Monarch girls face No.3 Cimarron
Published on -2/16/2012, 10:20 AM
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By RANDY GONZALES
Alan Billinger will find out Friday night if Cimarron is as good as its record.
In a matchup of ranked teams in Class 3A, the ninth-ranked Thomas More Prep-Marian girls' basketball team will play host to No. 3 Cimarron in nonleague action Friday at Al Billinger Fieldhouse. The girls' game starts at 6:15 p.m., followed by the boys.
Cimarron, which was a 39-36 winner over Scott City on Tuesday, brings a 16-1 record to Hays; the Bluejays' lone loss was 41-36 defeat to Kismet-Southwestern Heights, which is ranked 10th in 3A.
TMP (14-3) won its seventh straight game Tuesday, 36-24, over Hoisington to clinch outright the Monarchs' ninth straight conference championship under Billinger.
"Cimarron is a very athletic ball club," Billinger said. "... I'm not sure they've played quite the record, teams that we have, the competition -- but they are a good ball club."
TMP is undefeated on its home court this season.
"We've got to defend our own court," Billinger said.
The win over Hoisington also helped TMP in its quest to be the No. 1 seed at sub-state. After Friday's game, TMP will play host to Scott City in a makeup game Monday before the seedings come out.
TMP is led by 5-foot-9 senior forward Rachel Jacobs, who is averaging 15.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Jacobs also averages 4.1 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.1 blocked shots. Senior Jenna Lang, a 5-8 forward, adds 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, with 3.7 assists, 3.1 steals and two blocked shots per game. Heather Ruder, a 5-7 junior point guard, is at 12.9 points per game, and averages 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals.
Cimarron is led by 5-9 senior forward Lindsay Wehkamp with 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Senior point guard Avery Burns adds 13.1 points and 3.5 steals.
TMP boys try to bounce back
The Monarch boys had a chance to win the MCAA title on Tuesday, but lost 53-48 to Hoisington. After Friday's game, TMP (10-7) will play host to top-ranked Scott City on Monday in its final game before sub-state seedings come out.
"We want to play well, we want to shoot better at home, we want to score some points," Monarch coach Joe Hertel said of Friday's matchup.
Cimarron (9-9), coming off an 82-48 loss to Scott City on Tuesday, is coached by former TMP standout Dave Losey. The Bluejays are led by 6-2 senior Ted Boersma with 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Randy Allen, a 6-3 sophomore, adds 11.2 points per game.
"There are some matchup problems, because they really don't have a big man," Hertel said. "... They run a five-man game where everybody is in the post, everybody's on the perimeter. That poses us a little bit of a problem."
TMP is led by senior forward Jacob Fouts, who is averaging 11.2 points per game. Senior guard Nick Hammeke averages 10.5 points, and 6-3 senior forward Taylor Pfeifer -- who is coming off a 14-point, 15-rebound game on Tuesday -- is averaging 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds.
