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January 5, 2008

CHS girls fall to No. 1 Southeast
by Mike Schaefer

There’s a reason why the Lincoln Southeast girls basketball team is No. 1 in Class A.

They’re good.

The Knights used a strong, defensive effort and had a balanced scoring attack to down Columbus High 64-31 at the CHS gym.

CHS coach Dave Licari was a little disappointed with the way the game started for his Discoverers.

“I thought tonight we would be ready to play,” Coach Licari said. “But they got us out on our heels a little bit.”

The Discoverers struggled against both presses used by the Knights. The press along with tight defense throughout led to 36 turnovers for Columbus as 21 of the turnovers came in the first half.

“We got to really work on handling full court pressure but it’s harder to simulate the pressure when you are not a pressure team yourself,” said Coach Licari.

Southeast wasted no time cashing in on the mistakes racing out to a 37-9 lead at half time.

On a cold night outside, it didn’t take Southeast senior guard Katie Birkel long to heat up inside. The North Dakota State recruit finished with six field goals and went 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to lead the team with 16 points.

Twelve girls saw playing time for the Knights and eleven scored.

Columbus though had just six total girls score. Coach Licari attributed that to some timid play.

“I thought we passed up a few shots,” Licari said, “But we got real good ball movement and that opened up for some other pretty good shots. They don’t all go down.”

Junior Ashley Szelag paced CHS with 13 points. Szelag also finished with 11 rebounds.

Coach Licari and the Discoverers won’t have much time to dwell on this loss. With 10 games remaining on the schedule the girls will be busy battling for a high seed come district time.

“We’ve got Grand Island twice. We also have Kearney. We have some good district games to play,” said Licari.

Columbus Telegram

Birkel paces Southeast to rout

On a cold Friday night, it didn’t take Lincoln Southeast senior guard Katie Birkel long to heat up inside the Columbus gym.

The North Dakota State recruit finished with six field goals and led the Knights with 16 points in a 64-31 rout of the Discoverers.

Southeast (9-0) led 37-9 at halftime and held a commanding 37-point lead in the second half en route to the victory.

January 6, 2008

Press lets SE defeat Marian
by Mike Patterson

Omaha Marian stayed with top-ranked Lincoln Southeast for three quarters on Saturday night, but the fourth quarter was something the Crusaders probably would like to forget.

The Knights outscored Marian 16-2 in the final period to post a 62-47 win in front of an estimated 600 fans. The victory moved Southeast to 10-0 and dropped Marian to 5-4.

"I think they got very tired in that fourth quarter," Knights coach John Larsen said. "All our pressing finally took its toll."

The Knights used that press to go on a 15-0 run in the first quarter. But the Crusaders sank four 3-pointers in the second quarter to pull within six at 34-28 at halftime and then rallied to take a 45-43 lead late in the third quarter.

That's when senior guard Katie Birkel made a play that helped put Southeast back in control. She converted a three-point play after stealing an inbounds pass, giving the Knights the lead and momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

"I was just trying to make something happen out there," she said. "We just wanted to keep the pressure on them."

Birkel kept the pressure on all game, finishing with 26 points and nine rebounds. She also was a key member of the full-court press that forced 30 turnovers — 10 in the fourth quarter.

Southeast went on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter before Marian even scored. The frustrated Crusaders missed five shots and turned the ball over nine times before sophomore center Vicki McIntyre finally broke the ice by hitting a layup with 1:38 left.

But by then, the Knights were cruising home. Birkel scored eight points in the final period and junior Alyssa Lake had six as Southeast finished off its 10th straight win.

"We had a lull early on and they had theirs in the fourth quarter," Larsen said. "We got going again at the right time."

Junior KK Houser added 13 for the Knights and Lake finished with 12.

The 6-foot-4 McIntyre led the Crusaders with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Liz Dudley had 10 points and Lindsay Munger nine.

Sophomore guard Clare Tokheim, who is just coming back from a broken thumb on her shooting hand, was 1 for 10 from the field and finished with three points for the Crusaders. She lit up the Knights for 29 points in a game at Marian last season.

"I think you could tell it's still bothering her," Larsen said. "I remember what she did to us last year."

Omaha World-Herald

Birkel sparks winning run for Southeast

Katie Birkel said she just wanted to do something to get her team back on track after Class A No. 1 Lincoln Southeast saw a 14-point first-quarter lead become a three-point deficit against ninth-ranked Omaha Marian late in the third quarter Saturday at Prasch Activities Center.

What she did was spark a 20-2 finish by the Knights that gave them a 62-47 win against the Crusaders and left them with a 10-0 record.

Marian took a 45-42 lead on a three-pointer by Lindsay Munger with 33 seconds left in the third quarter. 

The Crusaders appeared to have Southeast on the ropes, especially after Birkel missed the first of two free throws with 14 seconds to go. But Birkel, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, made the second free throw, then made a steal in the backcourt and converted a traditional three-point play to give the Knights the lead for good at 46-45 with 9.6 seconds left in the period.

“We were kind of struggling and I felt like we needed to do something,” Birkel said. “I saw the ball coming and I grabbed it, and I wanted to make something happen.”

What she made happen was a complete change in momentum. She also scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to get the first eight in a 16-0 Southeast run that buried Marian (5-5). Birkel scored 12 of her game-high 28 points in the final 8 minutes and 14 seconds. She pulled down 10 rebounds to share game-high honors with Marian’s 6-4 sophomore center Vicki McIntyre.

“Katie’s a great athlete and she’s been making plays like that all year,” LSE coach John Larsen said. “She’s really played well, and tonight was just another example. … We expect that out of Katie, and so far she hasn’t disappointed us.”

Southeast’s full-court defensive pressure helped it put on a 15-0 first-quarter run that gave the Knights early control of the game. Marian had eight turnovers in the first quarter, but the Crusaders did a better job against the press in the second and third periods, committing just eight in the two periods as they scratched their way back into the game. But Larsen switched his defense in the fourth quarter and the weary Marian team couldn’t adjust, turning it over 11 times to finish with 27 (to 10 for Southeast).

“The plays that we made in our zone press (in the fourth quarter), I think that helped a lot,” Larsen said. “They were starting to beat us on our man press, and our zone press got a lot of steals and really kind of changed things. When we can steal and get layups, it builds our confidence, and things just kind of snowballed there.”

Larsen said he was particularly happy with how his team responded after Marian rallied to take the lead.

“It would have been pretty easy for us to panic and think, ‘Gosh, we’re not going to get this done,’” Larsen said. “But they didn’t. They competed really well. I told them that’s the sign of a very good team. It says a lot about them.”

Southeast also got 13 points from KK Houser and 12 from Alyssa Lake. McIntyre scored 14 points to lead Marian scorers, while Liz Dudley scored 10 off the bench for the Crusaders.

January 14, 2008

Knights tie state mark in win
by Jamie Hansen

The flurry of three-pointers came from the wrong side of the court Saturday night as top-ranked Lincoln Southeast quickly shot down hopes of an upset by Fremont High School.

The Lady Knights tied a state record with 15 3-point shots on their way to a 76-19 victory in Fremont.

Fremont coach Tony Weinandt said LSE traditionally does not have a great deal of success from outside.

"We played a zone," Weinandt said. "We talked to a lot of people and against Columbus they were 3 of 24 from the three-point line and tonight they come out and hit 15. People play them man and they are explosive off the dribble, so I thought that was our best bet."

The Tigers kept up with LSE in the first eight minutes of the game and took a 9-6 lead early when senior Brittney Bonney scored off a Madi Sorrick miss. LSE took the lead right back later in the quarter off a pair of free throws and never really looked back.

Then came the Katie Birkel show. The senior for the Lady Knights made four shots from behind the arc in the first quarter alone to help LSE take a 16-10 lead.

"We have some kids that can really shoot the ball well," said Southeast coach John Larsen. "We’re the type of team that when the first one goes in, the confidence level goes up. Katie (Birkel) hit her first three or four and I’m sure the basket looked huge to the kids after that. Our passing opened up a lot of the opportunities for us."

Birkel continued her success from three-point land in the second quarter and got some help from her teammates, as well. Birkel hit three more treys as part of her eight on the night. Alyssa Lake and KK Houser chipped two more threes in the second quarter to help put the game away.

"They’re as good as it gets," Weinandt said of LSE. "I thought we had a good competitive start, but it kind of snowballed from there. Its sort of demoralizing when a team is shooting the ball as well as they did."

For Fremont (4-9), junior Jordan Weinandt scored six points, while Bonney had five points and grabbed five rebounds. Junior Marissa Niday also snagged five rebounds.

Birkel led all scorers with 26 points. Alyssa Lake had 13 points for the Lady Knights, who remained undefeated with the win.

Southeast 76, Fremont 19

The Class A top-ranked Knights tied a state record with 15 three-pointers, a record previously set by Southeast in 1999. Katie Birkel hit a school-record eight three-pointers, scoring 26 points.

Kearney High sophomore Nicole Arp (13) comes down with a rebound in front of Lincoln Southeast junior Rachel Masin (11) in the third quarter of Friday night’s game in Kearney. Lincoln Southeast defeated the Bearcats, 47-36.

Third quarter surge keeps No. 1 Knights unbeaten
by Buck Mahoney (photo: Matt Noffke)

For 2½ quarters, the Kearney High girls matched No. 1-ranked Lincoln Southeast basket for basket.

Then the Knights’ press took its toll.

Reeling off a 12-0 run that started in the third quarter, Southeast pulled away for a 47-36 victory Friday night at Kearney High.

“That’s what they do to everybody,” Kearney coach Jason Boyd said. “Their constant pressure wore us down.”

The game was tied at 28-28 when the Knights got things rolling. Up until that time, there had been 12 lead changes and six tie scores as seventh-ranked Kearney hung tough.

“We can play with those teams,” Boyd said. “Other people don’t think we can play with those teams, and I knew we could all along. … I told our girls the main thing we may get out of this game is the perspective of everybody else.”

Katie Birkel started the run with a drive to the basket and she scored eight points in the run.

The Knights’ defense provided the other key to the run, forcing five turnovers on five straight possessions.

“They do so many different types of presses. … Our guards are pretty good and we haven’t seen many presses this year,” Boyd said.

Coach John Larsen said that finding the touch offensively made the defense work. The Knights were 8 of 27 from the floor in the first half, which ended in a 21-21 tie.

“I felt pretty good at halftime. I felt if we could convert a few (baskets) we would be OK,” Larsen said. ”We weren’t scoring and we were getting a little frustrated on defense.”

Kearney’s Ashley Arp added to the frustration. The 5-foot-11 senior had 10 points before Kearney’s offense bogged down.

“We had to get out of our straight man-to-man and go to a zone because she was killing us inside,” Larsen said.

Maggie Maher chipped in 10 points, scoring six of Kearney’s last 10 points.

Southeast got its offensive lift from sophomore center Haley Lake, who scored six of her 11 points in the second half. KK Houser also had 11 for the Knights. Lake also had eight rebounds.

“The kids made the plays they normally do in the second half,” Larsen said.

Kearney Hub

Knights late run topples Kearney

KK Houser saw it in their eyes.

When Houser and her Lincoln Southeast teammates cranked up the pressure in the third quarter, they saw the opening they needed.

The Class A top-ranked Knights went on a 10-0 run to end the third quarter, then held off seventh-ranked Kearney for a 47-36 girls basketball victory Friday.

January 24, 2008

Lincoln East's Anna Wagner shoots over Lincoln Southeast's Maddie Graham on Wednesday night.

LSE rallies to stop Spartans

In a game of runs, it’s always nice to have a couple of state track champions like KK Houser and Katie Birkel.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Lincoln Southeast backcourt players are also NCAA Division I-level girls basketball players. They combined for 36 points Wednesday to power the Class A top-ranked and unbeaten Knights to a 60-54 come-from-behind victory against No. 5 Lincoln East before an estimated 800 spectators at the East gym.

A 17-2 Spartan run late in the second quarter and early in the third opened up a 37-27 East lead with 6:10 left in the third period. East’s full-court pressure defense forced the Knights into 15 first-half turnovers and two more early in the third period.

Southeast (15-0), however, answered with something bigger and better. Trailing 43-34 with 1:04 left in the third quarter, the Knights reeled off 16 unanswered points to take a 50-43 lead they never relinquished.

Houser, who finished with a game-high 20 points, started the run with back-to-back three-pointers in a span of 15 seconds, the second coming after an East turnover. Another East turnover led to a basket inside by Maddie Graham off an assist from Birkel to cut the deficit to 43-42 with six seconds left in the third quarter.

Two free throws by Birkel, a three-point play by Haley Lake and a three-pointer from the corner by Alyssa Lake to start the fourth quarter pushed Southeast to a seven-point lead with 5:28 left.

“There always seems to be a point in the game where we can’t seem to do anything right, shots won’t fall and we turn the ball over,’’ said Houser, who hit 7 of 11 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 three-pointers.

“Then, all of a sudden, there’s a spark,’’ she said. “We get a three-pointer, we get some turnovers and then all of us pick up the pace.’’

East, however, stayed within striking distance down the stretch. A three-point play by Kelsey Newman trimmed Southeast’s lead to 53-51 with 3:39 left. On the next possession, Newman made a steal and seemed to have a clear path to the basket, only to have Birkel quickly recover and get in position to take a charge from Newman as she made the layup.

Newman paced East (11-6) with 16 points, 13 of which came in the first half, when the Spartans overcame a seven-point deficit to lead 32-27 at the break. Senior teammate Erin Reynoldson added 11 points.

After the charge, Southeast got a basket from Rachel Masin inside off an assist by Houser to stretch the margin to four (55-51) with 2:32 remaining. Birkel, who finished with 16 points, hit 7 of 8 foul shots in the final period to help the Knights remain the lone undefeated team in Class A. She sank three free throws in the final 40 seconds to keep East at bay.

“That’s how we play, we go in streaks,’’ said Southeast coach John Larsen, whose team hit 21 of 39 shots (53.8 percent). “We haven’t had a bad streak like we had in the second and early in the third quarter all season. We want to play fast, but we also need to play under control and we weren’t.

“The kids’ confidence really showed, they never panicked,” Larsen added.

While East’s full-court pressure bothered Southeast the first half (15 turnovers), the Knights returned the favor in the final 16 minutes, when the Spartans turned the ball over 14 times.

“At the end of the third quarter, we were hoping to possess the ball and get some kids some rest,” East coach Dennis Prichard said. “Our kids got rattled, we gave the ball up against their press and Southeast converted. A 10-point lead isn’t much against a team like them.’’

Southeast puts its unbeaten string on the line Friday against Iowa’s No. 1 team in 4A, Sioux City North, in the first round of the Tournament of Champions at South Sioux City. On Saturday, the Knights will face either Class B No. 1 South Sioux City or Class A No. 3 Bellevue East.

Kastanek eligible for varsity

Lincoln Southeast junior varsity girls basketball coach Paul Smith took the news that he’d just lost the best player he’d ever coached at that level with a smile.

“John does this to me every time I have a good player,” Smith said with a laugh, referring to John Larsen, Southeast’s varsity head coach.

January 26, 2008

Houser’s shot gives LSE girls win in OT

For most of the game, Friday night’s battle of No. 1 teams was one KK Houser probably wanted to forget.

By the time it was over, however, it turned into something the junior all-state guard will always remember.

Houser’s drive from the right wing and spinning layup with two seconds left in overtime propelled Class A No. 1 Lincoln Southeast to a 48-46 victory against Iowa 4A No. 1 Sioux City North in the first round of the Tournament of Champion.

The girls basketball victory keeps the Knights (16-0) as the lone undefeated team in Class A and puts them into a 3 p.m. championship game today against South Sioux City, another match-up of No. 1 teams. The top-ranked team in Class B edged Class A No. 3 Bellevue East 66-65 in overtime on a free throw by Autumn Boyer with 5.5 seconds left.

Southeast held for the last shot after the Stars (15-2) missed a free throw with 1:11 remaining.

Southeast coach John Larsen said Houser had a number of options on the final play, one of which was a clear-out and taking it to the basket herself.

“There’s no one else I’d want have the ball in that situation,” Larsen said of the lightning-quick Houser. “Great players make great plays and KK is a great player.”

Things did not go quite as smoothly earlier in the game for the 5-foot-6 Houser, who finished with 10 points. Her shot wasn’t falling (she was 3-of-14 from the field) and she was having to deal with another quick guard in the Stars’ Stephanie Robinson, who also had 10 points.

Houser, however, nailed a three-pointer from the right wing with 1:31 left in regulation that tied it at 44. Sioux City North held for the last shot of regulation, but the Knights’ Alyssa Lake stole the ball.

Houser was one of three Knights to score in double figures. North Dakota State recruit Katie Birkel led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 4 of 5 three-pointers. The senior also grabbed seven rebounds.

In her first game with the Southeast varsity, former Crete all-stater Marissa Kastanek had 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals off the bench.

Both teams had opportunities to take control at certain points of the game. The Knights led 15-7 early in the second period, but saw that advantage whittled to 24-22 by halftime. Behind eight third-quarter points from Jalyssa Cesar, Sioux City North scored the final eight points of the period to take a 40-34 lead into the final eight minutes.

Cesar paced the Stars with 16 points and nine boards.

The Knights picked up their defensive intensity, holding the Stars to just six points in the final 10 minutes on 3-of-13 shooting.

“Sioux City North is an outstanding team,’’ Larsen said. “They’re physically and mentally tough and we haven’t faced anyone all season who plays with that much intensity.’’

Kastanek looked comfortable in first game

Marissa Kastanek must have felt right at home Friday night at the Mini Dome. South Sioux City High School’s home court has a “C” surrounding the center circle and a Cardinal head inside the circle.

“When we were warming up, Paige Hubl asked me if that looked familiar,” Kastanek said.

This was the former Crete Cardinal’s coming-out part with Class A top-ranked Lincoln Southeast. The two-month freakshow concerning her transfer from Crete finally ended Thursday when the two-time Class B all-stater gained immediate varsity eligibility with the Nebraska School Activities Association after transferring to LSE in October.

Her parents went to court last month, hoping for a positive resolution, but a judge blocked that attempt. It went much better for Kastanek on the more familiar basketball court Friday, as the   Knights pulled out an exhilarating 48-46 overtime win against Sioux City North, Iowa’s No. 1 team in Class 4A.

She didn’t start, but when Katie Birkel picked up her second foul just two minutes, 27 seconds into the game, Kastanek was in. By the time the first half ended, the North Carolina State recruit had smoothly made the transition from Class A junior varsity ball.

The junior had eight points, seven rebounds and four steals by halftime, playing everywhere from point guard to post. She finished with 13 points, nine boards and five steals. She drove authoritatively to the basket for layups and also showed her range with a third-quarter three-pointer.

It looked like a seamless transition to a team that had already built a 15-0 record and established its own identity. Practicing every day with that group since mid-November helps, but facing a team like Sioux City North didn’t exactly give Kastanek any chance to ease into it.

Kastanek never had to worry about playing inside when she was at Crete, not with 6-footers like Lindsay Waller, Ashley Fey and Jessica Fey. But Southeast doesn’t possess a true post player, so everyone has to contribute inside whenever possible.

“I’ve never played against a team that has that much intensity,” Kastanek said. “They’re not small girls. I had to get in there and work at it.”

But it was a labor of love for Kastanek, who plays with plenty of competitive juices. She was just happy to be on the court at all.

“I didn’t expect anything tonight,” Kastanek said. “I was surprised I got in as early as I did. When I got my chance, I tried my hardest to give everything I have for the team.”

Southeast’s big three all had moments of brilliance. Birkel, probably the top senior player in the state this winter, had a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Another all-stater, junior KK Houser, came through late with game-tying three-pointer in regulation and the game-winning basket on a nice drive and spin move with two seconds left in overtime.

“We were good before, but with Marissa in there, it’s huge,” Houser said. “It has to be pretty intimidating for the other teams.’’

Bellevue East coach Scott Jensen was pretty impressed with what he saw from the Knights. And Jensen knows what it’s like trying to blend transfers into an already established team. Current Husker player Vonnie Turner came to Bellevue East as a sophomore. A year ago, four players, including all-stater Mercedees Morgan, came to Bellevue East from Omaha Burke.

“None of those kids came during the school year like Marissa, all of ours came before the previous summer, so we had a chance to work them in and establish roles for everyone before the season,’’ Jensen said.

“It would be a little tough at this time of the year to add a player,’’ Jensen added. “Southeast has been a great team without her (Kastanek), but they look even better with her. Coach (John) Larsen does a great job, his teams always appear to have great chemistry. There’s no better coach to make things work out.”

January 27, 2008

Cardinals knock off LSE in clash of No. 1s

The South Sioux City girls basketball coaches want Autumn Boyer to stop switching to her left hand in the middle of shooting layups in traffic.

They may want to reconsider after what happened Saturday at the Mini-Dome.

The 5-foot-8 junior dribbled through the Lincoln Southeast defense and rolled in a left-handed layup in front of the basket with 3.4 seconds left, lifting the Class B, No. 1 Cardinals to a 51-49 win against Class A’s top-ranked team in the finals of the Tournament of Champions.

Lincoln Southeast 85, Lincoln High 25

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