Ron Powell: Knights talented enough to repeat

 3 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

Lincoln Southeast’s command of the Class A girls state basketball tournament field this past weekend left fans and coaches of the other schools in awe.

That trepidation won’t be going away any time soon, not if they checked out the Knights’ roster in the program. Unfortunately for the rest of the teams in the state, Southeast won its ninth Class A title with a young team.

Four starters are back, including future Division I college guards Marissa Kastanek and KK Houser, who will continue playing together this spring and summer on the Cornhusker Shooting Stars select team. Kastanek’s entire arsenal was on display in Southeast’s 60-44 win over Millard West in the state finals as the 5-foot-9 junior North Carolina State recruit went off for 23 points.

[+]Enlarge

Millard West junior Jasmin Corbin, 24, drives the ball around Lincoln Southeast junior Marissa Kastanek, 24, during the Class A championship game of the state basketball tournament at the Devaney Center. (Heidi Hoffman)

Millard West junior Jasmin Corbin, 24, drives the ball around Lincoln Southeast junior Marissa Kastanek, 24, during the Class A championship game of the state basketball tournament at the Devaney Center. (Heidi Hoffman)

Houser, the quick 5-5 all-state point guard, was in the playmaker role Saturday (six assists against Millard West) after looking to score more in the first two games. With juniors Paige Hubl, Alyssa Lake and Rachel Masin back next season with three years of extensive playing experience under their belts and 5-11 sophomore Haley Lake returning as a two-year starter, Houser will have lots of options to choose from next season.

With nine letterwinners back, Southeast will once again have the depth to play the aggressive full-court game that’s become the trademark of coach John Larsen’s teams.

“We’ll be the old, experienced team out there for a change,” Houser said. “We’re Southeast, so everyone will be out to get us next year. But we’ll be ready to defend our title.”

Being the preseason favorite will be familiar territory for the Knights. They were the No. 1 team this season wire to wire. Expectations grew even more after Kastanek, an all-stater at Crete as a freshman and sophomore, transferred to Southeast in October and became eligible for varsity play in late January, playing in the Knights’ last 12 games.

Southeast finished with a 10-game winning streak after a 51-49 loss at Class B state champion South Sioux City in the finals of the Tournament of Champions.

“We have such a strong team, it would’ve been fine either way, whether I played or not,” Kastanek said. “I’m glad I got to help the team on the court instead of just cheering from the bench.”

While many key components return, the Knights will have trouble replacing senior standout guard Katie Birkel, who finished with 20 points in the state finals. The North Dakota State recruit put an exclamation mark on her high school career by erupting for 10 third-quarter points, sparking a 16-2 run to start the second half that put the game away.

Southeast, however, wasn’t the only young team in the Class A state tournament field, so there are no guarantees for the Knights. Millard West brings back six of its top eight players, Millard North’s starting five returns intact (including 6-7 Melissa MacFarlane), Bellevue East has a strong supporting cast back around junior all-stater Mercedees Morgan, and Omaha Marian has eight of its top nine players back in the fold.

“With so many young teams, you’ve got to make jumps and improve in the offseason,” Millard North coach Jeff Ritz said. “You can’t stay where you’re at and expect to contend next year.”

In Class B, South Sioux City (all-stater McKayla Knudson and freshman Tristen Sharp) and Alliance (all-stater Jordan Hooper) have three of the top post players in the state back. But those two teams aren’t nearly as young as Seward, which is expected to make a title run next season behind the trio of 6-4 sophomore Alyssa Kamphaus, 6-2 freshman Emily Cady and 5-5 sophomore Natasha Mueller.

Kamphaus could be committed to a Division I college by next season; she already has a scholarship offer from Creighton on the table.

“As young as we were, we were probably a little ahead of schedule with what we accomplished this season,” said Seward coach Tom Tvrdy, whose 20-2 Bluejays fell to a senior-laden Elkhorn team in the first round. “What’s exciting is that we have some really good sophomores (coming up to varsity) who are athletic and good shooters. They’re just waiting their turn next year.”

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.