WICHITA - The shots didn’t fall. The free throws clanked in-and-out. Turnovers were persistent. Not a lot seemed to go right for Maize Eagles against Manhattan on Friday afternoon at Koch Arena.
While the Eagles were seeking the first state championship appearance in school history, and hoping to avoid their third consecutive third-place game, they were also searching for a way for their shots to fall.
But the Eagles did enough on the defensive end, holding top-seeded Manhattan to just 35 points on the way to a 42-35 upset victory.
“We just kept our heads up, honestly,” Maize junior Keiryn Swenson said. “I had some trouble making my shots, and my teammates were there to pick me back up, and I was there to pick them back up, too.”
The first quarter was a low-scoring one, as the teams combined for just three buckets and 11 turnovers in the first eight minutes. After the first quarter, the Eagles trailed, 5-3.
But the Indians’ lead didn’t last long. Led by Swenson’s scoring, Maize came out with a vengeance in the second quarter. The Eagles got their shots to fall from all over the floor, and scored 21 points in the period on their way to a 24-17 halftime lead.
“It did start slow,” Maize head coach Chris Davis said. “Manhattan is such a great defensive team, and I wanted to stress our defense. When we came in at half, we had only let them have 17 points. I was happy with that. It was just a grind out, tough, tough game.”
Manhattan trailed by only six going into the final quarter, but got only two shots to fall in the final period. After two failed attempts in the state semifinals Davis’ team had gone through what he called a "process" and had finally punched their ticket to the state championship with a 42-35 win.
“We’ve been at the door the last couple years, and just haven’t been able to beat it down. It gets old,” Davis said. “This whole year we’ve talked about how tough you have to play to get there, how hard you have to play, how bad you want it.
“The girls really bought in. They play hard, they play for each other, they love each other, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Swenson had eight points and four rebounds in the first half, and finished with a team-high 16 points and nine boards.
Though top-seeded Manhattan took a loss, it will see Olathe South (21-3) in the third-place game at noon on Saturday. Meanwhile, the lady Eagles will make their first state championship appearance in school history on Saturday as they come head-to-head with Wichita South (23-1) at 4:00 pm.
Maybe then the shots will fall, the free throws will slide through, and the turnovers will become minimal.
“This is amazing,” Swenson said. “We have wanted this so bad for so long. This is what we were practicing for.”
