By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Battle for Dickinson County takes center stage on our final Salina Post Game of the Week, as Abilene travels to Chapman for a showdown on the hardwood this Tuesday night.
This will be the final game of 2023 for all four teams and represents a chance to roll into the new year with some major momentum, as well as bragging rights over a massive rival.
Girls Game: Chapman (1-4) vs. Abilene (0-5)
On the girl’s side, this game represents an excellent opportunity to start building for the new year, as each side has shown flashes of what they are capable of, and will be eager to put those lessons to work against each other.
After trading sweeps in the two prior seasons, these two area foes split last year’s series, with the Lady Irish holding the most recent victory 45-35.
The matchup to watch will pit Abilene’s Claira Dannefer (7.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG) against Chapman’s Kiera Jones (13.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG) in the paint, and is a battle that both coaches are keying in on ahead of Tuesday’s game.
“Dannafer is a solid basketball player and she poses a lot of matchup problems for us,” Lady Irish head coach Michael Wahlmeier said. “We feel good about matching up with her but if we get into foul trouble she’s going to have a field day. They also have a good set of guards around her and defensively we’ll have to take away the three-point line.”
“Kiera Jones is really good in the post and she can be very dominant inside but they have some really active guards around her,” Cowgirl head coach Shawn Herrman said. “Avery Baer can get to the hole, Ava Locke can shoot it from downtown and Elyssa Frieze plays with a lot of passion. We can’t give up offensive rebounds and second-chance points tonight.”
Tip-off for the girl’s game is scheduled for 6:00 on the campus of Chapman High School.
Boys Game: Chapman (3-2), vs. #8 Abilene (5-0)
This year’s boy’s game represents a truly interesting turn for the series, with Chapman fielding its best team under third-year head coach Drew Gruver.
While the Irish enter the contest with a winning record, Abilene comes in with a full head of steam, undefeated at 5-0, ranked 8th in Class 4A, and having won each of the last 20 meetings between the two in the last decade.
Despite the ranking or recent success, the Cowboys have a great deal of respect for the Irish, and understand how dangerous Chapman can be especially on their own home floor.
“Chapman has two really good guards that really keep you on your toes,” Abilene head coach Erik Graefe said. “Gruver has always been like that and Picking is really dangerous too. When you add a big stud in Langvardt on the inside they have a really nice inside-out presence and they’ve got a really good balance.”
That respect, of course, is mutual, and the Irish understand what it will take to hand Abilene their first loss of the season, and their first loss in the series in over a decade.
“Abilene has a solid group of guys,” Chapman head coach Drew Gruver said. “Brax Fisher is playing very well right now, he can shoot it and get to the basket. They’ve got guys that can shoot it from outside and if you don’t pressure them they can hit some shots but they have a good inside game with Holloway and Timbrook too. Defensively rebounding and getting stops will be big for us and offensively we have to work for good shots and value the basketball.”
Tip-off for the boy’s game is set for 10-15 minutes after the conclusion of the girl’s game.
Broadcast Info
- Location: Chapman High School
- SES Live Stream: Link Below
- Pregame: 5:40 PM