EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Shamari Lewis would not be denied. The standout senior found her way to the free throw line for 16 attempts and made 14 of them to not only lead the Lady Redskins to a Class 6A West Division first round playoff win over Wichita North, but she also became the all-time leading scorer in Lady Redskin history.
Lewis and the Lady Redskins went to work early against the Lady Redhawks by forcing turnovers with a full court press and turning those into points.
Lewis challenged inbound passes and at one point in the first quarter intercepted a pass right under the basket and put in the uncontested layup that forced a timeout by Wichita North coach Antwan Seymore.
Wichita North started to experience foul trouble early as Lewis cut to the basket and either made baskets or was fouled.
Joanna Ross found herself in early foul trouble for the Lady Redhawks after picking up her third foul in the first quarter.
But the Lady Redskins also had to deal with foul trouble when Kylie Rhine was called for her second foul early in the first quarter.
But the damage had been done by the Lady Redskins while Rhine was still on the floor even though she only made two free throw shots in the second quarter.
Lewis scored 12 points in the period which included four of six free throw attempts, and Madysen Hammond connected on Liberal’s only three-point shot of the game in the first quarter along with a runner.
Maliyah Mullens scored six points in the period including two from the free throw line, and the Lady Redskins jumped out to a 25-6 lead.
But with Rhine on the bench to start the second quarter, the Lady Redskins were not as smooth on their offensive sets, and turnovers started to mount for the Lady Redskins.
Rubi Alvarez made Liberal’s only basket from the field in the quarter while Lewis went four-for-four from the free throw line, and Devaney Carter added a free throw to go along with a pair of free throw shots from Mullens, and the Lady Redskins only managed to add nine points in the second quarter.
But the defense continued to put the cuffs on the Lady Redhawks in the second quarter, and the frustration reached the boiling point when Liberal’s Rhine was called for an offensive foul on a screen, her third in the game.
North prepared to inbound the ball, but Ross, who had already been called for her fourth foul earlier, had a brief interaction with the official after Rhine was called for a foul, received a technical for her fifth foul in the first half, and she was called for a second which led to her exiting the gym.
That call led to the four straight free throw shots for Lewis, and the Lady Redskins led 34-10 at half.
With Rhine back on the floor to start the second half with three fouls, the Lady Redskins were back on stride.
Liberal continued to take advantage of fouls by North and made nine of 10 free throw attempts in the quarter to go along with a pair of baskets from Lewis and two more from Aaliyah Cadena, and single baskets fro Rhine, Trinity Olvera and Mullens, and the Lady Redskins pushed out to a 57-15 lead.
Late in the quarter, Lewis was fouled and went to the free thow line to sink her 25th and 26th points of the game, and her first shot put her at the top of the all-time leading scorers in Liberal High School history, placing her ahead of Katie Horyna and Machia Mullens.
With the game in hand and a running clock in the fourth quarter, Liberal coach Brandi Fowler pulled the starters and cleared the bench. The Lady Redskins only scored two points in the final period while the Lady Redhawks scored eight, but it had little effect on the 59-23 final. The win was the eighth out of the last nine seasons for the Lady Redskins in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Liberal earned the No. 3 seed in the Class 6A West Division and will now play No. 6 seed Topeka who defeated Maize 69-45. The game will tip off st 6 p.m. Friday in The Big House, and the winner will advance to the State tournament.
