By LIONEL TIPTON
TOWANDA, Kansas – Circle senior Emma Johnson will never be mistaken for her older sister Erin.
Both have excelled in multiple sports for the Thunderbirds, including golf, basketball and track.
In basketball, Erin would use her wide body to bull inside for rebounds and baskets off putbacks.
Emma is more of a driver who occasionally will go into the paint and mix it up but is a better outside shooter than her sister.
But Emma employed some of her big sister’s style Saturday night, mixing it up inside on Parsons for 11 points in an easy 54-23 victory in the final night of the T-Bird Classic.
“I love my sister, and she’s worked with me,” Emma said. “I’ve drawn upon a little bit of her old stuff and go inside when we need it.”
Johnson said the team realized this game could be a mismatch, but with losses in the other two tournament games, the T-Birds knew they couldn’t take Parsons for granted.
“It was keeping our heads, and (knowing) we might be up 10 or 15 that we’ve got to keep that intensity up, get those numbers higher so we’re not getting caught in foul trouble or other stuff,” she said.
She also was the lone Thunderbirds representative on the all-tournament team, a nice accolade for the senior scrapbook.
“She’s one who works her tail off for 32 minutes,” Circle coach Brian Henry said. “That’s something that were trying to get (from) all of our lineup, up and down the roster, to give that kind of energy and effort – and we saw a lot of that (Saturday night).”
Johnson was consistent throughout the tournament and in the opener against Abilene, and she said it’s something she has strived to achieve.
“I’ve been working hard and working all four years to get it,” she said. “It means a lot with this team supporting me all four years.”
Circle also got five three-pointers and 19 points from junior Katelyn Vogts, who was able to reach that total taking fewer shots than she did in previous games.
“She’s someone that can be a difference-maker,” Henry said. “If she’s on, she can shoot lights-out.”
Henry said Vogts also excelled at doing the little things against Parsons, getting more involved away from her comfort zone on the perimeter.
“We talked to her about that,” he said. “If her shot isn’t falling, like it hasn’t the last couple of games, ‘How else can you impact the game?’ She got some blocks, some rebounds, nice passes out of transition.
“She kind of helps spark the rest of our movement.”
The triumph allowed Circle to salvage one game in the three-game round-robin tournament and get its record back to 2-2 with two games remaining before Christmas break. In the second and third quarters, the Thunderbirds put up 45 points, racing away from the Vikings.
“We had a great time there,” Henry said. “Shots were falling. You look like a lot better and different team when shots are falling vs. the nights when they’re not. (Saturday) we looked like we’re capable of looking. We have to find a way on the nights when they’re not falling, how else can we battle for some of those close wins as well.”
Like the T-Birds’ boys team, Circle’s girls never trailed in the game and had such a huge lead after three quarters (54-22) that a running clock was used for the final quarter.
“We wanted to play with a little bit more intensity, a little bit more passion than we have shown this week overall,” Henry said. “And I felt we had great team chemistry (Saturday night); I think the girls did a good job of working, of finding the open person. I thought our defense did a good job of helping each other and got good rotations. It was really a step in the right direction for us.”
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings (0-4) actually outscored the T-Birds, 1-0.
The running clock in that quarter presented a different kind of concern for Henry.
“A lot of times, when you get there (to a running clock), you lose your intensity – it is a challenge. It’s to keep your focus, to want to finish a game, to want to execute at that same level, and it’s hard.
“Our girls did a good job. I told them it’s the first time I’ve ever been outscored in the fourth quarter 1-0, and still win a game by 30 points.
“So, we’ll take that.”
Circle got off to a 9-3 lead after one quarter and built a 32-16 advantage at the half. It kept up a relentless attack in the third quarter and coasted home.
The Thunderbirds only suited up nine players, but seven of them scored. Junior guard Hailey Coble hit two three-pointers, and senior Izzy Marley stood tall inside and finished with seven points. And for once, Circle faced a team where it actually had an advantage in talent and experience. Parsons is a young team, with just one senior.
Still, Henry wasn’t taking any chances.
“They battled both Mulvane and Collegiate this week, so we knew they were going to give us a good shot,” he said.
Johnson said the girls had to adjust and take more on because of the limited depth.
“It’s just keeping up that enthusiasm and hard work,” she said. “It’s rotating where people need brief (breaks) and stuff. It’s putting that 110 percent in.”
Circle didn’t face much of a test against Parsons, but that will change this week in two home games before Christmas break. The T-Birds will face two perennially strong programs who have stumbled out of the gate this season.
Winfield will play at Circle on Tuesday night, and it has struggled so far this season, going 0-3 against three powerful teams in Arkansas City, Andale and Valley Center.
The Thunderbirds will close 2024 on Friday by playing host to McPherson. The Bullpups are 1-2, but their losses are to Derby and Andover. Their lone victory came at home against Class 6A Dodge City.
So, there is much work to be done before gathering for the holidays.
“Our league (AVCTL Division III) is tough, up and down, every night,” Henry said. “So, it’s going to be a challenge for us to get back and get ready to go again on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to go hard one more week, then we can celebrate the holidays.”
Circle’s trap has paid dividends, and Johnson said keeping up the pressure could be a key this week.
“Making sure we know how to break a press and keeping that pressure ourselves,” she said. “It’s easy to trap, but it’s hard getting that rotation around sometimes. It’s just that hard work and training that (coach) Henry puts us through at practice, of making sure that if we see somebody trapped to get around and get that rotation, so that we can get those steals and those layups on the other end.”
Labette County’s undefeated Grizzlies won the T-Bird Classic girls title, and Mulvane prevailed in a tiebreaker over Wichita Collegiate to be the runner-up.
Circle girls 54, Parsons 23
Parsons 3 13 6 1 – 23
Circle 9 22 23 0 – 54
PARSONS – Rea 2(1) 3-4 8, Robertson 2 2-4 6, Draper 2 0-0 4, Hinman-Mitchell 1(1) 0-0 3, Shultz 0 2-2 2. Totals 7(2) 7-10 23.
CIRCLE – Vogts 6(5) 2-2 19, Johnson 4 3-4 11, Marley 2 3-3 7, Coble 2(2) 0-0 6, Patty 2 1-4 5, G. Tucker 1 1-2 3, M. Tucker 1 1-2 3. Totals 18(7) 11-17 54.
T-BIRD CLASSIC
GIRLS
Champion – Labette County (3-0). Runner-up – Mulvane (2-1, won tiebreaker).
All-Tournament Team – AVCTL: Julia Herrman, Sr., Collegiate; Olivia Ellis, Sr., Mulvane; Emma Johnson, Sr., Circle; Brittani Peschel, Fr., Mulvane. SEK: Landry O’Brien, Labette County; Brooklyn Mattix, Jr., Independence; Katelyn Spencer, Jr., Independence; Ayanna Robertso
