Photos copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel
Brian Turrel shares his favorite photos of 2022.
Best photos of 2022
Author: Brian Turrel
Lady Pirates win hoops match with Sumner
by Brian Turrel
The Piper Lady Pirates won a cross-town match against the Sumner Academy Lady Sabres 57-27 Friday evening at Sumner.
Piper’s active defense made it difficult for the Lady Sabres to get the ball inside and helped the visitors take an early 6-0 lead, but Sumner took advantage of free throws and a timely three-point shot from Ariana Rivera to pull ahead 10-9 by the end of the first quarter.
Sumner kept the game knotted midway through the second quarter, using full court pressure to slow the Piper offense. As Piper broke the press, a burst of fast-break scoring wore down the home team as halftime approached.
Rivera hit two three-pointers in the second quarter to keep things close, but the Lady Pirates went to the break with a 25-18 advantage.
The third quarter showed much more of the same as Piper controlled the tempo and extended the lead. The Lady Pirates distributed the scoring, racking up 19 points in the quarter with no player scoring more than four.
Sage Grann led Piper with 17 points, and Lauren Marron and Anneliese Lockwood added nine points each. Grann was especially effective on the offensive glass, getting several points on putbacks.
Rivera ended the game with 18 of Sumner’s 27 points, along with five steals. Kylie McCleary pulled down 11 rebounds in the contest.
The win gives Piper a 2-1 record heading into United Kansas Conference play next week. The Lady Pirates will take on Topeka’s Seaman Lady Vikings at home on Tuesday starting at 5:45 p.m.
The Lady Sabres, just off a 59-9 drubbing of Kansas City’s Northeast High School, dropped to 2-1. The team will open Meadowlark Conference play against Washington at home on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 5:30 p.m.
Piper cheerleaders place third in state competition
by Brian Turrel
The Piper and Bonner Springs cheerleading squads participated in KSHSAA GameDay, the state championship for competitive cheerleading, which was held in the Stormont-Vail Event Center in Topeka on Saturday evening. The Pirates’ cheerleaders brought home the third place trophy in Class 5A.
Teams competed in three preliminary rounds — a band chant, a crowd-leading cheer, and their school’s fight song. The top six teams after the preliminaries then performed a long-form final routine that also included a cheer for a specific football scenario assigned by the judges.
Piper qualified for the finals, but Bonner Springs was eliminated after the preliminaries.
In the final round, Piper narrowly edged out St. James Academy by less than half a point for third place. The squad from St. Thomas Aquinas High School won the 5A competition, followed by Blue Valley Southwest.
After the awards ceremony, Piper head coach Morgan Kolenda praised the skill and effort of her team.
“They’ve put in a lot of hard work this entire season,” said the coach.
“We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of basketball left. They’re an amazing group of girls — talented beyond measure — and I’m just excited to see where we can go next.”
The Piper Pearls, Piper’s dance team, performed in the dance competition held Friday, winning fifth place in Class 5A.
