SUBLETTE – The TMP-Marian Lady Monarchs held their third straight postseason opponent to a season low in points on their way to a sub-state championship Saturday in Sublette and a return trip to the state tournament for the first time since 2018 with a 47-39 win over Hoxie.
The two teams started slow Saturday, trading baskets and the lead back-and-forth to open the game with seven lead changes and four ties before Hoxie closed out the first quarter with five straight points for a 14-11 lead.
They continued the run into the second quarter, outscoring the Monarchs 10-3 to open the second quarter and build the game's largest lead for either team at 10 points, 24-14 with just over two minutes to play in the first half.
But the Monarchs wouldn’t go away. Instead, they put together another run for which they have become known, outscoring Hoxie 22-5 to take a 36-29 lead with just under five minutes to play in the game.
The run covered the end of the first half, the entire third quarter, and the first three minutes and 10 seconds of the fourth quarter, or 13 minutes and 10 seconds of game time.
After allowing 24 points in the first half, TMP limited Hoxie to just 15 points in the second half.
During that stretch, TMP’s Gracyn Schippers scored eight of her team-high 14 points, and Teagan Gottschalk converted on her second three-pointer of the game and the season.
Hoxie threatened several times down the stretch, cutting TMP’s lead to two twice, but the Monarchs closed the game out, converting 8-of-10 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and secured the 47-39 victory.
Gracyn Schippers led TMP with 14 points and blocked two shots. Brooke Koenigsman added 11 points. Claire Schippers finished with 10 points, and Teagan Gottschalk added eight points. Gottschalk also added six rebounds.
The Monarchs will be the No. 8 seed at the 2A state tournament with a record of 15-9.
They will open with the top-seed Moundridge at 2 p.m. Thursday in Manhattan. Moundridge is 21-2.
The winner will face the winner of No. 4 Phillipsburg and No. 5 Inman. Those two teams play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
You can see the full bracket HERE.