Colby clicks to win school's first girls title

By Tully Corcoran

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

SALINA - Augusta came out for the start of the Class 4A state title game dancing and singing "Ain't no mountain higher."

Colby (24-2) went into the locker room on top, dancing to a 58- 46 victory in the girls 4A state championship game Saturday at the Bicentennial Center. It was Colby's first ever girls state championship in any sport.

"It's overwhelming," said Colby's Ashley Barnes, who scored 17 points. "I just had a really on night tonight. Everything just clicked."

It clicked best at the free-throw line, where Colby went 21-for- 23, which nearly on its own held off Augusta's second-half rally.

Barnes scored 15 of her 17 in the first half, as Colby went on a 15-6 run over the first six minutes.

The Orioles (23-3) clawed back with eight first-half points from Brooke Burns and 11 combined from Rainey Nickel and Julie Stephenson, who finished with 10 and 18, respectively.

Burns hit a jumper to cut it to 15-13, then Stephenson dropped a pair of free throws to tie it 17-17 with 5:10 to play in the first half.

Ashley Barnes then scored four straight for Colby, which ended the first half on a 10-2 run for a 27-20 lead.

Barnes finished the half with 15 points on 6-for-7 field-goal shooting for the Eagles, who turned it over just five times in the first half.

The momentum started to shift late in the third. Trailing by 13 with 3:55 to play in the quarter, Augusta's Sarah Waldorf drained a 3-pointer that started an 18-6 run, including a 24-foot buzzer beater by Stephenson at the third-quarter horn.

"I really thought at that point, it might change the game," Augusta coach Bob Jackson said. "But it seemed like whenever we needed a basket, it would go in and out."

Not immediately, though. Stephenson began the fourth quarter with an assist to a cutting Burns for a layup, then got a layup of her own that cut Augusta's lead to one, 43-42.

But seasoned by three overtime periods in the previous two days, Colby wasn't fazed.

"There was never a sense of panic," Eagles coach Derek Bissitt said. "They made those runs and we just responded. That's the growth you get from playing those overtime games."

ANDOVER CENTRAL 55, TONGANOXIE 46 - Bailey Gee scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to lead Andover Central past Tonganoxie for third place in 4A.

Ali Pistora had a game-high 19 points for Tonganoxie, which finished its season 23-3.

Andover Central scored on seven of its first 11 possessions in forging an 18-9 first-quarter lead from which the Chieftains could never fully recover.

Tonganoxie cut it to two, 39-37, with 1:11 left in the third quarter, but Gee went on a 6-0 run early in the fourth and Tonganoxie was never closer than nine again.

Championship

COLBY 58, AUGUSTA 46

Augusta812188-46

Colby15121417-58

Augusta - Waldorf 2-5 0-0 6, Burns 6-9 0-0 12, Farmer 0-3 0-0 0, Nickel 4-16 2-2 10, Stephenson 4-9 8-9 18. Totals 16-53 10-13 46.

Colby - Martin 0-2 0-0 0, Wagoner 0-5 7-8 7, P. Stephens 4-6 4-4 12, Barnes 7-9 2-3 17, Mazanec 7-15 4-4 18. Totals 18-40 21-23 58.

3-point goals - Augusta 4-18 (Waldorf 2-5, Stephenson 2-4, Nickel 0-4, Poor 0-3, Myers 0-1, Farmer 0-1), Colby 1-5 (Barnes 1-1, A. Stephens 0-2, Martin 0-1, P. Stephens 0-1). Rebounds - Colby 34 (Stephens, Mazanec 8), Augusta 28 (Stephenson 9). Assists - Colby 15 (A. Stephens, Mazakec 4), Augusta 14 (Waldorf 5). Total fouls - Augusta 19, Colby 13. Fouled out - none.

Third place

ANDOVER CENTRAL 55, TONGANOXIE 46

Andover Central18111016-55

Tonganoxie910189-46

Andover Central - Huelskamp 2-2 0-0 4, Walker 4-6 2-2 13, Bias 3- 6 0-1 6, Chamberlin 3-4 2-2 10, Gee 7-11 3-8 17, Omido 0-2 0-1 0, Tennyson 1-3 3-4 5, Taton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-35 10-18 55.

Tonganoxie - Pistora 7-12 5-8 19, Baska 1-8 2-2 4, Carlin 1-4 3- 4 5, Re. Bogard 0-2 2-4 2, Ra. Bogard 3-4 2-3 8, Hileman 1-3 0-2 2, Weller 1-10 2-2 4, Grizzle 0-1 0-1 0, Jeannin 1-7 0-0 2. Totals 15- 51 16-25 46.

3-point goals - Andover Central 5-10 (Walker 3-5, Chamberlin 2- 3, Tennyson 0-2), Tonganoxie 0-12 (Weller 0-4, Baska 0-3, Hileman 0- 1, Grizzle 0-1, Carlin 0-1, Jeannin 0-1). Rebounds - Andover Central 34 (Gee 13), Tonganoxie 30 (Re. Bogard 6). Assists - Andover Central 12 (Bias 5), Tonganoxie 10 (Hileman 3). Total fouls - Tonganoxie 23, Andover Central 21. Fouled out - Weller.

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