By Spring Atchison
Office Manager, Advertising, Production
Lady Wildcats take District runner-up; qualify for Regional Tourney
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March 4, 2020
Herald photo by Spring Atchison
FLEMING LADY Wildcats, pictured above with their District Runner-Up plaque on Saturday are, front row (l-r), Sienna Donnelson, Hunter Donovan, Laney Schliesser, Lexi Schaefer, Sam Pope, Zoey Vandenbark, Whitney Chintala and Brooklyn Schaefer; back row (l-r), Head Coach Randy Kirkwood, Maddy Serrato, Kally Kirkwood, Jordan Alvarez, Kendyl Kirkwood, Maddy Harms, Jessie Bornhoft, Natali Boerner and Assistant Coach Janice Gerk.
The next time the Fleming Lady Wildcats meet the Briggsdale Lady Falcons Fleming will be due for the win. The top two teams advancing to Regionals out of District 4 traded wins in the regular season and Briggsdale claimed Saturday's District Championship. A fourth contest is possible and if the pattern continues, it will be Fleming's turn for the victory.
The Lady Wildcats entered the District Tournament last Tuesday as the number two seed. They faced off with the Caliche Lady Buffaloes to open District play and took on the Longmont Christian Lady Warriors in the semifinal contest. Wins in those two games put them up against the Briggsdale Lady Falcons in last Saturday's District Championship.
Fleming came out of the opening round and the semifinal round with ease taking a 56-22 win over Caliche and a 53-35 victory over Longmont Christian.
In Tuesday's match up with Caliche, sophomore Whitney Chintala led her team in scoring with 19 points. She made good on two three-pointers, five two-point shots and went three for six at the free-throw line.
Junior Kendyl Kirkwood followed on the scoreboard with 14 points. She earned all her points on the floor off two-point shots.
Kirkwood also led the group in rebounds with 13 giving her a double-double for the day. She brought down seven offensive and six defensive boards.
Freshman Maddy Harms followed under the net in rebounds with six. She grabbed four offensive and two defensive.
Sophomore Sam Pope went three-for-three at the charity stripe and earned seven points for the night.
Chintala led the squad in steals and assists. She earned six for both categories.
According to stats provided on MaxPreps, Kirkwood and Chintala were the only two players to score in Thursday's contest against Longmont Christian.
The duo had an explosive first quarter, putting up 18 points to give their team a 13-point advantage. Longmont Christian matched in Fleming in the second quarter with nine points, but still trailed at the end of the half.
The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Warriors by four in the third and one in the final to maintain their lead at the final horn. Fleming took the victory, 53-35.
Kirkwood led the group with 28 points for the night. She made 11 two-point shots and made six free throws from nine trips to the line. She also led in rebounds with 14 splitting those evenly between offensive and defensive boards.
Chintala rounded out the 53-point tally with 25 points. She earned hers off two three-point shots, five two-point field goals and nine free throws. She made 75 percent of her free throws for the game.
The Lady Wildcats met up with the Briggsdale Lady Falcons for the District Championship on Saturday. The contest would mark the third showing between the two teams this season. Fleming's lone loss of the year came at the hands of Briggsdale in mid-December. They returned the favor in Fleming in early February.
Fleming led after the first quarter of play. Despite the loss of key player Kally Kirkwood in the final week of the regular season, the Lady Wildcat offense kept pace in the opening minutes of the game. They led by five after the first quarter.
Fleming's lead was short-lived as the Lady Falcon offense answered back in the second quarter. Briggsdale put up 22 points while giving up just 13 to the local ladies to take a four-point lead by the end of the half.
Fleming's offense vied for a comeback in the third quarter when they outscored Briggsdale 12-11, but Briggsdale remained on top by three.
The final quarter sealed the win for the Lady Falcons who added 19 to their side of the board. The Lady Wildcats fell short of catching up with 15 points in the fourth and the game closed at 61-54.
Chintala and sophomore classmate Zoey Vandenbark led the Lady Wildcats on the scoreboard with 16 points apiece. Chintala made five of seven shots from the free-throw line while adding eight points off two-point buckets and sinking one three-pointer. Vandenbark made good on four three-point shots for 12 of her 16 and earned the remaining four off two-point field goals.
Kirkwood followed, also in double-digits, with 12 points. She made a spectacular showing under the net in rebounds with 20 grabbing nine offensive and 11 defensive boards.
Herald photo by Spring Atchison
Zoey Vandenbark
The District Championship puts Briggsdale in the number spot in a Regional bracket with the number seven ranked Haxtun Lady Bulldogs and the number six ranked Merino Lady Rams. Briggsdale will take first round bye before going up against the winner of a Haxtun/Merino game set for Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Englewood High School.
As the District runner-up, the Lady Wildcats also qualified for the Regional Tournament slated for this Friday and Saturday at Englewood High School. Entering as the number two seed has earned them a first round bye which puts them in a State qualifying contest against the winner of a Friday match up between number five ranked Lone Star and number eight ranked Front Range Baptist. Fleming's State qualifying game is slated for 11 a.m. on Saturday in Englewood.
Qualifications for both Briggsdale and Fleming on Saturday could result in a fourth and final showdown between the two teams.
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