by Mary Rupert
The Piper High School girls basketball team will be returning to state tournament competition on Thursday after winning the Class 4A, Division I, substate on the weekend.
Piper beat Basehor-Linwood 55-40 on March 6 and Tonganoxie 52-30 on Saturday to become substate champion in basketball action at Piper.
Jessica Wayne, a junior at Piper, gave a noteworthy performance with 17 points in the substate championship game, coach Shane Stout said.
In the first game of the substate, Piper beat its rival, Basehor-Linwood, for the third time this year.
The only girls basketball team in Wyandotte County to go to state this year, the Piper team is excited about state competition, Stout said. It’s the second year in a row for state competition.
Last year at state, Piper won its first round, lost the next game and took fourth place.
This year’s Piper team is pretty athletic and quick, with some tall players, he said. While the team doesn’t have any 6-foot players, it has a lot of 5-9 players with long arms who are athletic, he said.
“We do a lot of the same things as last year,” Stout said. “This year our scoring is a little more well-rounded, and we do a nice job on the defensive end. I feel like we play with pretty good energy at all times.”
Piper, 17-5, faces Bishop Miege, 22-0, in a first-round tournament game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan.
“We’ll have to play our best game of the year,” Stout said. “We play against Bishop Miege, who has one of the best teams in the entire state. They’re 22-0. So we’ll have to play well offensively and defensively, because they have an excellent team.”
It will be a challenge as Miege is taller, with a lot of size underneath and excellent guards, he said. “They are very good at all five positions,” he said.
Piper has a four-game winning streak going into state competition.
“We had a real successful trip last year,” Stout said. “I think any time you get to go, it’s a new season and it’s exciting every time.”