Playoff run highlighted by semifinal comeback

A slow start, early foul trouble and offensive struggles throughout the game were contributing factors in the Cheney Cardinals’ 59-37 loss to the Goodland Cowgirls in Saturday’s Class 3A State championship, played at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Cardinals were trying for their third State title. They won the 4A title in 2010 and the 3A title in 2021, both with undefeated seasons. Cheney closes out the season with a 23-3 record.

The Cowgirls, the defending 3A champions, defended their title with a perfect 26-0 record in the 2022-23 season.

Cheney head coach Sarah McCormick said the difference between the teams was simple.

“Turnovers. We had so many turnovers and missed box outs,” she said. “That’s the game right there. It wasn’t because we turned it over. We couldn’t even get into our offense. Their defense was so suffocating, we couldn’t do anything.”

The Cardinals committed 27 turnovers, more than twice Goodland’s 13 turnovers.

The Cardinals got into foul trouble early. Standout senior Campbell Hague was whistled for a defensive foul just after tipoff, and then was called for an offensive charge in the lane before the game was two minutes old. She game back into the game, and was called for her third foul with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

Hague spent the rest of the first half on the bench, and the Cardinals seemed to miss her presence greatly, especially beyond her scoring. Hague is a strong defender, both in the lane and on the perimeter. In addition to blocking shots, her presence forces many opponents into altering their shots.

Anna Martin, another senior starter, also missed significant time in the first half. She picked up two fouls in the first quarter and another in the second quarter. That took two senior starters out of the game.

At halftime, Goodland led Cheney 30-19. It was a smaller deficit than Cheney faced the day before against Phillipsburg, but Goodland proved to be a different kind of team.

The Cardinals’ offensive struggles continued after halftime, however. The Cowgirls’ size proved to be too much. Goodland has three players at 6-0 or taller. For the first time all season, the Cardinals were at a disadvantage on size.

“It’s huge. That’s why they’re so good at their 1-3-1,” McCormick said. “They’re so long, and they anticipate so well. We prepared for it, but then when Campbell wasn’t even there for the whole first half basically, we had to completely change our game plan. That hurt us quite a bit.”

The Cowgirls came out of halftime on fire, and outscored Cheney 15-7 in the third quarter.

The early fouls impacted how the Cardinals played after the break. The result was a team that was more timid than they wanted to be.

“You’re scared to do anything, especially if you don’t understand why you got a couple of your fouls,” she said.

The Cardinals had no answer for Talexa Weeter of Goodland. She scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and was 11-for-22 from the field. Weeter was 7-for-9 from the free-throw line, and made two 3-point baskets. Olivia Lehman was the game’s second-highest scorer, with 14 points for the Cowgirls. Together, Weeter and Lehman had 45 of Goodland’s 59 points.

None of the Cardinals ever broke out offensively.

Hague finished with 9 points, Leah Durr had 8 points and eight rebounds, and Elina Bartlett had 7 points.

The Cowgirls took a lot more shots, too, going 24for-54. The Cardinals were 13-for-33 from the field.

Cheney will have an entirely different look next season, losing four seniors to graduation.

The Cardinals will lose the 6-3 Campbell and 5-11 Durr to graduation.

“Campbell and Leah, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime duo to coach. I’ve never had posts that big before,” McCormick said. “They’re so talented. Sometimes people when they’re that tall, they’re not very mobile. Gosh, Campbell can guard on the perimeter – any guard. She can shoot on the perimeter. Leah, once she gets on the block, nobody can move her. She’s so talented underneath the basket, and she just dominated the boards.”

Elina Bartlett was one of the most-improved players over the course of the season, with noticeable strides as the season came to an end.

“Whenever you lose a point guard, that’s hard to replace. We’ll have to really work with that,” McCormick said. Elina’s game, just the past two weeks, has been amazing – the way she’s attacked the basket, really looked to score. She’s become really offensive-minded just in the last few weeks.

Martin, the final senior, was a key defender and rebounder. At 5-9, she could move back and fourth from the guard position to the post, where she remained effective. McCormick said Martin played “lock-down defense.”

“You can’t compare that to anybody else. She’s so athletic. And Anna does not get the credit she deserves a lot of times. Anna will be hard to replace because of that defense,” she said.

Cheney: Campbell Hague 9, Leah Durr 8, Elina Bartlett 7, Reagen Black 5, Reagan Ayres 4, Peyton McCormick 3, Anna Martin 1.

Travis Mounts/TSnews