Lady Wildcats finish in 2nd; knock of Kit Carson for State berth

It was a story of underdog victories last week in the Final Four round of the Colorado 1A Girls' State Basketball Tournament. After entering the State bracket in the number six slot, Fleming's Lady Wildcats exited on Sunday as the State Runners-Up, knocking the number-two ranked Kit Carson Lady Wildcats out of contention on their way. With a first-round bye and wins over Simla in the Sweet 16 and Sangre de Cristo in the Great Eight, the Lady Wildcats made their way into the Final Four.

Last week's semifinal round put Fleming on the road to Kit Carson where they took on the second-ranked team in girls' 1A. Kit Carson entered the contest undefeated on the season at 14-0.

Thursday's Final Four showing started off with a Kit Carson advantage after the first quarter of play; they held a six-point lead after the opening eight minutes, 12-6. But the local ladies held their composure and fought back in the second to take control. Fleming put up 21 points in the second quarter while holding the home team to nine to earn a six-point lead before the end of the half, 27-21.

Kit Carson returned after intermission to reclaim authority on the scoreboard. The offense of the Lady Wildcats in purple tacked on 18 points in the third quarter while holding the visiting Lady Wildcats in green to seven. Kit Carson led heading into the final eight minutes, 39-34.

A fourth-quarter showing that matched the efforts of the second quarter allowed Fleming enough time to regain and retain their lead for the victory. Fleming's offense added 21 and the defense gave up just nine for 55-48 win and a State Championship berth. For Kit Carson, the lone loss of the year put their squad out of the State Tournament bracket.

The State Championship game, which could have pitted Fleming against the number-one ranked Briggsdale Lady Falcons, ended up putting the ladies on the court with Flatirons Academy. Fleming saw both teams during the regular season and fell to Briggsdale, but defeated Flatirons. Flatirons, the underdog who entered the bracket at number four, knocked Briggsdale out of the running in the Final Four, handing them their only loss this year and ending their season.

And so the two underdogs emerging from the Final Four met in the State Championship on Sunday, March 21. The number-four seeded Flatirons Academy Lady Bison and the number-six ranked Fleming Lady Wildcats took the court at 10 a.m. at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs.

It was the Lady Bison who jumped to an early lead in Sunday's Championship matchup. They led by 11 after the first quarter of play, 18-7. Fleming vied for the comeback in the second quarter, narrowing the scoring gap to single digits before falling behind once again by the end of the half. Flatirons led after two quarters of play, 35-24.

The close of the third quarter found the Lady Wildcats still down by 11, 47-36, and the Lady Bison increased that lead by another point before the close of the game. Flatirons Academy took the game, 64-52, and the fourth and sixth-ranked teams closed at one and two respectively.

Kendyl Kirkwood finished her high school basketball career with back-to-back double doubles. The starting forward, listed at 5'10", brought down 13 rebounds against Kit Carson on Thursday and 14 boards in Sunday's Championship. Offensively, she scored 17 in the Final Four match up going 67 percent in two-point shots and 75 percent from the charity stripe. She earned her post-season high scoring performance against Flatirons Academy with 24 points. That day, she went 75 percent from the field for 18 points and made six shots from the free-throw line.

Junior Whitney Chintala followed on the scoreboard in both contests adding 16 against Kit Carson and 13 against Flatirons Academy. She made three three-point shots between the two outings, scored eight points from the field in each game and added two points on free throws both days.

Chintala also followed in boards for the final two games of the season. She brought down seven rebounds at Kit Carson and nine against Flatirons Academy.

Sophomore Kally Kirkwood tallied eight points against the Kit Carson Lady Wildcats in the semifinal game. Junior Sam Pope and freshman Madi Serrato each earned five points that night. Pope also added six rebounds while Serrato went five for six from the charity stripe.

Kally Kirkwood and sophomores Lexi Schaefer and Maddy Harms each tacked on four points to Sunday's Championship score - all three earning their tallies on two-point shots.

The Wildcats will lose their lone senior, Kendyl Kirkwood, to graduation this year. She's committed to play volleyball at Otero Junior College in the fall.

Watch next week's edition of the Herald for girls' and boys' All-Conference designees from the season and opening coverage of the Lady Wildcats' 2021 Season C.