By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
After obliterating the Iola Lady Mustangs in the sub-state semifinals in a 73-17 rout, the Wamego girl's basketball team will return home for one final game in front of the Raider faithful, looking to punch their ticket to this year's 4A state tournament.
Standing in their way is the 8-seed in this year's bracket in the 12-9 Bishop-Miege Lady Stags, who defeated Ottowa 57-17 on Wednesday to advance to the final.
It's hard to put into words just how dominant the Lady Raiders have been this season, but the stats tell the story of a team rightfully deserving of the #1 ranking in Class 4A going into the playoffs.
Wamego is just one point shy of doubling their opponent's point totals on the season, outscoring 21 foes by a combined 1,329-665.
That dominance held up in a 56-point decimation of Iola on Wednesday, and showcased just how ready this Lady Raider team is for this playoff run.
"The girls were locked in and ready for the postseason," Raider head coach Brian McIntosh said. Once you get to the playoffs, everything is more important. I was very pleased with how we executed our game plan, attacked on both sides of the ball, and made it difficult for [Iola] to get anything going."
While Wamego has the advantage of playing the lowest possible seed as the 1-seed themselves, Miege will prove to be far from a pushover, and the Lady Raiders will need to continue playing their best basketball to earn a trip to Salina next week.
"They play fast on both ends of the floor and between the free-throw lines in a similar style of basketball to us," McIntosh said. "They want to pressure you on defense and be very aggressive on offense by spreading you out."
Much like their football team, Bishop Miege also plays a schedule loaded with 5 and 6A opponents, and is nothing like your typical 8-seed, without a single loss to a 4A opponent on their resume.
To win their 13th consecutive game and make a triumphant return to the 4A state tournament, the Lady Raiders will need to take care not to give the Lady Stags any easy looks in transition, while also playing the brand of excellent defense that got them this far.
"They rely heavily on turning teams over and scoring off those mistakes," McIntosh said. "We'll need to value the basketball and be assignment-sound on defense."
Tip-off between the Lady Raiders and Stags is set for 6:00 at Wamego High School.
For continuing coverage of Wamego boys' and girls' hoops all postseason long, stay tuned to the Little Apple Post, and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.