Class 1A Division II Girls State Basketball Capsules

By Brent Maycock – KSHSAA Covered

BELOIT-ST. JOHN’S

Coach: Leah Bergmann

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Record: 20-4

Sub-state results: beat Tescott, 56-25; beat Thunder Ridge, 54-35

Quarterfinal game: vs. Hutchinson Central Christian 916-7), 4 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Ella Wiles, sr.; Carlie Brummer, so.; Jenna Gengler, jr.; Katie Brummer, sr.; Emma Jones, sr.

Worth noting: Bluejays earned third straight state trip with pair of double-digit sub-state wins. … Beloit-St. John’s won 2015 Division II state championship and tied for third in 2021. … Blujays lost in quarterfinals last year to eventual state champion Central Plains. … Blujays claimed Northern Plains League Tournament title. … Blujays started season 4-4 and have won 15 straight since. … One of losses came to 1A I qualifier Central Plains. … Blujays were league regular-season runners-up to Osborne. … Carlie Brummer averages 15.8 points per game to lead team and also adds 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 steals a game. … Gengler and Wiles each average 10.9 points per game. … Wiles also averages 8.5 rebounds. … Katie Brummer adds 5.3 points per game.


BUCKLIN

Coach: Craig Bowman

Record: 19-4

Sub-state results: beat Ingalls, 49-30; beat Ashland, 45-28

Quarterfinal game: vs. South Haven (19-4), 8 p.m.

Key players: Halie Feikert, sr.; Sydnie Jones, jr.; Emmerson Kirk, fr.

Worth noting: Red Aces making fifth state trip since 2013 and second straight. … Bucklin lost to Golden Plains in last year’s quarterfinals. … Best state finish is a third-place showing in 2013 followed by a fourth in 2014. … Red Aces captured SPIAA League Tournament title. … Bucklin started season 2-2 and won 12 straight in middle of season. … Losses came to Hoisington, St. John, Spearville and Minneola. … Jones leads team in scoring at 15.5 points per game and also adds 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.1 assists per game. … Feikert went over 800 career rebounds this season and averages a double-double with 10.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. … Kirk scores 11.1 points per game and leads team with 3.8 assists a contest. … Three other freshmen are in regular rotation and eight of 12 players on roster are freshmen with Feikert the lone senior.


HANOVER

Coach: Chris Beikmann

Record: 23-0

Sub-state results: beat Axtell, 58-5; beat Linn, 59-41

Quarterfinal game: vs. Sharon Springs-Wallace County (16-7), 2 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Ceegan Atkkns, sr., F; Anna Jueneman, so., PG; Massey Holle, sr., F; Tessa Lohse, G.

Worth noting: After taking third in Division II last year, Hanover is back at state for sixth time in the last seven years. … Wildcats captured state titles in in 1A Division I in 2017 and 2018, took second in 2019 and reached semifinals in 2020 tournament that was canceled at that point. … Wildcats lost 49-44 to eventual champion Central Plains in last year’s quarterfinals. … Beikmann is 27-3 in the postseason as Wildcat coach and 148-22 overall. … Wildcats swept Twin Valley League regular season and tournament titles with the tournament title a first for the program. … Only two wins all season came by single digits, a 62-53 overtime win over 1A I qualifier Doniphan West and 52-44 win over Valley Heights. … Atkins is four-year starter who averages 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.4 steals this season. … Jueneman leads Wildcats in scoring at 13 points per game and also adds 3.4 steals. … Holle averages 10.8 points and 8 rebounds and Loshe adds 8.5 points a game.


HUTCHINSON CENTRAL CHRSITIAN

Coach: DJ Kauffman

Record: 16-7

Sub-state results: beat Southern Cloud, 38-14; beat Wakefield, 49-30

Quarterfinal game: vs. Beloit-St. John’s (20-4), 4 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Kaylee Kauffman, sr.; Jessa Losew, fr.; Belle Barnett, so.; Emerie Boman, sr.; Allison Bateman, sr.

Worth noting: Central Christian took fourth at 1A Division II state tournament last year, falling in semifinals to Golden Plains 33-23 and then to Hanover in third-place game. … Trip to state is fifth for program, all coming since 2011 and third back-to-back appearance. … Best state finish were back-to-back runner-up showings in 2011 and 2012. … Kaylee Kauffman is DJ Kauffman’s daughter and leads team with 20.6 points per game. … She reached 1,000 career points this season. … Losew averages 10 points and 8 rebounds per game, but has missed four weeks at end of the season with an injury, though she will try to play at state. … Barnett averages 8 points and 5 rebounds per game while Boman adds 7 points and 3 rebounds per game. … Bateman adds 5 rebounds a game.


LEBO

Coach: Patrick Gardner

Record: 23-0

Sub-state results: beat Hartford, 60-30; beat St. Paul, 53-30

Quarterfinal game: vs. Pawnee Heights (10-13), 6 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Brooklyn Jones, sr., F; Abby Peek, jr., PG; Saige Hadley, so., F.

Worth noting: Wolves return to state as one of two unbeatens along with Hanover, which knocked Lebo out in last year’s quarterfinals 54-47. … Wolves swept Lyon County League regular-season and tournament titles. … Lebo won state titles in 1994 (2A) and 2001 (1A). … Gardner also has led Hartford boys to runner-up state finishes in 2016 and 2017. … Wolves swept 1A I qualifier and league rival Olpe and also won the Central Heights Invitational. … Jones went over the 1,000-point mark this season and averages 17.8 points per game. … Peek is right behind at 17.6 points per game and Hadley is just under 15 points per game. … Jones also averages just under 5 steals per game and Peek is just under 4 steals per game. … Bulk of squad helped Lebo capture 1A Division II state volleyball title in the fall.


PAWNEE HEIGHTS

Coach: Doug Ellison

Record: 10-13

Sub-state results: beat Western Plains, 33-29; beat Wilson, 39-31

Quarterfinal game: vs. Lebo (23-0), 6 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Olivia Hands, Joselyn Corderro-Valles.

Worth noting: Heights qualified for state for the first time in program history, knocking off Wilson in sub-state title game. … Season turned around with a four-game winning streak in mid-February that included a road win over La Crosse. … Roster only has six players. … Hands leads team with 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. … Corderro-Valles adds 5.7 steals per game.


SHARON SPRINGS-WALLACE COUNTY

Coach: Braydon Summers

Record: 16-7

Sub-state results: beat Cheylin, 79-11; beat Wheatland-Grinnell, 57-24; beat Golden Plains, 50-46

Quarterfinal game: vs. Hanover (23-0), 2 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Jersi Benisch, fr., G; Jaelyn Daily, so., F; Jyma Stafford, so., G; Ja’Asia Stafford, jr., C; Joss Benisch, sr., G.

Worth noting: Wildcats making first trip to state since 2018 and eighth overall in program history. … Wildcats knocked off perennial power Golden Plains in sub-state finals. … Wallace County won state championship in 2012. … Wildcats have wins over 2A qualifier Wichita County and 1A I qualifier Quinter. … Jersi Benisch has been impact freshman, averaging team-high 13.6 points per game and 3.6 steals. … Daily adds 8.9 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. … Ja’Asia Stafford and Joss Benisch are both over 6 points per game with Benisch also adding 3.5 steals. … Jyma Stafford adds 3.1 steals. … Wildcats’ 16 wins are most since 2012 title team. … Summers is Wallace County alum who coached Weskan boys the past four years. … Assistant coach Jessie Carman was freshman on last state team.


SOUTH HAVEN

Coach: Mike Heater

Record: 19-4

Sub-state results: beat Argonia, 48-22; beat South Central, 30-25

Quarterfinal game: vs. Bucklin (19-4), 8 p.m. Wednesday

Key players: Aubrey Pond, so.; Britain Dark, sr.; Kelly Theurer, fr.; Kami Butler, sr.; Jacee Theurer, jr.

Worth noting: South Haven making back-to-back state tirps for the first time in program history. … Cardinals lost in quarterfinals last season to Hutchinson Central Christian. … South Haven won state title in 2007 and also qualified in 2002 and 2013. … No player averages in double-figure scoring, but all five starters are between 5-9 points per game. … Pond leads team with 9 points per game and also averages 6 rebounds and 3.5 steals. … Dark averages 8 points and 7 rebounds. … Kelly Theurer averages 6.5 points and 3 steals, Butler 6 points and 4.5 rebounds and Jacee Theurer 5 points per game.

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Derek Nester
Derek Nesterhttp://www.sunflowerstateradio.com
Derek Nester was born and raised in Blue Rapids and graduated from Valley Heights High School in 2000. He attended Cowley College in Arkansas City and Johnson County Community College in Overland Park studying Journalism & Media Communications. In 2002 Derek joined Taylor Communications, Inc. in Salina, Kansas working in digital media for 550 AM KFRM and 100.9 FM KCLY. Following that stop, he joined Dierking Communications, Inc. stations KNDY AM & FM as a board operator and fill-in sports play-by-play announcer. Starting in 2005 Derek joined the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network as a Studio Coordinator at 101 The Fox in Kansas City, a role he would serve for 15 years culminating in the Super Bowl LIV Championship game broadcast. In 2020 he moved to Audacy, formerly known as Entercom Communications, Inc. and 106.5 The Wolf and 610 Sports Radio, the new flagship stations of the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network, the largest radio network in the NFL. Through all of this, Derek continues to serve as the Digital Media Director for Sunflower State Radio, the digital and social media operations of Dierking Communications, Inc. and the 6 radio stations it owns and operates across Kansas.

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