KSHSAA Covered
As soon as the rosters came out for the Kansas Basketball Coaches All-Star game, there was a certain amount of giddiness for Anna Jueneman and Oen Deters.
Not necessarily that they’d been selected to play in the annual contest which in itself was an honor But that they’d both been named to the Blue Squad.
At last the Twin Valley League rivals – Deters from Centralia and Jueneman from Hanover – would get to play together instead of going up against each other as they’d done annually since their middle school days.
But when the Blue coaches split up their 12-member squad for playing time purposes for the game, Deters was on one group of six and Jueneman was on the other.
“Me and Oen were on opposites and so we were like, ‘We’ve been waiting for this day literally since the teams came out. Can we please get on the court together?’” Jueneman said. “So we talked them into it.”
It didn’t hurt that two of the three Blue coaches were rather familiar with each with Hanover’s Chris Beikman and Centralia’s Dusty Thompson joining Manhattan’s Scott Mall as the Blue coaches this year.
They acquiesced and it paid off late in Saturday’s All-Star contest at Kansas Wesleyan for the Blue team. With the Blue clinging to a narrow lead on the Gold in in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, both Deters and Jueneman hit huge 3-pointers that ultimately propelled the Blue to a 70-61 victory.
Hanover's Anna Jueneman (4) watches a late 3-point fall through the net to seal a 70-61 win for the Blue in the annual KBCA All-Star game at Kansas Wesleyan.
Hanover's Anna Jueneman (4) watches a late 3-point fall through the net to seal a 70-61 win for the Blue in the annual KBCA All-Star game at Kansas Wesleyan.
“We definitely came up big,” Jueneman said.
Which they’ve done throughout their high school careers, particularly on the basketball court.
Jueneman led Hanover to three straight Class 1A Division II state championships and in her four years as a start for the Wildcats, they posted a 93-11 record including a perfect 26-0 mark in 2022-23. Deters, meanwhile, led Centralia to an 87-14 record in her four-year career, capping it with an undefeated 26-0 Class 1A Division I state championship this past Match that earned her All-State Top 5 honors from KSHSAA Covered.
The performance throughout their career and the Twin Valley League’s reputation as the best athletic small-school league in the state didn’t mean each didn’t go into Saturday’s game without perhaps a little something to prove.
“There are a lot of good athletes in 4, 5 and 6A, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Deters said. “There are a lot of great ones in 3, 2 and 1A, too. I love competing against them. Everybody here is an all-star and that’s what’s fun.
“I’m pretty confident and it was definitely is a little more chippy. But I like playing like that, being a little cocky. It’s more fun that way.”
Jueneman agreed.
“Everyone says what a great league the TVL is, and it is,” she said. “And it definitely helps in a game like this.”
The TVL combo had been solid throughout the game as the Blue and Gold were tied 14-14 at the end of the third quarter before the Gold maintained leads at halftime (34-28) and at the end of the third quarter (53-50).
But in the fourth, the Blue began to clamp down defensively and slowly pulled into the lead. They had held a slight lead for much of the third quarter as well before the Gold finished the period strong to regain the edge going into the fourth.
This time, once the Blue got the lead, they fought off the Gold. Up by less than two possessions late, Jueneman found Deters on the wing and the Panther guard banked in a 3-pointer that gave the Blue a little breathing room.
“I passed it to her for the assist and she actually called bank on that one,” Jueneman said, which Deters also confirmed. “The bench girls heard it.”
Moments later, Jueneman – known more for her scoring ability in transition as a result of her constant pressure – fired up her only 3-point attempt of the game and drained it to all but clinch the Blue victory.
“It’s something that’s grown on me,” she said of the 3-pointer. “Earlier in my high school career, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to take that shot, but now I know I can come up at big times like that and have the full confidence it’s going in.
“Some might say it was a stupid shot, but in the heat of the moment I took it and was like, ‘Yeah, this is going in.’ Oen said, “Oh I knew it was going in right away!”
Jueneman finished with 12 points to lead the Blue team and the performance may serve as an omen of what’s to come in her college career. A three-sport standout who led the Hanover volleyball team to four 1A Division II state championship matches and two titles and also was a three-time 1A state track champion in the 400 and two-time winner of the 200, Jueneman had always targeted basketball as her sport of choice for college.
And her college of choice ended up being Kansas Wesleyan with Saturday’s all-star game being held on her future home court. Ironically, her mother, Tiffany (Lohse), also played in the KBCA All-Star game when it was held at Washburn’s Lee Arena, where she ended up playing in college.
Deters added 10 points and 4 steals for the Blue, her point total matched by Labette County’s Lauren O’Brien. De Soto’s Makenzie Farmer chipped in 9 points and 2 assists, while St. Marys’ Hayden Heim had 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
After receiving the KBCA's Miss Kansas Basketball award prior to the All-Star game, Wellington's Val Norwood scored 16 points to lead all scorers in the game.
The gold was led by Wellington's Val Norwood, who hit 7 of 14 shots on her way to game-high scoring honors with 16 points. Despite not coming away with the team win in the game, Norwood still relished the experience, which began with her being presented the KBCA Miss Kansas Basketball honor prior to the game.
“It was a very exciting moment when I got the call,” she said. “It’s a great honor and I’m very grateful for it.”
The honors capped a magical senior season for the Wellington standout, who earned All-State Top 5 honors after leading Wellington to its first-ever state championship as the Crusader toppled longtime state nemesis Bishop Miege 53-48 in the Class 4A championship game to finish off a 24-1 season.
Norwood and her Wellington teammates had had numerous near-misses before the breakthrough title, including a 75-62 loss to Miege in the 2024 title game and losses to the Stags in each of the previous two state tourneys as well.
“We’d all been waiting for that (state title) forever,” said Norwood, who led Wellington to a 91-6 record in her career. “And it was a game that we had always talked about winning. It was a great season and I’m going to miss playing with them.
“This game was nice to get to play with other people and meeting them as well. We had come back at one point, but we just couldn’t get it done at the end. But it was good.”
No other Gold player reached double figures with Andover’s Aliyah Green, Arkansas City’s Saliyah Henderson-Johnson and Hoxie’s Emily Bainter each finishing with 7 points. Henderson-Johnson also grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds and Central Plains’ Marilyn Soeken had 6 points and 3 assists.
KBCA GIRLS ALL-STAR GAME
BLUE 70, GOLD 61
Blue … 14 … 14 … 22 … 20 … -- … 70
Gold … 14 … 20 … 19 … 8 … -- … 61
Blue – O’Brien 3-10 3-3 10, Jueneman 3-5 5-8 12, Harris 2-4 0-0 4, Deters 3-7 2-2 10, Ramsey 1-2 0-0 2, Lambert 1-3 0-0 3, Jacobs 1-6 0-0 2, Krafels 1-4 0-0 2, Farmer 3-7 1-2 9, Martin 2-5 2-2 7, Heim 3-8 1-2 7, Johnson 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 24-65 14-21 70.
Gold – Butler 1-3 0-0 2, Green 13-10 1-2 7, Zeka 2-11 0-0 4, Norwood 7-14 0-0 16, Hadley 2-5 0-0 4, Phillips 2-5 0-0 4, Henderson-Johnson 3-9 0-0 7, Jones 1-3 0-0 2, Bainter 2-4 2-2 7, Barton 1-5 0-0 2, Soeken 2-7 1-2 6, Winfrey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-78 4-6 61.
3-point goals – Blue 8-19 (Deters 2-4, Farmer 2-4, O’Brien 1-2, Jueneman 1-1, Lambert 1-3, Martin 1-2, Krafels 0-1, Jacobs 0-2); Gold 5-29 (Norwood 2-4, Henderson-Johnson 1-4, Bainter 1-1, Soeken 1-4, Butler 0-1, Zeka 0-5, Hadley 0-1, Phillips 0-2, Jones 0-2, Barton 0-3, Winfrey 0-1). Rebounds – Blue 43 (Heim 8), Gold 49 (Henderson-Johnson 7). Assists – Blue 11 (Jueneman 2, Farmer 2, Martin 2, Heim 2), Gold 7 (Soeken 3). Turnovers – Blue 16, Gold 17. Total fouls – Blue 7, Gold 18. Fouled out – none.