Lady T-birds roll past Stafford, 62-24

In winning their sixth straight game, the Skyline High School girls basketball team demonstrated how the game is supposed to be played.
Last night at Stafford, the Lady T-birds had 17 assists and got points from 11 of 13 players as they cruised past the Lady Trojans, 62-24.
“We played really well onight. Unselfish is definitely the word to use,” Skyline coach Chris Schmidtberger said. “The girls got in the passing lanes, got some steals, got the ball ahead and got some easy shots.”
Easy enough shots for the Lady T-birds to hit 30 of 56 (53.6 percent) in the contest.
“Most of our shots, I didn’t feel like we had a hand in our face,” Schmidtberger said. “I don’t care if it’s a two-footer or an 18-footer, if you don’t have a hand in your face, you’re probably going to make it.”
Amy Jo Maphet got her team on the board with a three-pointer a minute into the game, then Natali Jones scored two straight baskets for a 7-0 lead.
Jones would score five more points in the first quarter, as Skyline led 16-4 after eight minutes of play.
The Lady T-birds hit seven of 14 shots in the first quarter and forced seven Stafford turnovers, getting points off most of them.
The second quarter was more of the same, as Skyline’s guards pounded the ball into 5-11 junior Sadee Kumberg, who scored eight points in the quarter to help the Lady T-birds enjoy a 32-11 halftime lead.
Schmidtberger’s team was playing so well that midway through the third quarter, his eight main players took a permanent seat on the bench to watch their backups extend the lead even more.
In the third, 5-8 sophomore Ashley Timm scored six points as the younger Lady T-birds picked right up where their teammates had left off, sharing the basketball and getting each other easy shots.
Whitney Renner, a 5-10 sophomore, controlled the paint in the fourth quarter and scored on assists from Timm, Anna Petrowsky, and Kaitlyn Swonger.
Nine of Skyline’s last 11 baskets came on assists as the unselfish play continued until the very end of the game.
The Lady T-birds improved to 3-1 in Heart of the Plains League games and 10-4 overall.
Skyline had a 36-19 rebounding advantage, and the Lady T-birds took advantage of 23 Stafford turnovers, plus got 13 offensive rebounds in the game.
Jones had 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and an assist to lead the way for Skyline. Kumberg added eight points, two steals and an assist, while Renner grabbed seven boards to go with eight points and an assist.
Leah McPherson returned to the lineup after missing the 54 Classic with a broken nose and finished with two assists and three steals.
Sophomore Tia Gilleece had eight rebounds, five steals and two assists, while Swonger, a freshman, swiped a steal to go with four assists and three boards.
Petrowsky and Timm each had two assists and two rebounds, while sophomore Ashton Lee finished with two steals and a pair of boards.
Maphet passed out two assists while Audra Howell had a steal for Skyline.
The Lady T-birds will travel to Burrton on Friday night, and Schmidtberger was glad his players all got plenty of rest heading into that contest.
“That game’s going to be tough. They’re going to come out fired up and ready to beat us,” he said of the Lady Chargers, currently receiving votes in the latest Wichita Eagle poll. “A couple of our varsity players have been sore with a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but I think we’re over it and we’ll be ready to roll on Friday.”
Burrton is one of four HOPL teams state-ranked or receiving votes, but the league race is definitely not limited to those four teams.
“It’s tough,” Schmidtberger said of the HOPL race. “But we’re kind of the hot team right now. I don’t know a lot of teams that have won ten of their last 11.”
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday night in Burrton.

Skyline 62, Stafford 24
SKYLINE: Natali Jones 6 1-2 13, Sadee Kumberg 4 0-0 8, Whitney Renner 4 0-0 8, Ashley Timm 3 0-0 6, Amy Jo Maphet 1 (1) 0-0 5, Audra Howell 2 0-0 4, Leah McPherson 2 0-0 4, Anna Petrowsky 2 0-0 4, Kaitlyn Swonger 2 0-0 4, Sara Venters 2 0-0 4, Tia Gilleece 1 0-0 2, Ashton Lee 0 0-0 0, Victoria Sanders 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 29 (1) 1-2 62.
STAFFORD: Cheyenne Eisenhour 7 7-8 21, Kassie Dick 1 0-0 2, Shannon Nye 0 1-2 1, Delaney Arzola 0 0-0 0, Allison Jackson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 8 8-10 24.
SKY    16    16    16    14 — 62
STAF    4    7    6    7 — 24