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Tonganoxie girls, McLouth boys advance

By Shawn Linenberger - | Feb 28, 2007

Tonganoxie registered its 20th win of the season with a resounding 59-24 win against De Soto on Tuesday in Class 4A substate qaurterfinal play.

THS started slow in the first quarter, but by the second quarter the Chieftains were rolling.

Ali Pistora, Elizabeth Baska and Shannon Carlin all led the Chieftains in scoring with 14 apiece.

“It wasn’t our intent to start that slow,” THS coach Randy Kraft said. “They were playing man, but it was soft. We weren’t penetrating.

“And then there was a stretch when we fell in love with the three-point line.”

After the slow start, Tonganoxie started clicking. At one point, Pistora, scored six straight points in the span of a few seconds, thanks to forced turnovers against the Wildcats.

And then, in the second half, came arguably the greatest play of the night.

Tonganoxie grabbed a rebound after a De Soto shot and with four crisp passes — and no dribbling — the Chieftains zig-zagged the ball down the court for a play that ended with a Pistora lay-up.

“That’s awesome,” Kraft said.

Before the game, Pistora was honored for being a McDonald’s all-American finalist. She was nominated as an area finalist for the national honor.

A McDonald’s representative and a Hamburglar mascot, presented Pistora with the the award. They also distributed McDonald’s koozies to the fans.

“It’s quite an honor just be nominated to it,” Kraft said.

Tonganoxie will play in the substate semifinals Friday against arch-rival Basehor-Linwood, which defeated Piper on Tuesday. THS won two barn-burners against Basehor-Linwood earlier in the season.

McLouth boys trip Horton, advance in substate

It’s been a long time coming, but the McLouth High Bulldogs have registered a postseason win.

The Bulldogs, who trailed 18-9 after the first quarter, actually were down by 12 late in the quarter when Mark Stewart connected for a three[pointer and cut the lead to nine.

From that point on, the Bulldogs played “great defense,” according to coach Jason Schroeder.

McLouth, which had lost by roughly 20 to Horton about two weeks ago, dropped Horton, 42-38, in the rematch and earned its first substate victory in years.

“The guys were excited,” Schroeder said.

The Bulldogs improved to 10-11 with the victory, which was the first postseason win for this year’s senior class.

McLouth will take on Maur Hill-Mount Academy on Friday at Benedictine College in Atchison in the Class 3A substate semifinals.