After beating three state ranked teams in games that all came down to the wire, including a trio of overtime possessions, the Sabetha girls fell just short of taking down #1 ranked and undefeated Cheney on Saturday as the Bluejays lost the 3A Championship game 60-54. It was more than a valiant effort for Sabetha who fell behind 6-2 and 19-9 and was playing from behind the entire contest. But despite pulling within a single possession twice in the fourth quarter, the Jays didn't have quite enough to complete a comeback before ending their season at 23-3. 

The teams combined for 49 points in the last eight minutes with Cheney outscoring Sabetha 25-24 in the final quarter. The Jays had trimmed a 29-20 halftime deficit and at one time a 12-point margin to 35-30 entering the fourth frame. They scored to make it 35-32 and at the 5:55 mark forced a Cheney timeout with a bucket to draw within 39-37. But as good as Sabetha was in the fourth stanza, Cheney matched the title game caliber of play going 7-9 from the field and 9-13 at the stripe in the fourth quarter to win their second girls hoop trophy school history (2010).

One of the biggest stat differences was turnovers with Sabetha committing 15 and Cheney only 10. The Cardinals also used their depth to wear down the Jays a bit with nine players on the floor for at least 10 minutes of game time while Sabetha's five starters all logged more than 21 minutes each.  Senior, Kylee Scheer, who could be the three-time Kansas 3A Player of the Year, went 9-9 at the foul line and was the only Cheney player to score in double figures with 25 points. 

The senior duo of Melinna Schumann and Leah Renyer played all 32 minutes and shined again on the big stage for the second straight state game. Schumann hit four triples and scored 12 of her 18 points fueling a fourth quarter surge. Renyer scored 24 points and hit two more triples, finishing with four of her six treys this season in the final two games at Hutchinson. Schumann added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the same arena that Sabetha and many of the same girls won their first state volleyball title (41-1) in school history earlier last fall. 

Mary Lukert scored seven in the fourth period including a trey to make it 54-50 with 1:40 remaining, but after a stop, the Jays turned the ball over on their next possession. Sabetha girls have now advanced past the opening round of state in 7 of their 14 total appearances and are now 2-5 in state basketball championship games, earning second this year as they did their previous showing in 2016.

The Jays are 42-7 the last two years with Nate Bauman as head coach and all losses have been to state ranked opponents.  The Lady Jays lose five total seniors including Camryn Wessel, Nicole Stallbaumer and Abbi Russell, who all played meaningful minutes as they look to reload next year following 13 straight winning seasons.