Basketball Playoff Update
Piper, Bonner Springs, Bishop Ward head to state tourneys
Four Wyandotte County basketball teams are headed to the KSHSAA state tournaments, including both Piper squads.
Saturday, the Bishop Ward Cyclones extended their season with a close 56-53 win over Perry-Lecompton to grab their berth in the 3A state tournament in Hutchinson. The Cyclones are the 8th seed and will face undefeated Galena in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
The Bonner Springs Braves knocked the St. James Academy Thunder out of the post-season, earning themselves a trip to Emporia in their first year under head coach Drew Gruver. The Braves are the 6th seed and will face 19-3 Andover on Thursday at 8:00 p.m.
This will be the Braves' fourteenth tournament appearance overall — the first since 2019's squad led by Keyon Thomas and A.J. Watson.
Lots of photos from the Piper-Shawnee Heights girls’ and Washington-St. James Academy boys’ games below the story.
The Piper boys survived a challenge from De Soto, coming back from a fourth-quarter deficit then holding on for a 49-44 win. The win continues the Pirates’ quest to get back to the championship game, where they came up just short of the state title a year ago. This will be the team's 11th state tournament overall.
The Pirates are the 5th seed and will play UKC rival Shawnee Heights (19-3) on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Piper beat the Thunderbirds by three in December, but lost 67-50 in their February rematch.
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On Friday, The Piper Lady Pirates beat league rival Shawnee Heights 60-46 for the substate championship and a spot in the state tournament next week in Emporia.
The Piper girls are returning to the state tournament for the first time since 2019, their ninth trip overall and the first since moving up to Class 5A. The 2019 team, led by Ali Vigil and Ryan Cobbins, finished as runners-up to the Bishop Miege Lady Stags.
In this year's bracket, they are the 7th seed and will get a rematch against familiar foe Seaman on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Lady Vikings won both this season's match-ups to date, but only by a combined three points.
Piper senior forward Abbie Roth grew up watching the Lady Pirates regularly in post-season contention, and is excited to be part of that tradition.
" It was definitely what we looked up to in middle school," said the senior forward. "We'd go to all their games when they played in the championship and the final four, so it feels really good to actually be a part of that and contribute to that."
Despite winning their previous two games over Shawnee Heights by 25 and 24 points, Friday night’s score stayed close until the fourth quarter.
"I thought we played a little bit tight in the first half tonight, and we were still in the game," said head coach Shane Stout after the win. "We felt if we come out and just get them into our up-tempo game, that we'd be all right."
The T-Birds kept a tight watch on Piper's driving lanes and held Piper's offense to nine points in the opening quarter, a 10-9 advantage for the visitors.
Grace and Faith McCallop combined for three three-pointers in the second quarter trying to unpack the Heights defense, and also challenged the interior defense, earning six combined free-throw attempts. That was enough to get the Lady Pirates the lead (25-24) headed into halftime.
Piper finally opened up a double-digit advantage in the third quarter on back-to-back baskets inside from Grace McCallop, thought Pirate hearts skipped a beat later in the quarter when she was briefly down on the court from a leg cramp.
A pair of three-point plays by Shawnee Heights, including a three-point shot from Heights sophomore Kae'Lean Emmot, got the T-Birds close, 43-40 going into the final frame.
The Piper offense accelerated coming out of the break, going on a 13-2 run and forcing a timeout from the T-Birds' bench trying to stop the momentum.
Shawnee Heights had to foul to force possession for the remainder of the game, and Piper hit five of seven free throws to keep the game out of reach in the final minutes.
Afterward, Roth called the game one of the high points of the season so far. "The first half was really ugly on our part, and we faced a lot of adversity with some foul calls. It was good to finally come back in the second half and go hard and take care of it."
Faith McCallop finished the game with 24 points, including three three-pointers. Grace McCallop scored 22 and Roth scored 7.
Other Substate Results
In other 5A games, the Washington Wildcats lost at home to St. James 54-38. Washington ends its season at 14-7, placing second to undefeated Highland Park in the Meadowlark Conference race.
Turner lost on the road at Highland Park 72-51; Sumner lost at Shawnee Heights 74-41; and Schlagle lost at St. Thomas Aquinas 58-25.
In the 5A girls’ bracket, Piper defeated Harmon 80-11 in the semifinals, and Sumner lost 65-24 at Blue Valley Southwest.
Washington lost to the Highland Park Lady Scots 59-13, and Bonner Springs lost to St. James Academy 78-49.
In the 6A girls’ playoffs, Olathe Northwest bested Wyandotte 60-35. The Lady Bulldogs finished with a 12-9 season record.
Photos from Piper-Shawnee Heights
Photos from Washington-St. James Academy
Great reporting on WyCo athletics. And the photos make this even better. The photo that captures the joy of accomplishment that is evident in the photo of the Piper girls running across the court with their plaque is one for the ages!