BY CHARLES CHANEY
The girls high school basketball playoffs have begun in Butler County and for some, there are titles to be had and there are other schools who are hoping to pull an upset and keep their season going.
It’s been a pretty good year all around for the girls side of things in the county this season. The play has been improved across the board. Maybe we’ll get to see our cinderella make their way to the state tournament this season.
Here are the sub-state pairings for all of the girl teams in Butler County. You can view the boys here.
Andover (19-1)
A lone blip from one of the best 6A schools in the state for the Lady. Trojans. They’re a heavy favorite to compete for a state title this season. They have a ton of young talent and some senior leadership to balance out the youth.
They open the playoffs again Goddard Eisenhower (6-14) in the 3-14 match up. Only two teams (Topeka Seaman and Hays, both 20-0) are ahead of Andover. Should they beat Eisenhower for the sixth consecutive time, they would play either Bishop Carroll (15-5) or Salina South (10-0) in a tough 6-11 match up.
They occasionally run into Salina South in the STI and have won four of the last five against the Cougars. Carroll presents a different match up. Since 2010, the schools have met five times, Carroll leading the series 3-2, including the 60-32 win in the state tournament two years ago and the sub-state final the year before.
Andover Central (13-7)
Despite having a record that would typically give you a home game, the Jaguars are heading to Hutchinson for the first round of the playoffs with a loaded field. They’ll play the Salthawks (14-6) in the first round and that’s a tough out. Hutch has a win over then 6A No. 1 Derby on the resume. This could easily be a sub-state final both teams are such high quality. Instead, they’re playing each other in the first round. Since 2006, Andover Central is 7-0 against Hutch.
Waiting for them is No. 1 Hays. They’re the only public school team to defeat Wellington over the last couple of seasons. Hays beat them in overtime earlier this season. They’ll play Great Bend for a probable win in the 1 vs. 16 match up on Tuesday. The Jaguars haven’t played Hays since 2020 but are 2-0 vs. them all-time. They’ve never played Great Bend.
Augusta (11-9)
The Lady Orioles have found some magic sauce late in the season. They’ve won four in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. They’ve vaulted their way all the way to the eighth seed. Their reward? McPherson.
While this isn’t the Mac teams of old, they still carry the weight of that program’s history and that can do a lot to teams. They did win their final game against Mulvane on a buzzer-beater to push themselves into the 8-9 game. Augusta did sweep the Lady Bullpups this season, giving them a chance for the rare, three wins against McPherson in a season.
If they win? Top-seeded Wellington. The Lady Crusaders have a singular loss, to Hays in OT, earlier this season. What we’ve learned this season is they’re not afraid of anything.
Berean Academy (14-6)
The Lady Warriors are coming off an impressive, 38-23, win over Wichita Central Christian Academy in the first round of the sub-state. They’ll try to get revenge on Inman, who beat them earlier this season in conference play.
Since 2006, Berean Academy is 18-6 against Inman and are 4-1 against them in the postseason.
Should they win, they’ll either play Wichita Classical (12-9) or Bennington (18-3). Bennington swept Berean earlier this season by a combined nine points. Berean swept Classical convincingly in both games.
Bluestem (13-7)
The Lady Lions are in the midst of their sub-state after being Uniontown, 44-35, on Friday night. Bluestem was up by nine and were able to keep them at bay for the rest of the game. They’ll play second-seeded Chase County in the semifinals. A win against the Bulldogs and Bluestem will play for a chance at state on Saturday. It’ll be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
If they were able to upset Chase County, they’ll face either Dexter/Cedar Vale (15-5) or Lyndon (13-7) in the finals. They lost to Dexter/Cedar Vale earlier this year, 38-33. They’ve never played Lyndon.
Circle (9-11)
The Circle girls will get a chance at redemption after dropping their season finale on Thursday night. They’ll travel to Pratt to play the Greenbacks in a game Circle could take home comfortably. The two schools met two years ago, with Circle knocking off Pratt, 41-36. Since 2006, they’ve only met twice and both were in postseason play. Circle also won that game big.
If Circle can pick up the road win on Wednesday night, they’ll most likely play Buhler (16-4) in the first round. Buhler is reeling from a loss to Augusta on Thursday night at home. They were down by as many as 16. Buhler did sweep Circle this year and have won three straight dating back to last season. If you count the last four seasons, Circle is 6-3 vs. Buhler.
If a historic upset happened, Circle could play Abilene and Circle already beat Abilene earlier this year by double digits.
Flinthills (15-5)
The Lady Mustangs are 32 minutes away from appearing in a state tournament for the first time since 2021, which was their first appearance in school history. They beat a feisty Canton-Galva team on Saturday night, setting up Friday’s big show down with Colony Crest. It will be their first meeting with Colony Crest dating back to at least 2006.
Should the Lady Mustangs take care of business, they’ll advance to Dodge City and compete in the 1A-I state tournament. The school is no stranger to the venue as they’ve been to multiple state volleyball tournaments in the building.
Remington (16-5)
The Remington Broncos are fighting hard in Class 2A, coming off an impressive, 20-point win over Udall. They’re now set up with a showdown with Conway Springs. The Cardinals are 15-4 and will try to end Remington’s chance at a state tournament berth, which would be the first one since 2015. Since 2006, the schools have only met twice, with each team splitting a win.
If Remington holds on and wins, they’ll play either play Hillsboro (13-7) or Moundridge (19-2). They were swept by Moundridge this season and haven’t played Hillsboro since 2015. If they win both of those games, they would get a ticket to Bramlage in the 2A state tournament.
Rose Hill (6-14)
Back-to-back six win seasons for the Rockets as they are back in the playoffs for the second straight season. They’ll play familiar foe, Clearwater to open up the sub-state play. Clearwater swept the Rockets in both their games by double digits but this team when shooting can compete with most in their side of the bracket. Look no further when they almost beat a very good Andale team late in the season. The Rockets are 18-15 vs. Clearwater since 2007. However, they have lost 10 of the last 11 vs. the Indians since 2020.
If the Rockets were able to pull off the upset, they would face that same Andale team. The two played a close 42-41 game on Valentine’s Day. Since the 2006-07 season, Rose Hill is 10-22 vs. Andale.
