By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After bouncing a league rival in Clay Center 47-30 in Wednesday's sub-state semifinal, the Chapman girl's basketball team sits just one win away from a ticket to this year's 4A state tournament.
Standing in their way is the #3 team in Class 4A, and the 1-seed in this year's bracket in the 20-1 Wellington Lady Crusaders.
Chapman split the regular season series with Clay Center, but wasted no time jumping on the Lady Tigers earlier this week, in a resounding victory in front of the Irish faithful.
"We came out with a lot of energy and really played well, especially on the defensive end," Lady Irish head coach Michael Wahlmeier said. "We handled the run they made in the 4th quarter and finished off the game on a strong note. Everyone played well and the energy from the crowd was awesome."
Now, Chapman will have to take their sub-state run on the road and into a building where the Lady Crusaders have not lost a single game all season long.
"[Wellington] is big, strong, and fast," Wahlmeier said. "They’ve won a lot of games this year and can score in multiple ways. Hopefully, we can match their athleticism and keep their shooters in check."
The Crusaders handled their business on Wednesday, knocking off Chapman's rival in Abilene 44-24 to advance to the final, but did so in their second-lowest scoring output of the year.
Despite that statistic, Wellington remains one of the most dangerous teams in the state, and it will take Chapman's best punch on Saturday for the Irish to have an opportunity to pull off a shock upset and secure a spot in Salina next week.
"We are going to need that same energy we had against Clay to be able to compete against Wellington," Wahlmeier said. "With this being an away game we are going to have to generate that energy ourselves. The girls have that us-against-the-world attitude so I’m confident we will play hard. If we can slow them down and get into a grind-it-out game, I like our chances."
Tip-off between the Lady Irish and Crusaders is scheduled for 6:00 on Saturday with the winner walking away with a ticket to state in hand.
For continuing coverage of Chapman girls' basketball throughout the postseason, stay tuned to the Salina Post, and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.