The girls basketball team advanced to the state championship game after defeating Manhattan 42-35 Friday. The team will play Wichita South for the title.
Junior Keiryn Swenson led the team with 16 points, while junior Daley Handy added 11.
In the first quarter the team had only made one out of the 10 shots they had taken plus a free throw from Swenson. Manhattan led 5-3, as they also had trouble shooting the ball.
In the second quarter sophomore Katie McClure started a 4-0 run scoring inside and Handy also helped out with a steal then a putback that gave the Eagles a 9-7 lead . Freshman Brianna Johnson would get a steal and go down in transition with a knee injury and likely won’t play Saturday.
At the end of the first half Maize had a lead over Manhattan 24-17.
Manhattan came out strong during the second half starting with a jumper, then a three to cut the lead by two points. Maize would not give up the lead though, still holding it after the third quarter 34-26.
Manhattan would get close, being five points down, but the team would eventually killed the clock.