Burlington 48, Sabetha 46 The #1 seed Burlington girls had won 22 of their 23 games by 22 points or more coming into the state tournament. They only beat Sabetha 43-38 in the January semifinals of their home tournament. On Wednesday, at state, the Bluejays did not back down, and played a great game, giving Burlington all they could handle before falling 48-46 to end a spectacular season with a 17-7 record. Sabetha, making their first girls state basketball appearance since winning the 3A Title in 2004, jumped to a 9-2 lead at the Hutchinson Sports Arena and led 11-8 after one quarter. Yet, Burlington went on an 11-0 run and the Jays didn’t score the first five minutes of the second stanza and fell down 25-17 at halftime. Sabetha still trailed 38-31 entering the fourth quarter, and was down 44-40 for a few minutes late in the game. A pair of Alexis McAfee free throws and a bucket by Ashley Annan tied the game at 44 with 1:25 remaining. The Lady Jays missed two free throws and had a pair of inbound plays after offensive rebounds, but turned the ball over. Madison Stewart, one of five Burlington seniors who led the team with 16 points, nailed a three-point-play to prevent Sabetha from taking a second half lead. Down 47-44 with :18 left, McAfee hit a driving layup and following a Wildcat free throw, she didn’t get off or make a long shot in the final 2.8 seconds before time expired to pull off the upset. McAfee still had a career night on the big stage with 21 points as a freshman while senior, Ashley Annan had 14 points and added 17 rebounds. Sabetha hit 50 percent of their shots and had 16 more rebounds with tremendous heart and hustle throughout the quarterfinal. The problem for the Blejays was 26 turnovers; however they made a case to everyone in Hutchinson that they belonged in the field of 8 and may be able to make a case as the second best Class 3A girls team in the state if Burlington continues to win and dominate. Sabetha says farewell to five seniors, including four starters, after posting at least 15 wins for the 5th straight season.