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November 29, 2007

KK Houser of Southeast saves a ball from going out of bounds in the second half of the Girls basketball A-5 district finals between Lincoln Northeast and Lincoln Southeast at Lincoln East High School in Lincoln, Neb. on Thursday, February 22, 2007. Lincoln Northeast won the game 64-55.

Talent, versatility and depth have LSE girls among best

Practice was over Wednesday, and all of the other Lincoln Southeast girls basketball players were gone except for standouts KK Houser, Katie Birkel and Marissa Kastanek.

The three were running sprints on their own, perhaps explaining why each of them won gold medals at the state track meet last spring. It’s also a sign that they’re willing to sacrifice a little more for their ultimate goal – a Class A state championship.

“That’s this team’s No. 1 goal and that’s how everyone’s practiced so far,” said Southeast coach John Larsen, whose team returns four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year’s 18-8 squad that reached the state tournament semifinals.

“Two years ago when Katie was a sophomore and KK was a freshman, the goal was just to get to the state tournament and they pulled that off. Last year, they wanted to get to state and win a game and they accomplished that as well.

“The challenge this year is they want to get to the finals and win it,” Larsen said. “In preseason, they’ve practiced like that’s their objective. They’ve done a great job.’’

The only question mark concerning the Knights is whether the Nebraska School Activities Association eventually clears Kastanek to play. The 5-foot-9 all-state guard transferred from Crete to Southeast on Oct. 29, but then was declared ineligible for varsity competition by the NSAA Board of Control. A teleconference hearing was held Wednesday to reconsider the matter, with a decision expected today.

Kastanek could play on the JV team, but she’s been practicing with the varsity. She’s ignoring all of the legal wrangling and is instead concentrating on her new team and whatever role she might play on it.

“My only focus is helping our team out,” said Kastanek, a North Carolina State recruit who averaged 18.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, five steals and four assists per game last season. “If I play, great. If I’m not allowed to play, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll treat it like a redshirt year and do whatever I can in practice to make us better.’’

So far, that’s meant matching up against Birkel and Houser. The trio, who play together in the summer on the Cornhusker Shooting Stars club team, has been pushing each other as much as possible. Birkel, a 5-9 senior who averaged 11.2 points per game last season, signed with North Dakota State earlier this month. Houser, a speedy 5-6 all-state point guard, has an offer from Iowa State and is also being pursued by Kansas State, Creighton, Nebraska, Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Houser scored 16.4 points per game last season and led the team in assists and steals.

“It’s good to have competition in practice,’’ Birkel said. “It forces you to get better and lots of time it’s tougher than what we’ll see in games.’’

Birkel’s strong summer performance with the Shooting Stars led to a Division I scholarship. Larsen sees a stark difference in her game from a year ago.

“Katie’s the most improved player we have, and people in the state will be surprised where she’s at compared to last year,’’ Larsen said. “She’s improved in every area and her confidence level is way up.’’

But depth and experience may be Southeast’s biggest strengths, and those assets will allow Larsen’s team to play the full-court, up-tempo game he likes to coach both offensively and defensively. Juniors Paige Hubl, Alyssa Lake and Rachel Masin all have three years of extensive varsity experience and the versatility to play a number of different positions. Senior Nikki Jacobsen is also part of the guard rotation.

Inside, the Knights can go to Masin, 5-9 senior Sondrea Smith, 6-foot sophomore Haley Lake, 5-11 senior Kendra Sell and 6-foot junior Ashton Honnor, all returning letterwinners.

With so many offensive options, Houser will be able to focus more on distributing the basketball.

“We have a lot of scorers, so I won’t feel the pressure of having to score like I did last year,” Houser said. “I’d much rather drive and kick out than shoot. I’m much more comfortable playing point guard and dishing to my teammates.”

December 1, 2007

Lincoln Southeast 63, Bellevue West 50

The same youthful enthusiasm that led Bellevue West to three nine-point leads in the first half contributed to its demise in the second. The unranked Thunderbirds turned the ball over 33 times and were unable to keep up with the top-ranked Knights.

"I liked our effort," Bellevue West coach Matt Fritsche said. "We're not disappointed at all."

Southeast used a 21-2 run over the second and third quarters to give itself some breathing room, then held off a couple of spurts from the defending state champions down the stretch.

North Dakota State recruit Katie Birkel led Southeast with 19 points. Backcourt mate KK Houser added 18 for the Knights. The two fueled a LSE comeback, something Knight coach John Larsen said he's seen before.

"You expect that from kids like that," he said.

Omaha World-Herald

Southeast wins with big run

Bellevue West sprinted to an 11-2 lead in the first 3:50 and still held a 27-18 advantage midway through the second quarter when the top-ranked Knights finally kicked it into gear.

Southeast went on a 21-2 run during a 7:13 span late in the second quarter and early in the third to take a 39-29 lead on its way to a 63-50- victory at the Great Nebraska Shootout.

Houser, a 5-6 junior all-state guard, scored nine points in the spurt and converted a three-point play early in the third quarter. Birkel had four points during the run. The guard duo also combined for nine steals and nine assists.

“You expect that from kids like Katie and KK,” Southeast coach John Larsen said. “They played well, but they can play better.

“Bellevue West played very well early, but I think our depth and pressure defense wore them down in the second quarter.”
The Knights forced 33 turnovers.Southeast’s largest lead was 52-37 early in the fourth quarter.

Bellevue West junior center Emily Hauder had eight of her team-high 18 points in the final period as the Thunderbirds got as close as eight points (55-47) with 2:08 left.

Hauder’s seven rebounds were part of a 47-33 Bellevue West edge on the boards as the Thunderbirds grabbed 24 offensive caroms.

December 2, 2007

Lincoln SE girls 53, Om. Westside 50

In the girls final, Haley Lake’s 3-pointer gave the No. 1 Knights (2-0) the lead for good in the final two minutes after they had rallied from a five-point deficit.

Westside’s Shelly Martin missed a 3-pointer for the tie before the buzzer. The Warriors’ last lead was at 50-49 on two Kelsey Anderson free throws before Lake’s 3. The 5-foot-10 sophomore finished with a team-high 14 points.

Sarah Nelson led No. 3 Westside (1-1) with 16 points.

LSE girls rally past Omaha Westside

Lincoln Southeast couldn’t hit shots from the field, struggled to hit free throws and suffered rebounding, so the full-court press that drives the Knights was put on hold for a long time Saturday in the girls champion ship game of the Great Nebraska Shootout at Bellevue West High School.

“Well, we had to get a shot to fall eventually,” said Southeast coach John Larsen. “Then, we got the press on and we finally got the turnovers and got some offense going.”

And just in time, as No. 1 Southeast tipped Omaha Westside 53-50.

Southeast junior guards KK Houser stole two passes and assisted on baskets by Haley Lake and Katie Birkel, and teammate Maddie Graham scored on a drive to help the Knights rally from a 48-41 deficit.

Southeast took the lead for good when Lake hit a three-pointer with 1:19 left to put Southeast ahead 52-50. Westside lost the ball twice and missed three shots in the final minute.

“The press creates for us and we just couldn’t get to it until we started scoring,” Larsen said. “Westside played awfully tough defense and we just weren’t patient enough on some of our shots.”

Southeast hit just 6 of 27 three-pointers for the game. The Knights connected on just 33 percent shooting for the game.

Lake led the Knights with 14 points and Birkel added 11. Sarah Nelson paced three Westside players in double figures with 16 points.

December 15, 2007

McRae Bell (22) of Lincoln Southwest attempts to steal the ball from Lincoln Southeast's Claire Mueller during their game at Southeast on Friday.

Lincoln Southeast uses big second quarter in win over Southwest

If one wasn’t paying attention Friday night they probably missed it.

After all, it only took about two-and-a-half minutes.

Katie Birkel led four Knights in double-figures with 19 points and KK Houser added 17 more as Class A, Preseason No. 1 Lincoln Southeast turned a four-point lead after one period into a 25 point edge at the half and eventually a 69-30 win over Lincoln Southwest at the Praasch Activities Center.

”We had something to prove because we haven’t been playing up to our potential,” Birkel said. “We really picked it up tonight and showed how good we can be.”

Tina Fantroy threw in eight of her team high 11 points in the first quarter to keep the Silverhawks (1-2) within 15-11 after one period.
Just about as fast as a snowstorm blew up outside the gym, however, the Knights (4-0) blew up inside of it and Southwest barely had a chance to notice what hit them.

LSE forced eight Hawks’ turnovers in the first 10 Southwest possessions of the second quarter.

Haley Lake converted two of them into five points, Paige Hubl converted another pair into four of her 10 points and Houser, Alyssa Lake and Birkel all chipped in a basket.

All told, the 15-0 run in the opening 2-minutes 26-seconds of the second quarter propelled Southeast to a 30-11 advantage that would do nothing more than continue to grow as the game wore on.

By the half, LSW had committed 21 turnovers – 14 in the second period – Haley Lake had scored 10 of her 14 points, Houser another eight and the Knights led 42-17.

“We got a little impatient in the second quarter and they got us going faster than we needed to be going,” Southwest coach Lis Brendan said. “They did it to us. Turnovers kill. With teams that aggressive you can’t have turnovers and stay in the game.”

Southeast, which led 60-24 after three quarters, forced 37 Silverhawk turnovers in the contest while also holding Southwest to just 11 of 38 from the field, including a 2 for 14 mark from beyond the arc. The Hawks connected on just 7 of 25 after the first period.

“We tried to change things up a bit,” Southeast coach John Larsen said. “In the second quarter things worked pretty well. We were able to control things, get some lay-ups and really take care of the game from there.”

The Knights, who also got 10 points from Hubl, turned the ball over 16 times and hit 27 of 56 from the field and 6 of 14 from three-point land. Southwest out rebounded LSE 35-32.

“Our goal was to start off fast,” Birkel said. “Once we got up by six points we didn’t want to let down, especially against our rival.”

December 19, 2007

Grand Island Senior High¹s Ariel Krolikowski shoots over Lincoln Southeast defender Maddie Graham. The Knights defeated the Islanders 57-41. (Photo: Jon Helgason)

LSE downs GISH
by Dale Miller

The good news for Grand Island Senior High against Class A No. 1-rated Lincoln Southeast on Tuesday was that Knight standout guard KK Houser got off to a slow start.

After making her first attempt, Houser missed her next six tries.

The bad news for the Islanders was that Houser warmed up just a little bit after that.

She connected on nine of her next 11 shots, including going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, en route to 27 points in Southeast's 57-41 victory.

"Defensively in the first half I was pretty pleased," Grand Island coach Kelli Jeffries said. "Houser got hot in the second half and hit those threes. You've got to guard her off the dribble and guard her off the 3-point line. When she gets hot like that, you're in trouble."

The game was tied 17-17 midway through the second quarter when Houser heated up. She scored seven points in the Knights' 9-0 run that gave them a comfortable margin the rest of the way.

Houser went 4-for-5 for 11 points in the third quarter as Lincoln Southeast (5-0) built its advantage up to 42-28.

"We never tell our kids not to shoot," Knights coach John Larsen said. "We want kids like KK and Katie (Birkel) to shoot the ball. Some shots are better than others. We were able to come out with a victory, and that's the important thing."

Southeast's press also proved effective as it forced eight Islander turnovers in the second quarter.

"At times we broke down on our press break," Jeffries said. "When we ran our halfcourt offense, we got good looks."

Alex Miller led Grand Island (3-4) with 11 points while Stacia Robertson added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jeffries also saw some good things from her defense.

"In man-to-man in the first half, the kids got after it," she said. "Tana (O'Boyle) did a nice job for the most part in the first half on Houser."

It took Lincoln Southeast a while to play at the pace it wanted. Once it did, things got tough for Grand Island.

"We want to play a faster tempo," Larsen said. "Sometimes the kids play too fast. In the third quarter, we let things flow and let our offense create things."

Both teams will be back in Grand Island next week for the Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament. The Islanders face Lincoln High in the first round on Dec. 27 at 3:45 p.m. at Senior High.

Grand Island Independent

Southeast 57, Grand Island 41

December 28, 2007

LSE, East, LSW advance in tournament

December 29, 2007

No. 1 Knights run past GISH, 60-38
by Bob Hamar

Fast starts are nothing new for Lincoln Southeast's girls basketball team.

The Class A No. 1-rated Knights did it again in the semifinals of the Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday at the Heartland Events Center. The top-seeded Knights jumped to a 22-point lead at the end of the first quarter and went on to a 60-38 victory over Grand Island to move into today's 5:30 p.m. championship game at the events center.

Lincoln Southeast (7-0) hit 9 of 13 shots in the opening quarter, including 5 of 6 from 3-point territory in building a 27-5 lead going into the second period.

"The thing about Southeast that just kills you is the way they get off to such quick starts," Grand Island coach Kelli Jeffries said. "They just came out of the gates, everybody was hitting, they were getting us to turn the ball over and everybody got open looks."

Grand Island (4-5) trailed 3-1 early, but Southeast scored 17 straight points before Ariel Krolikowski broke the run with two free throws with 2 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first quarter.

Southeast got off to a 21-4 lead in Thursday's first-round game against Lincoln North Star and ended with an 88-20 victory.

"We have a lot of kids who have played varsity before, so they're experienced and they know what is expected," Southeast coach John Larson said. "We expect to play well at the beginning of the game. They did that yesterday and they did it again today. That's really pleasing to be able to get off to a start like that."

Junior KK Houser, who hit seven 3-pointers against North Star, was at it again on Friday. Houser nailed 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc against the Islanders and ended the day with 17 points.

Katie Birkel also scored 17 for the Knights while Haley Lake added 15.

As a team, Southeast made 10 of 21 3-point attempts for the game.

"She is a great player, but she's not the only one," Larson said of Houser. "We have several other kids that can step out and shoot the three. That always makes it easier then for the inside players and I thought Katie did a good job inside and so did Haley."

Larson substituted liberally after the opening quarter, but the Knights still led 36-14 at the half. The scoring was even in the second half with both teams putting up 24 points.

"Knowing we have a game tomorrow, we subbed probably a little bit more than we normally would have," Larson said. "That made the game kind of choppy. But give Grand Island credit. They hung in there and they played hard. It was a game that probably wasn't real pleasing to the fans the last half, but we got the job done."

Jeffries was certainly pleased with her team's effort in the second half. The Islanders kept fighting even though they were out of it on the scoreboard.

"I think the last three quarters we kind of played even with them," Jeffries said. "The second half especially, I liked the way we didn't buckle and we came back and pretty much played even with them the second half.

"We kind of settled down and quit turning the ball over like we did early."

Krolikowski was the only Islander in double figures with 14 points. Most of those points came from a 10-for-10 performance from the free-throw line.

The Islanders as a team shot 18 of 21 from the line.

"From last year to this year, she's been like a new shooter from the free-throw line," Jeffries said of Krolikowski. "I thought she had a good second half. They really made things hard for Stacia (Robertson) inside that first half. They really doubled down and didn't let her have any open looks. The second half she got open a little bit more, but they do a good job taking away our inside game."

The loss moves the Islanders into a 2 p.m. consolation game today at the events center.

Grand Island Independent

Southeast, East will meet for Heartland title

Lincoln Southeast will put its unbeaten record on the line today when it plays Lincoln East in the championship game of the Heartland Conference Holiday Girls Basketball Tournament.

Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at the Heartland Events Center.

Southeast advanced to the finals with a 60-38 victory against Grand Island. East beat Lincoln Southwest 63-48 in the second semifinal.

Southeast is playing in the tournament championship game for the second straight season. The Knights lost to Northeast in the finals last season.

Southeast was paced with three players in doubles figures. KK Houser and Katie Birkel scored 17 points apiece, and Haley Lake added 15. The Knights were 10-for-22 on three-pointers.

Lincoln East led 38-22 at halftime, and held off the Silver Hawks (4-3) when they made a charge in the second half. The Spartans forced 32 turnovers.

Anna Wagner led East with 18 points, while Kelsey Newman added 14 points.

Bri Exstrom led Southwest with 17 points.

December 30, 2007

Lincoln East's Natalie Ebke (left) drives past Southeast's Paige Hubl as East's Kendra Sell [note: misattributed -- Kendra Sell is a Southeast player] (34) watches from behind Saturday during the championship game of the Heartland Conference Holiday Tournament.

Knight girls rally to defeat Lincoln East

Class A top-ranked Lincoln Southeast held a 16-point first-quarter lead, but its 62-55 girls basketball victory against No. 4 Lincoln East on Saturday at the Heartland Event Center officially goes down as a come-from-behind win.

The Knights trailed 50-46 heading into the fourth quarter of the Heartland Conference Holiday Tournament final, but held East scoreless for the first 5:51 of the final period. That was enough time for   junior all-stater KK Houser to score 10 straight points and keep the Knights undefeated (8-0) this season.

Houser finished with a game-high 25 points, including six three-pointers. Her backcourt mate, Katie Birkel, added 23 points.

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