By Ernie W. Webb III
DODGE CITY – As Burlingame coach Jeff Slater spoke to his team after Saturday’s game, he held up the Class 1A Division I third-place trophy and pointed at a couple of the shiny spots on the gold portions, comparing them to the bright spots or moments in life.
Then, he pointed to the wood foundation, telling the Bearcats that it represented all the hard work that led to the best season in school history, culminating in a 55-45 win against top-ranked Hodgeman County.
“I think it’s important for them to see that their work, and everything they put into this, is worth it and matters,” said Slater, whose team finished with a 22-3 record, including league tournament and sub-state titles. “This group has set the standard at our school, and they will always be remembered for that.”
To finish third, Burlingame had to rebound from a tough loss Friday night in the semifinals. Just 17 hours after pushing traditional state power Centralia to the limit, the Bearcats were back on the court for the third-place game.
While they were disappointed not to be playing for the championship, the Bearcats played with an energy and intensity that many teams can’t muster after losing in the semifinals.
“It hurt to lose last night, but we had to look at as a chance to finish with a win,” said senior point guard Daelyn Winters, a 1,000-point career scorer who battled through a microfracture in her knee during the second half of the season. “Not many teams get to go out with a win, so this feels great.”
The teams traded the lead several times in the first quarter before Winters buried a 3-pointer from the left wing at the end of the period to give Burlingame an 11-8 lead. That trey ignited a 15-3 run, including baskets from Winters, Kaylin Noonan and Gracie Simmons, and the Bearcats had a 23-11 edge midway through the second quarter.
The Longhorns, who entered the tournament undefeated, rallied at the end of the half, scoring the final seven points before the break. Morgan Ruff canned a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in the period, and Hodgeman County trailed 25-20 at the intermission.
“I thought the girls played really well, did a great job of bouncing back today,” Slater said. “We got hot in the second quarter, and that gave us a bit of a lead.”
Hodgeman County got as close as two, at 32-30, on Grace Shiew’s bucket with 2:30 remaining, but Noonan hit a free throw and Winters a critical three to extend the lead. Noonan took over in the fourth quarter, scoring on back-to-back moves in the post, hitting two free throws and adding another short jumper during the first three minutes of the period. The smooth, quick sophomore forward scored 11 of her 25 points in the final eight minutes.
“Once we realized I could get the ball inside, that was the focus,” Noonan said. “I have to give my teammates credit for getting me the ball. I didn’t want to go out with a loss, so I was motivated to do as much as I can. As we’ve said all season: all gas, no brakes.”
The Longhorns got as close as 47-43 on a pair of foul shots from Ruff with 4:49 left, but the Bearcats were solid at the charity stripe down the stretch, making 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter.
The game was the final one for Winters and fellow seniors Kenna Masters and Emma Tyson. Another senior, Brooke Lewis, couldn’t play this season but was an integral part of the program. They leave Burlingame as the most successful class in school history, including sub-state titles in basketball, volleyball and softball and state tournament trophies in basketball and softball.
“The seniors wanted to start something here, and I feel like we did that,” Winters said. “We worked hard and had a lot of fun. I wish the girls coming up the same success we had.”
Noonan capped a monster state tournament with 25 points and seven rebounds. She finished the tourney with 62 points and 25 rebounds (an average of 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game).
“She’s just a stud,” Slater said. “When I took over coaching this team, they were already good. Then, you add Noonan to the mix, and it took us to another level. Really, I made a few adjustments, and I thought we could play a little harder on defense, but the big thing I wanted to do was get as much as I could out of this group. They gave me everything they had.”
Winters added 22 points and four rebounds. She had 44 points (14.7 ppg) in the tournament. Simmons had eight points in the game and 27 in the three games.
Morgan Ruff led Hodgeman County with 16 points, and Jessie Ruff and Kaylee James had 10 each.
BURLINGAME 55, HODGEMAN COUNTY 45
Burlingame 11 14 12 18 — 55
Hodgeman County 8 12 12 13 — 45
BURLINGAME (22-3): Kaylin Noonan 8-15 9-11 25, Daelyn Winters 5-11 8-9 22, Gracie Simmons 2-6 2-3 8, Kenna Masters 0-1 0-0 0, Alexandra Crook 0-1 0-0 0, Isabella Tyson 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Tyson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-34 19-24 55.
HODGEMAN COUNTY (24-2): Morgan Ruff 5-10 4-4 16, Kaylee James 4-9 2-5 10, Jessie Ruff 3-5 4-4 10, Grace Shiew 3-11 0-0 7, Hayleigh Burke 1-3 0-0 2, Malynn Beil 0-3 0-0 0, Casey Schaffer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 10-13 45.
3-pointers – Burlingame 6-14 (Winters 4-8, Simmons 2-5, Noonan 0-1); Hodgeman County 3-10 (M. Ruff 2-6, Shiew 1-2, Beil 0-1, Schaffer 0-1). Rebounds – Burlingame 21 (Noonan 7, Winters 4, Simmons 2, Crook 2, I. Tyson 2); Hodgeman County 27 (Schaffer 8, Shiew 4, M. Ruff 4, James 4, Burke 3). Turnovers – Burlingame 18, Hodgeman County 19. Fouled out – I. Tyson, Shiew.