The Cardinals basketball teams handled Paola in dominant fashion Tuesday night as the teams combined to beat the Panthers by 59 points.
The boys team overcame a slow start in the first half to score 33 second-half points and win 52-22.
Head coach Kyle Deterding said the team was much more active on offense in the second half, which helped build out the lead.
“We did a nice job sharing the ball. I bet we had eight to 10 assists just there in the second half,” Deterding said. “We had people sharing with people if they were open, we were hitting them and we did a good job attacking the backboard. We were pretty fluid in the second half.”
With the win, the boys team busts out of their two-game slump.
Junior Connor Watson said the team came into the game locked in and ready to put last week’s losses in the rear-view mirror.
“I feel like we came off those two losses last week just wanting to get after it,” Watson said. “I feel like we had a good team win.”
The Cardinals defense kept them in the game early on as the team struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. The Cardinals led just 19-7 at halftime.
The Cardinals came out much stronger in the second half. Junior Caden Stedry opened the half with a tremendous pass fake and strong drive to the rim where he finished with a tough bucket.
Then, about two minutes into the third quarter, the Cardinals caught fire and sparked a 12-0 scoring run.
Junior Nick Younkin and senior Logan Sullivan each had a steal that led to a fast break basket on the other end during the run.
Stedry said the team’s effort played a big role in the scoring run.
“Everyone’s doing their thing for the team,” he said.
Then, Sullivan nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the team up 42-17 at the end of the third quarter.
Sullivan led the team in scoring on the night with 21 points. Stedry finished with 12 while Watson had 10 and Younkin had three.
The Cardinals went on another 8-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter to help the team secure the victory.
Deterding credited the team’s defense for the two big scoring runs in the second half.
“We got some stops and then when you make some buckets you have a chance to go on those runs,” Deterding said. “If you don’t ever get stops, you’re never going to go on a run.”
On the girls side, the team’s defense was dominant all night as well. The Cardinals only allowed 20 points on their way to a 49-20 win.
Senior Lainey Orr said the team emphasizes the importance of playing good defense in practice, which is why it was so commanding against Paola.
“It’s dominant because, in practice, we’re constantly doing it every day,” Orr said. “We take it seriously every day. It’s not a joke. We’re spending, honestly, like half of practice doing it. I think that’s helping us a lot this year.”
Head coach Brandon Parker said the team did a really nice job at pressuring the Panthers all night.
“Jayla Erpelding did an amazing job tonight. It may not show up, per se, in a stat sheet, but what she does to make a ball handler work just to get the ball up the floor is so instrumental in what we do, and then everyone else is doing their job defensively,” Parker said. “And people coming off the bench are doing their job defensively. We just have a group of people that understand the importance that defense is going to be for them.”
The Cardinals used their defense to establish some early momentum as the team jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, and then led by 23-5 at halftime.
Senior Parker Long, junior Hanna Keltner and freshman Brynn Deterding each had steals in the first half that led to quick baskets on offense.
The Cardinals continued to pad the lead in the second half. Deterding made an excellent pass to Orr for a bucket, then Orr returned the favor with a nice pass to senior Kenzie Yoder for another basket.
Long, Deterding and Orr each hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter as well.
Brynn Deterding said the team did a good job of staying aggressive out of halftime even though they had a big lead.
“I think it’s important to stay locked in so we don’t lose the momentum in the game and get carried away when we still have the rest of the game to finish,” she said.
Deterding and Yoder added a couple of baskets in the fourth quarter to help the team put the game away.
Deterding had 17 points on the night for the Cardinals. Orr finished the game with nine and Yoder had seven points.
The teams will travel to Tonganoxie Thursday for their first road games of the season.
This will be the boys’ final game before winter break as they look to get back above the .500 mark before Christmas.
“Tongie’s a respectable team. They come off some losses, but they’re going to be ready. So, we just got to keep the mindset of they’re the best team in Kansas and come out strong,” Watson said.
As for the girls, the game against the Chieftains will be their second-to-last game before winter break as the team will travel to Shawnee Mission North to meet up with the Bison Monday.
Orr said it would be a huge confidence boost if the team can find a way to win the next two games and be 6-0 at the break.
“That’s the amount of games we won last year, so just having all that confidence going in and after Christmas dominating even more — it’s just huge to get these next two games,” Orr said.
Watch the Kaw Valley State Bank post-game show to hear more from Watson, Stedry, Kyle Deterding, Orr, Brynn Deterding and Parker.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].
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