The Lady Tornado basketball team punched their ticket to the State Basketball tournament for the second season in a row, and for the third time in school history. Last week, they went 3-0 during the Pleasanton 2A Sub-State Tournament, defeating Pleasanton, Prairie Village Kansas City Christian and Shawnee- Maranatha Christian.
Eureka vs Pleasanton In the first round of the sub-state tournament, the Eureka Lady Tornadoes hosted the Pleasanton Blu-Jays. Eureka, the number two ranked team in the Pleasanton sub-state, dominated Pleasanton from the tip. They got out to a 49-13 lead after one half and went on to win 66-33 to advance to the semi-final round to face Kansas City Christian.
Eureka’s first points of the game came from a three-pointer by sophomore Britta Mongeau. Brenna Rucker edged the lead to 6-0 on a steal she converted into a triple. Pleasanton finally got on the board with a three-point basket. Sophomore Alaina Westerman, Mongeau and Rucker contributed to a 7-0 run by the Tornadoes early in the quarter. The Tornadoes put on quite a show from behind the arc in the first quarter, with baskets from Rucker (3), Mongeau (2), and freshman Elle Coulter (1), extending their lead to 24-7.
The Tornadoes were first on the board in the second quarter after Rucker wove through traffic in the lane to score two. The Blu-Jays answered with a pair of free throws. Another two-point basket by Rucker sparked a 13-0 run for Eureka. The quarter half ended with Eureka leading 49-13.
The first points of the second half belonged to the Tornadoes. Rucker got a steal in the first possession, which she later turned into two points on an offensive putback. A late run in the quarter was sparked by a technical foul against Pleasanton. Laynie Winfrey drained a free throw, Eureka got the ball on a baseline inbounds play and Madelyn Miller scored and drew a foul. Winfrey ended the quarter knocking down a corner three, Eureka went ahead 62-20.
With just 8 minutes left to play, Eureka only put 4 points on the board to Pleasanton’s 10. The 6630 victory saw two Tornadoes in double digits and advanced Eureka to the semifinals of the sub-state tournament.
Stats and Scoring Leaders: POINTS: Rucker 21, Coulter 19, Mongeau 8, Winfrey and Westerman 6 and Hannah Perrier, Lydia Mason and Miller 2. REBOUNDS: Winfrey 5, Rucker and Westerman 4, Miller and Coulter 3 and Kimber Ptacek 2.
ASSISTS: Winfrey 9, and Rucker and Mongeau 4.
STEALS: Rucker 8 and Winfrey 3.
Eureka vs. Kansas City Christian In the semifinal game of the sub-state championship, Eureka faced the Prairie Village Kansas City Christian Panthers in Pleasanton. Both teams fought hard for the victory, but Eureka secured the 4433 win over Kansas City to advance to the sub-state championship for the seventh consecutive year.
Mongeau caught Winfrey driving to the basket for Eureka’s first score. Winfrey nailed the triple at the wing on the following offensive possession. Unstoppable on both offense and defense, Winfrey stole the ball in the lane and fired it down the court to Mongeau for two points in transition. Prairie Village finally got on the board with a threepoint basket. By the end of the first quarter, Eureka had the 7-3 lead.
Winfrey kicked off the second quarter with a free throw. Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net for the first couple of minutes. Westerman drew another foul, this time on a shot, and made one of the free throws. Mongeau drained a trey from the corner, assisted by Winfrey. The Panthers were still unable to respond until late in the quarter, after earning six points on backto- back possessions. A shot from the free throw line by Mongeau ended Prairie Village’s 4 point run and concluded the scoring for the first half. At the buzzer, the Tornadoes led 16-7.
The first three points of the half came from the Tornadoes, another free throw from Mongeau and a shot from the elbow by Winfrey. Prairie Village was quick to match it with a 6-0 run. It was Winfrey again who silenced their crowd with a sweet bounce pass inside to Westerman at the opposite block for two. After non-scoring possessions from both teams, Ptacek drew a foul on a left-handed layup and nailed the free throw to complete a threepoint play. The two teams traded baskets back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, Eureka winning 31-17 by the end.
Prairie Village managed to outscore Eureka 13-16, but the fourth quarter effort wasn’t enough to defeat the Tornadoes. The buzzer sounded a 44-33 Tornado victory to advanced to the sub-state championship game.
Stats and Scoring Leaders: POINTS: Winfrey and Mongeau 16, Ptacek 5, Westerman 3 and Rucker and Coulter 2. REBOUNDS: Winfrey 9, Rucker 7, Westerman 5 and Ptacek and Coulter 4.
ASSISTS: Winfrey 7 and Coulter 3. STEALS: Winfrey 6, Ptacek 4, Rucker 3 and Mongeau 2.
Eureka vs. Maranatha In the championship game, the Eureka Lady Tornadoes faced up against the Maranatha Christian Academy Eagles in Pleasanton on Saturday, March 2. The winner would advance to the State Tournament for a chance to compete for a state title. With high stakes on the line, Eureka rose to the occasion.
They routed the Eagles, winning 60-26 to punch their ticket to the state tournament for the second year in a row and for the third time in school history.
Winfrey kicked off the scoring for the night finishing a shot at the basket. The two teams swapped three pointers, Eureka’s from Rucker. Coulter knocked down a pair of free throws to extend Eureka’s lead. A made basket by Westerman forced an Eagle timeout. Maranatha ended the run with a three-pointer. Eureka slipped in another run with a 15-footer by Winfrey and back-to-back triples by Coulter. The Tornadoes wrapped up the first quarter leading 26-8.
Scoring was cut in half for both Eureka and Maranatha in the second quarter. Coulter earned the first points in the second off an offensive putback. In transition, Winfrey kicked the ball across the court to Rucker, who dished it into Coulter at the opposite block for two. Throughout the second quarter, the Tornadoes would complete short runs, thriving in transition. At the halftime buzzer, Eureka had the lead over Maranatha 38-12.
The halftime break didn’t change the momentum. Eureka came out with two points on the opening possession from Rucker. Maranatha answered with a field goal of their own. The Eagles secured a defensive rebound, but a deflection by Winfrey led to a steal by Ptacek. Ptacek passed the ball to Mason, who then found Rucker patiently waiting to nail the shot from the top of the key. The Tornadoes didn’t let up in the third quarter as they outscored their opponent 20-7, stretching their lead to 58-19 going into the fourth and final quarter.
Maranatha opened up the fourth quarter with a shot at the block. Rucker responded in kind with a drive and finish at the basket. That was the last the Tornadoes would score. The Eagles added 5 more points to their scoring column. The final buzzer ended the game with a 60-26 victory for the Lady Tornadoes. The win advances them to the State Tournament in Dodge City. They will play Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. versus Pittsburg Colgan at the United Wireless Arena.
Stats and Scoring Leaders: POINTS: Rucker 21, Coulter 20, Winfrey 8, Mongeau 7 and Westerman 4. REBOUNDS: Winfrey 9, Rucker 6, Coulter 4 and Ptacek, Westerman and Miller 3. ASSISTS: Winfrey and Rucker 4.
STEALS: Elle Coulter 3 and Ptacek 2.
