The Cardinals defeated Paola in a hard fought battle at home 54-38 in the sub-state finals to cap off a record-breaking Friday night.
The win not only punched their ticket to state, but they also made team history with a record 21 wins in a season and a record 21 straight victories. The only game they dropped was the season opener against Basehor-Linwood, and it was only a 2-point loss.
Winning streaks can be difficult to maintain as one bad shooting night can derail them. The Lady Cardinals’ consistency could be traced back to a message shared by their head coach, Brandon Parker, at the beginning of the season. He told the team he only wanted two things from them: care and effort.
“We’ve had really tough games. We haven’t had very many big-margin games,” Parker said. “We’ve had to fight because we had to survive those cold shooting nights. Every day these kids, at practice and at games, they care and they give great effort and that has gotten us through the nights when maybe the ball just won’t fall in the hole.”
Paola opened the game strong with a fast 5-0 start, but Eudora responded with their signature stifling defense to go on a 9–2 run to close the first quarter with a 9-7 lead.
Active hands by Eudora in the second quarter led to points off turnovers and second-chance points as they went into halftime with a 27-18 lead. Each time Eudora threatened to pull away, Paola would find instant offense. With 4:42 left in the third, Eudora only led 33-28 as both teams traded blows.
However, momentum shifted in the third quarter. Senior Harper Schreiner scored 14 of her 26 points and had two crucial plays in the quarter. With 1:30 remaining, Schreiner converted an and-one opportunity and had a putback layup to beat the buzzer and close the third with a 46-33 lead.
“I was working in the third quarter, I was hitting my layups and so those two things were kind of like the cherry on top for us to gain that lead, especially that putback at the end,” she said. “That got the crowd going and that was the spark we needed to finish the game because we were tired.”
Eudora led by as much as 17 in the fourth quarter, and the excitement of the home crowd could be felt throughout the gym in the last minute as the student section erupted into “statebound” chants with a minute remaining.
Although seniors Mackenzie Mayer and Schreiner were the only returning starters this year, the team developed quickly despite many new players on the varsity roster.
“Our seniors do a really good job,” Parker said. “They make an environment that makes it really easy for others to come in and feel comfortable and play. Our juniors and sophomores have done an excellent job, they’re learning through the fire.”
The Lady Cardinals will play their first game at state on Wednesday. Schreiner said she has been to state twice in her career, but never advanced past the first round, something she believes will change this year.
“I know we can do it. We’ve worked so hard this season,” she said. “This is definitely the group to do it.”
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