Lancer Basketball Sweeps SM North

Girls’ Basketball Recap by Taylor Norden:

Last night, the girls’ basketball team put on an extraordinary performance to beat the SM North Indians by a score of 55-20. The Lancers were able to wear out the Indians throughout the game with their depth off the bench, with freshman Sofia Stechshulte anchoring the defense.

Sophomore Josie Clough was asked to step up on her first game back from a concussion when starting sophomore point guard Kyle Haverty got into foul trouble early in the game. The Indians committed over 20 fouls last night, and this was something East used to their own advantage. SM East was playing in a very effective 3-2 zone which forced North to take uncomfortable shots from outside the arc. Freshman Emma Linscott also had a key performance last night. Linscott and Stechshulte were both called upon because star junior Sam Schneider was out with an injured knee.

The Haverty-Stechshulte combination proved to be deadly last night. Stecshulte was able to use her own height as well as the small size of the North team to post up down low, which allowed Haverty to look to her for the easy layup. This was a common theme in last night’s game.

The Lancers saw some great things on both ends of the court from senior Emma Braasch. She used her aggression and energy on the court to discombobulate the Indian defense which created a lot of scoring opportunities. She also played a patient, yet effective, style of defense in the Lancers’ zone, and she was a key factor in holding the Indians to only 20 points.

The Lancers implemented a very fast style of play, which got the Indian defense off-balance. This was the cause of several turnovers and fouls against the Indians last night.

Coach Klumpe and the Lady Lancers look forward to next week’s matchup against a 1-3 Olathe East team.

Boys’ Basketball Recap by Michael Kraske:

Last night, the Lancers boys’ basketball team took on Shawnee Mission North on the Indians’ home court. The gym — absolutely packed with rowdy fans — made it difficult to hear much of what the person next to you was saying. Heading into this matchup with a 3-3 record, the Lancers hoped to boost their Sunflower League Ranking to above .500.

Going into the matchup, the Lancers’ focus was on junior brothers Michael and Marcus Weathers. According to assistant coach Ryan Oettmeier, the team had been working all week in practice on how to stop the Weathers — doing drills to practice stopping them in the paint, even bringing back former players like Connor Knabe to help out.

Following the opening tip, the game quickly became a shoot-off between the two teams. After working the ball around, looking for an open shot on Norths’ zone defense, the Lancers were able to find junior Jay Guastello for the open three on several occasions in the first quarter, three of which he sunk.

Although East seemed to be finding their rhythm in the beginning, the Weathers’ brothers didn’t let that stop them offensively, making many threes and increasing North’s lead to five by the end of the first quarter. North ultimately led the Lancers going into halftime.

The third quarter proved tough for the Lancers, with North pulling ahead by as many as eight points. North was heating up, nailing three-balls left and right. The Lancers hung within ten most of the quarter, but the Indians had the momentum. Late in the third, senior Lucas Jones slammed a put-back dunk, bringing the Lancers back within eight points, and starting a comeback.

After that it was all East. The Lancers stopped turning the ball over, and started making shots where it counted. In the fourth, senior Jack Flint got fouled on a three point shot, which went in, giving the Lancers the lead. There was no looking back from there, as the Lancers got the comeback win, with a final score of 67-59.

“It was awesome being behind the whole game and finally coming back,” Guastello said. “When we finally got the lead the stands went nuts, it was unreal. Easily one of my favorite games I’ve ever played at East.”