As I walked into the locker room after another double-digit loss on a frigid January night in 1998, I was angry. It was clear that my junior varsity team just wasn’t good. We were young, with mostly freshmen, and everybody we played rolled sophomores and even juniors onto the court. I kept my cool with the kids after that loss to Olpe (led by a guy named Chris Schmidt who is now one of the best coaches in the state), telling them to keep playing hard.
After gathering our gear and my clipboard, I walked into Olpe’s gym, where the girls game was underway, and looked up at the scoreboard: Olpe 35, Burlingame 0. “My God. I’m not doing that bad, at least,” I thought to myself. The Bearcats went on to lose 88-4 that night, an embarrassing loss in a long, long string of embarrassing losses.
That was the life in Burlingame girls athletics for decades. There were the annual 60-plus point beatings at the hands of Olpe and Lebo, various ridiculous losing streaks (they broke a 60-game skid a few weeks after that 84-point loss to the Eagles) and a deep-rooted feeling of defeat.
Years and years of despair, however, evaporated Saturday night when the Bearcats, led by a gritty group of seniors, a few talented underclassmen and an inspirational coach, knocked off a Lebo team ranked second in Class 1 Division II in the Lyon County League Tournament championship game. With the 49-40 win, Burlingame won the first league championship in school history.
“A few years ago, I was sitting in the stands with my wife and kids watching the girls in the third-place game,” said Burlingame coach Jeff Slater, whose team improved to 14-2. “It didn’t go very well for them that night, and I thought to myself, ‘If I ever get a chance to coach this team, I’m taking it.’”
Take it he did two years ago. Just as he injected much-needed life into a down-trodden football team with three straight semifinal appearances in the Eight Man-Division I playoffs, Slater has helped to pump life into a basketball program that struggled mightily for the better part of 50 years.
Like football, Slater has had the benefit of a group of kids laying the foundation. In football, it was a crew that dominated most of the eastern half of the state for three years. That class paved the way, and the Bearcats have continued to win on the gridiron since. On the basketball court, it’s come in the form of a point guard, Daelyn Winters, who’s as tough as a piece of scrap metal, a smooth sophomore power forward, Kaylin Noonan, and a slew of heady role players like Isabella Tyson, Gracie Simmons, Kenna Masters, Emma Tyson and Alexandra Crook.
I’d be remiss not to mention such players as Emily Punches, Kate Thompson, Megan Giffin and Katie Shaffer, seniors on last year’s team that not only defeated Lebo twice, but also played state champion Olpe closer than anybody else did in a sub-state championship game.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” Slater said during a radio interview after the game. “I’m so overwhelmed seeing the girls having this success. I told them toughness wins, and we saw a lot of toughness tonight.”
That toughness started with Winters, who missed several games leading up to the tournament with a knee injury suffered during a landmark win against Olpe, the school’s first in nearly half a century. Despite a cracked kneecap, doctors cleared Winters to play when they found no structural damage in her knee. Battling through the pain, the senior point guard scored 16 points, dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds. More importantly, she was a steadying presence to a team that has missed that lately.
“When I got hurt, I thought my season was done and my career was over,” she told KVOE in Emporia. “We got good news, and I was ready to go. I’m glad I was able to help my team.”
Burlingame got off to a fast start Saturday in large part because of a big first half from Noonan, an athletic, quick forward who dominated on the inside early. She scored six points in the first quarter and had 13 in the opening half as the Bearcats built a lead. Noonan finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
While Winters and Noonan set the pace, Burlingame got big plays all night from Simmons (nine points), Masters (a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter), Tyson (a big trey and several key rebounds), among others.
The Bearcats needed that kind of effort to hold off a deep and talented Lebo team that they lost to just two weeks ago without Winters. Every time Burlingame threatened to pull away, the Wolves countered with clutch plays from Audrey Peek, Abby Peek, Brooklyn Jones and Allie Moore.
“We’re still banged up, so a key for us is going to be to get healthy,” Slater said. “Having Winters back tonight … she was a stud.”
Moore hit a 3-pointer 15 seconds into the game to give Lebo a 3-0 lead, but Burlingame scored the next seven points, including a Noonan layup and five points from Simmons. The Bearcats led 11-6 after the first quarter and by seven early in the second on a Noonan put-back, but Lebo rallied with a 16-8 run to take a 22-21 lead 35 seconds before halftime. Winters canned a 3-pointer moments later to give Burlingame a 24-22 edge at the break.
Lebo led briefly in the third period, at 27-26, on a bucket from Jones at the 5:08 mark, but Noonan answered with a layup, and Winters and Tyson drained back-to-back threes as the Bearcats surged ahead 34-27. The Wolves got as close as 34-31 at the end of the frame on a basket at the buzzer by Audrey Peek.
The teams traded baskets in the fourth period, but Burlingame banked in a couple of 3-pointers, including a critical trey from Masters with 1:57 left to push the lead to 44-37. Lebo got no closer than six the rest of the way, and the Bearcats iced the game with free throws from Noonan and Winters.
“If we can get healthy, we’re going to be tough (down the stretch),” Slater said.
Jones led Lebo with 10 points, while Audrey Peek and Moore had eight each.
BURLINGAME 49, LEBO 40
Burlingame 11 13 10 15 — 49
Lebo 6 16 9 9 — 40
Burlingame (14-2): Noonan 7-12 2-3 16, Winters 4-8 4-5 16, Simmons 4-9 0-0 9, Masters 1-5 0-0 3, Tyson 1-3 0-0 3, Crook 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-39 6-8 49.
Lebo (14-1): Jones 5-9 0-2 10, Au. Peek 3-8 1-2 9, Moore 2-5 2-4 7, Ab. Peek 3-7 0-0 6, Crouch 1-1 0-0 3, Ott 1-1 1-1 3, Hadley 1-9 0-0 2. Totals 16-40 4-9 40.
3-pointers: Burlingame – 7-16 (Winters 4-6, Masters 1-5, Simmons 1-3, Tyson 1-1); Lebo 4-13 (Au. Peek 2-3, Moore 1-4, Crouch 1-1, Hadley 0-5). Rebounds – Burlingame 23 (Noonan 10), Lebo 19 (Jones 5). Assists – Burlingame 9 (Winters 4), Lebo 7 (Ab. Peek 3). Turnovers – Burlingame 13, Lebo 14.