Girls basketball heads to break undefeated

The girls basketball team earned two major achievements with their 46-32 win over Shawnee Mission North Monday night.

First, the team is 6-0 heading into winter break.

Senior Jayla Erpelding said being undefeated before Christmas will help the team stay motivated during the break.

“I feel like it puts a target on our back, and that makes us have to work a lot harder in practice to keep our record undefeated,” Erpelding said.

The second big accomplishment for the Cardinals is they have already matched their win total from all of last season.

Senior Kenzie Yoder said she is proud of the team’s development over the last year, but there is still work to be done.

“It’s exciting to see the improvement and know that we are already on a better track than last year,” Yoder said. “But we got to definitely keep it going and not get hung up on what we have right now.”

Head coach Brandon Parker said for the Cardinals to earn these two big achievements is good for the team’s morale.

“There’s a hidden sense of accomplishment there. This is different,” Parker said. “They had a tough season [last year], but they cared and tried really hard. So, I’m happy for them just because it makes them feel good.”

The game started as a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded baskets to open things up.

However, Yoder provided an early spark for the Cardinals as she was able to drive in and draw contact to get to the free throw line on multiple occasions.

“I think it brought some energy and when they started coming in on me, I was able to kick it out to my teammates and they were there for the shot. So, I think that was big for us,” Yoder said.

The Cardinals took a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinals defense got things going in the second quarter as the team was able to force several turnovers and turn them into buckets.

On a fast break after a steal, freshman Brynn Deterding made a nice pass to Erpelding for a basket. Shortly after that, Yoder scored off of a steal as well.

Parker said he was happy to see the team’s defense step up in the second quarter after the Cardinals started slow on that side of the ball.

“We were letting them kind of do what they wanted to do and not doing what we normally do,” Parker said. “So, we challenged them and they started stepping it up. That’s our deal. If our defense is going, then our offense will come around and that’s kind of what happened in that stretch.”

The Cardinals took a 24-15 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, Yoder and Erpelding connected with each other as Yoder made a great pass to Erpelding under the basket for a layup.

The two hooked up later in the third quarter with Yoder finding Erpelding again to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 10.

But Shawnee Mission North hit three 3s in the third quarter to keep the game close.

Senior Lainey Orr banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 35-26 lead heading into the fourth.

Yoder opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets.

Then, freshman Izzy Brunkow made a tremendous effort play where she chased down a loose ball while a Bison player jogged after it to give the Cardinals an extra possession.

The Bison had to resort to fouling to extend the game. Deterding hit five of six free throws to help cap things off for the Cardinals’ win.

Yoder led the team in scoring with 15 points on the night. Deterding scored 13 while Erpelding and Orr each had seven.

The Cardinals will play their next game at home against Louisburg on Jan. 4. The girls will take the court at 6 p.m. followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.

The boys basketball team won its final game before winter break Thursday against Tonganoxie 58-56 to get their record back above .500 at 3-2.

Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].

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