 1/2 minutes of the first half.
Corter, committed to Cowley County next year, picked up an early foul in the first quarter and then picked up her second and third foul within a minute of each other early in the second quarter. At the 6:15 mark of the second quarter, the Mustang’s leading scorer was relegated to watching from the bench for the remainder of the half.
“We are not offensively blessed where we can just put a bunch of shooters out there and fire it up and score.” Scribner said. “We’ve kind of had to dig and scratch to create wins all year.”
While the offense slumped, the defense kept the game close to give the Mustangs a fighting chance until Corter’s second half return. Junior Brylee Heimgartner and sophomores Nilari Cabugo and Charli Bohnen provided the defensive intensity to fill the gap, and Flinthills kept themselves within reach trailing 9 at half, 22-13.
“Usually when I do that,” Corter said about the foul issue, “I get a little upset. So it just gives me a little motivation to go out and work a little harder and stay down on defense.”
A motivated Corter scored the first 12 points of the second half for the Mustangs, on her way to a game-high 17 points, to cut the deficit in half as the third quarter ended. A gassed Lancer squad, who didn’t substitute at all until late in the third quarter, was clinging to a 31-27 lead.
“Defensively we had them fatigued. Coach Scribner said. “We had them where we wanted them. We got to the free throw line. Just a struggle to convert at the free throw line.”
For the night Flinthills was 6 of 16 from the line, just a 37.5% shooting percentage. The Lancers, on the other hand, were more efficient, going 9 of 13 for a 69% clip.
After a Tagen Carney three-pointer cut the Lancers lead to just three mid-way through the fourth quarter, the excitement was mounting for the Mustangs. Back-to-back baskets by Corter and junior Alex Scribner would cut the lead to one with time to spare, trailing 35-34.
“In the last three minutes we ran three or four set plays that came open right where we wanted them to, just couldn’t finish it,” Scribner said.
In the final 30 seconds of the game, multiple chances to take the lead or extend the game into overtime came up short for the Mustangs, including a heave with 1.2 seconds left that could have tied it. The Colony-Crest Lancers escaped with the 37-34 win.
For the Mustangs, finishing the season at 15-6, it is not only disappointing to lose, but also to say goodbye to seniors Emily Scribner, Tagen Carney and Paige Corter.
Coach Scribner summed it up best.
“They’ve all been 4-year starters for our program,” he said. “They have all been really nice players for our program and even better people, which is fantastic. The culture of our program is you are going to treat everyone with respect and go out and work our tails off and get better. And those three have epitomized that.”
For Corter, even though her playing days will continue at the next level, the sadness of the moment isn’t lost on her.
“I’m going to miss every single one of them,” Corter said. “The bonds that we have, even with the coaches. I’m going to miss every single one of them.”
Colony-Crest 37, Flinthills 34
Colony-Crest 11 11 9 6—37
Flinthills 8 5 14 7—34
Colony-Crest – Beckman 5 (1) 1-5 12, Schmidt 3 (1) 2-2 9, Allen 2 (2) 2-2 8, Boots 0 4-6 4, Edgerton 1 0-0 2, Valentine 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 (4) 9-13 37.
Flinthills – Corter 5 (2) 5-6 17, A. Scribner 4 0-0 8, E. Scribner 2 (1) 0-0 5, Carney 1 (1) 0-4 3, Heimgartner 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 (3) 6-16 34.
