In one of the top sub-states in the state of Kansas in Class 2A it will be two ranked teams on the girl’s side meeting for the right to go to the state tournament in Manhattan next week as Valley Heights and Jackson Heights punched their tickets to the sub-state championship game on Saturday.

Semifinal #1: Valley Heights 67, Horton 43

The first semifinal of the night was close for a half before the No. 6-ranked Valley Heights Mustangs took control with a strong third quarter before going on to take down the host Horton Chargers 67-43.

Both teams started well defensively and went back-and-forth for the entire first half with the Mustangs leading by one after the end of the first quarter and held that same advantage at halftime 25-24.

The third quarter is where Valley Heights took complete control as the Mustangs outscored Horton 22-7 in the quarter forcing four turnovers while Emma Yungeberg and Sam Vermetten combined for 10 points in the frame.

Valley Heights then put the game away with a strong fourth quarter as sophomore Maddy Vermetten scored seven points in the fourth while shooting 3-of-3 from the foul line to ice the win.

The Mustangs (20-2) scored 42 points in the second half and finished with four players in double-figures led by Sam Vermetten’s 15 points while Maddy Vermetten and Emma Toerber each added 14 and Cat Toerber 10.

Horton had three players in double digits with Maliyah Soto and Maryanna Randall each scoring 12 points while Kailea Smith added 11 as the Chargers end their season with a record of 16-5 and their most wins since 2014.

Valley Heights: Sam Vermetten – 15, Maddy Vermetten – 14, Emma Toerber – 14, Cat Toerber – 10, Emma Yungeberg – 8, Kennedy Stevenson – 2, Kate Wanamaker – 2, Sam Hardin – 2.

Horton: Maliyah Soto – 12, Maryanna Randall – 12, Kailea Smith – 11, Tatum Lockwood – 6, Mariah Genuik – 2. 

Semifinal #2: Jackson Heights 44, Jeff County North 32

From start to finish Jackson Heights used their defense to hold Jeff County North down and move on to the championship forcing 24 turnovers in a 44-32 win.

The Cobras forced eight turnovers in the opening quarter and jumped out to a 12-9 lead on the scoreboard, but after review at halftime the true score was 12-7.

Jackson Heights pushed their lead to 12 points going into halftime at 26-14 behind eight second quarter points from senior Abby Brey and five more from junior Amaya Marlatt.

The Chargers finally got something going in the third quarter and pulled within four going into the fourth quarter at 31-27 after senior Josie Weishaar knocked down a half court shot at the end of the third quarter buzzer.

In the fourth though it was all Cobras as Brey knocked down two more big buckets while fellow senior Kylie Dohl knocked down three free throws while JCN turned the ball over six times in the fourth effectively end their hopes of a comeback.

Despite averaging just seven points per game it was Brey who showed out for the Cobras leading the scoring with 15 points on three 3-pointers while Marlatt added 11.

JCN just couldn’t seem to hold onto the ball all night long and had Weishaar score 19 points in the loss to end her stellar career while the Chargers end the season with a record of 19-3.

Jackson Heights (20-2) now heads to the Sub-State Championship game Saturday against Valley Heights with tip off scheduled for 6 p.m. with live coverage on 103.9 KNZA.

Jackson Heights: Abby Brey – 15, Amaya Marlatt – 11, Kylie Dohl – 6, Grace Roles – 6, Rebekah Hutfles – 3, Makenzie Kennedy – 2, Jodi White – 1.

JCN: Josie Weishaar – 19, Kinsey Schneider – 6, Madison Vaught – 3, Avory Downing – 2, Emma Tweed – 2.