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Christian Heritage defense outshines Fairview
It isn’t supposed to look so easy on semifinal Friday at State Fair Arena.
The Christian Heritage girls overwhelmed Fairview with defensive pressure, and buried 3-pointer after 3-pointer on the other end, ultimately running away with a 61-35 win in the semifinals of the Class 2A girls state basketball tournament.
The undefeated defending champions have looked incredibly comfortable under the bright lights of the Big House through two games. Their pressure defense forced 27 turnovers — 18 of them in the first half — which sparked the offensive efforts.
“We felt like we needed to put pressure on them and push them hard,” said sophomore guard Myka Parrish, who had 10 points and two steals. “We knew they were gonna give their all, and we had to give it back to them.
“Defense is our main focus. Our press gives people the most difficulty, so we know we have to use it well.”
CHA advances to Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. championship game against the winner of Cashion and Howe.
Olivia Curtis led CHA with 20 points and seven rebounds, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range. As a team, CHA was 9-of-20 from deep. Rylee Langerman, Lexie Davis and Mary Kathryn Nuthman had nine points apiece.
“We’ve been working really hard all season to make our defense work as one unit,” said Langerman, who led CHA with three steals. “It’s really coming through in these last few games. It’s really coming together.”
Fairview, which concluded its season at 26-4, was led by Lexi Reihm with 14 points.
CHA coach Lisa LittleJim has seen a level of calm from her team that has not only helped them remain unbeaten at 29-0, but play with confidence in pressure situations like the state tournament.
“Our focus, our goal, day-to-day, is real simple,” LittleJim said. “We want to execute what we’ve gone over, execute the game plan, and we want to play to the very best of our ability as unto the Lord. And when those things happen, so far, good things have happened.”
Cashion proves it’s too much for Howe
Cashion coach Totsy Manning didn’t want to change her defensive philosophy too much.
But with Howe sharpshooter Jalei Oglesby on the other side, Manning and the Wildcats had to account for the threat.
Oglesby did her damage, but Cashion countered strong, with three players scoring in doublefigures on the way to a 66-48 win in the Class 2A girls state semifinals Friday at State Fair Arena.
“We didn’t want her to touch the ball a lot,” Cashion senior Presley Payahsape said of Oglesby. “She’s a great player, so obviously, she got her points up. I gotta give it to her. We guarded her pretty well, and she still did really good.”
Oglesby, a 5-foot-7 guard, finished with 28 points, but needed 34 shots to do it.
On the other side, Cashion shot 53.7 percent from the floor, with Sydney Manning scoring 20, Payahsape with 19 and Talli Robison adding 16 to send Cashion into the state championship game.
“We have six seniors and a lot of great leadership,” Totsy Manning said. “We played composed and mature from the very beginning of the game. I think they just really wanted to be playing on championship Saturday.”
Sydney and Totsy Manning have played in state championship games before, but those were at the big-school level at Deer Creek, before making the move to Cashion this season. Sydney says the Big House is a different experience.
“I had never played in this atmosphere before,” she said. “It’s something special. They’ve been telling me about it. You get a little bit different feeling when you win by 20 points in a semifinal, and I think that’s really gonna help us tomorrow.”
Cashion will face undefeated defending champion Christian Heritage at 12:15 p.m. Saturday for the 2A title.
It isn’t supposed to look so easy on semifinal Friday at State Fair Arena.
The Christian Heritage girls overwhelmed Fairview with defensive pressure, and buried 3-pointer after 3-pointer on the other end, ultimately running away with a 61-35 win in the semifinals of the Class 2A girls state basketball tournament.
The undefeated defending champions have looked incredibly comfortable under the bright lights of the Big House through two games. Their pressure defense forced 27 turnovers — 18 of them in the first half — which sparked the offensive efforts.
“We felt like we needed to put pressure on them and push them hard,” said sophomore guard Myka Parrish, who had 10 points and two steals. “We knew they were gonna give their all, and we had to give it back to them.
“Defense is our main focus. Our press gives people the most difficulty, so we know we have to use it well.”
CHA advances to Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. championship game against the winner of Cashion and Howe.
Olivia Curtis led CHA with 20 points and seven rebounds, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range. As a team, CHA was 9-of-20 from deep. Rylee Langerman, Lexie Davis and Mary Kathryn Nuthman had nine points apiece.
“We’ve been working really hard all season to make our defense work as one unit,” said Langerman, who led CHA with three steals. “It’s really coming through in these last few games. It’s really coming together.”
Fairview, which concluded its season at 26-4, was led by Lexi Reihm with 14 points.
CHA coach Lisa LittleJim has seen a level of calm from her team that has not only helped them remain unbeaten at 29-0, but play with confidence in pressure situations like the state tournament.
“Our focus, our goal, day-to-day, is real simple,” LittleJim said. “We want to execute what we’ve gone over, execute the game plan, and we want to play to the very best of our ability as unto the Lord. And when those things happen, so far, good things have happened.”
Cashion proves it’s too much for Howe
Cashion coach Totsy Manning didn’t want to change her defensive philosophy too much.
But with Howe sharpshooter Jalei Oglesby on the other side, Manning and the Wildcats had to account for the threat.
Oglesby did her damage, but Cashion countered strong, with three players scoring in doublefigures on the way to a 66-48 win in the Class 2A girls state semifinals Friday at State Fair Arena.
“We didn’t want her to touch the ball a lot,” Cashion senior Presley Payahsape said of Oglesby. “She’s a great player, so obviously, she got her points up. I gotta give it to her. We guarded her pretty well, and she still did really good.”
Oglesby, a 5-foot-7 guard, finished with 28 points, but needed 34 shots to do it.
On the other side, Cashion shot 53.7 percent from the floor, with Sydney Manning scoring 20, Payahsape with 19 and Talli Robison adding 16 to send Cashion into the state championship game.
“We have six seniors and a lot of great leadership,” Totsy Manning said. “We played composed and mature from the very beginning of the game. I think they just really wanted to be playing on championship Saturday.”
Sydney and Totsy Manning have played in state championship games before, but those were at the big-school level at Deer Creek, before making the move to Cashion this season. Sydney says the Big House is a different experience.
“I had never played in this atmosphere before,” she said. “It’s something special. They’ve been telling me about it. You get a little bit different feeling when you win by 20 points in a semifinal, and I think that’s really gonna help us tomorrow.”
Cashion will face undefeated defending champion Christian Heritage at 12:15 p.m. Saturday for the 2A title.
