GRIZZLIES GOING BACK TO STATE

Labette County girls win thriller over Fort Scott in OT to punch ticket to Salina

FORT SCOTT — Fort Scott got what it asked for … it wasn’t enough.

Instead, the Labette County Grizzlies girls turned the TV off on the Fort Scott Tigers’ season, winning 42-40 in overtime in Saturday’s substate championship to earn a bid to the KSHSAA 4A State Tournament.

“I feel great. I’m so proud of my kids for coming into this environment with their backs against the wall,” Labette County head coach Brianna Volmer said. “They were in the lead the entire game, and going into overtime was a tough pill to swallow for kids that believed in a dream. But they never stopped believing in the gameplan and we didn’t even need to take a timeout. They got the win and it was gritty.”

Saturday’s tilt was a certified fresh thriller — a wire-towire showdown between SEK League foes where Labette County never led by more than five and Fort Scott never led by more than two.

Fort Scott tied the game in the final seconds to force overtime, propelled by the Grizzlies missing 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the final minute.

Coughing up the advantage and opening the door for free basketball was a recipe for a psychological letdown. Trailing by two with 90 seconds left in the extra stanza, Labette County ended the sub-state title game on a 4-0 run.

“It didn’t come down to one moment,” Volmer said. “It goes back to winning in overtime against Burlington. It went back to our loss to Silver Lake. It goes back to our first loss to Fort Scott where we knew we had to have some pride. Our eyes weren’t wandering, ever. We knew we could do this. It was definitely dramatic fashion, but these kids know how to fail. We don’t save them from that. They stepped up and never looked back.”

Volmer threw her chips on the table with her gameplan, abandoning a press that has been the staple of Labette County’s identity.

Rather than play full-court defense, the Grizzlies opted for a tandem zone before transitioning to man late.

“I’ve played (Fort Scott Head) Coach (Pechone) Stepps six times and I’ve lost six times,” Volmer said. “Before, I’ve said that we’re going to do what we do but do it better. That’s the definition of insanity. So we had to try something different. We stepped up to the challenge. The girls wanted to fight it on Thursday — we only had two practices with this. We struggled and were squirrely. But they locked into the plan.”

Reducing the margin of error, running Fort Scott’s arsenal of shooters off the 3-point line and forcing the Tigers to operate exclusively in the halfcourt was the value Volmer sought.

“We had to add pressure to their scorers,” Volmer said. “We knew who Fort Scott’s keys were to success and we took the gamble. We knew it’d be a surprise to Fort Scott. But it took execution on our part. Then we played man defense down the stretch. We wanted to lock down in the half.”

Jayden Davis, a senior post who led the Grizzlies with 11 points including four in overtime, was one of the guilty parties for the late free throw woes — she missed 3-of-4 in the final minute of regulation.

Doubt never crept in. “I wasn’t blaming myself,” Davis said. “I was just trying to overcome it. I knew I had to score points in overtime and be mentally tough. In my mind, I knew we had to get it done. We pushed forward and we knew we deserved this win.”

Davis got the start after coming off the bench most of the year. Her 11 points proved critical on a night where Landry O’Brien, the Grizzlies’ leading scorer, was limited to eight points — three came in the game’s first minute.

“Nobody knew who she was or saw her coming,” Volmer said. “She’s had a big presence the last few games we’ve played. And she is a scorer. She cured us tonight. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She didn’t even get a look at the varsity floor until midway through last year. All of her teammates are excited for her, and that’s a testament to our team culture.”

Aubrey Boss, another guilty party with two missed tosses from the charity stripe late, delivered the game-winner. From the scene of the crime — the free throw line — Boss’ runner banked in with just under 30 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the final 42-40 advantage.

With the victory, Labette County is headed to the state tournament for the second year in a row.

“It means the world to us,” Davis said. “This is the second year in a row going to state. That’s part of the legacy at Labette County, and it comes down to the little things that lead up to it.”

Cliches become cliche because their wisdom is worth endless repetition — for Volmer, Saturday was emblematic of a team peaking at the right time.

“It’s poetic. We always talk about our goals and we wanted to host the first two rounds of sub-state,” Volmer said. “We thought we had that. But we lost control of our own destiny. That’s why we had to come in here with a tough mentality. We knew we were lurking in the dark and a dangerous team to play in the postseason.”

Up next

Labette County earned the No. 4 seed for the KSHSAA 4A Girls State Tournament in Salina and will face No. 5 Buhler on Thursday at 4 p.m. The winners of the first round matchups are guaranteed two more games.

“We understand that it’s a great draw for us — we stayed away from Miege and Wellington and Hayden,” Volmer said. “That’s huge, so we’ll take it and run with it. Buhler doesn’t know anything about us and we don’t know anything about them. We’ll do our homework and focus on what we bring to the table — a great basketball team.”