By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
The Wamego girls basketball team will continue their postseason run in the 4A state tournament on Wednesday as they travel to Salina to take on Labette County.
The Lady Raiders enter this contest as the 3-seed at 20-2 after soundly defeating Tonganoxie and Holton in their sub-state.
“I’m extremely proud of the work that these girls have put in not just this year but for the last several years,” Wamego head coach Brian McIntosh said. “They’ve been dedicated to turning the culture of this program around in the gym and in the weight room and we’ve gotten a lot tougher which has become the foundation of our program.”
On the other side of this matchup, the Lady Grizzlies will come in as the 7-seed at 18-4, punching their ticket to state with wins over Ottowa and Fort Scott last week.
Much of Labette’s success this season has come from the inside play of seniors Madison Brannin and Anna Dean, who have given opponents fits in the paint this year.
“[Brannin] is a tremendous shooter and she has a quick trigger,” he said. “She’ll take you down in the post as well with [Dean]. They’re both pretty good shot blockers and that strength in the paint is what really stood out to me right away.”
The Grizzlies are red hot coming into state this week, adding to their active six-game winning streak with a revenge win to eliminate Fort Scott in the sub-state championship.
It will take a solid game plan and even better execution for Wamego to maintain the upper hand throughout what should be an intriguing matchup.
“You have to scheme around their size a little bit and getting some players back will help us tremendously,” McIntosh said. “We’ll have to help down low and fly around like we have, this isn’t the first time we’ve faced size and at the end of the day we have to make them take tough shots and keep them off the glass.”
With Labette focusing on the inside, the Raiders will have the green light, and likely some space, to rain down threes from the exterior, something that has been a strength for Wamego this season.
“We’re fortunate to have our 1-4 spots able to hit the three and get to the rim so I think that will cause some problems for Labette,” he said. “It’s a matter of them going out there and making plays and I’m confident in that.”
Wamego is also looking forward to an opportunity to compete on a neutral stage after falling to Miege on their home floor last season as a result of covid-regulations.
“It didn’t really feel like state being on someone else’s home court,” McIntosh said. “Our girls learned what the best looks like and they kept that loss in our minds. We’re very excited to get out there and play on a neutral court this year.”
While the Raiders are the favorites to advance to the semifinal later this week, Wamego remains laser-focused on today’s matchup and understands that any slip could result in an early end to their run.
“Our first goal is to win on Wednesday and we know that we’re in for a battle,” McIntosh said. “We’ve only talked about Labette and our kids are locked in and excited. We know that if we don’t win today we don’t get to see Friday.”
Tip-off between the Lady Raiders and Grizzlies is scheduled for 8 pm at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina, with the winner moving on to face either 21-1 Eudora or 16-6 Clay Center on Friday.
For continuing coverage of the Wamego girls basketball team throughout the state tournament, stay tuned to the Little Apple Post.