There were few players in the state of Kansas that had more responsibility on their shoulders than Iola senior point guard Sydney Wade.
Statistics don’t do justice to how important Wade was. Not only did Wade play nearly every minute of the season for her team, but she had the ball in her hands for a majority of every possession and she was creating seemingly every shot whether it was hers or off of one of her passes.
Early in the season, senior Toni Macha and junior Colbi Riley were battling sickness and Wade’s responsibilities were heightened. She saw exotic defenses designed solely to limit her, but still she managed to keep the team’s head above water.
After Macha and Riley were full-strength again, the Fillies took off and became one of the top three teams in the Pioneer League along with Wellsville and Burlington. They finished the season 13-9 and lost a heartbreaker in the substate final to Burlington.
All this, plus a 12.6 points per game average, earned Wade an All-Pioneer First Team spot.
After being hampered with illness in the first part of the season, Macha got rolling when the team needed her most with Wade missing two games with an ankle injury, Macha became more aggressive and when Wade returned to lineup, the two clicked immediately.
Macha scored double-figures in nine of Iola’s final 11 games after having only three double-digit games in her first nine.
The great finish to the year propelled Macha to a Second Team All-Pioneer selection.
Macha finished with a 11.7 points per game average.
ALL-PIONEER
First Team
Sydney Dwyer, jr., Wellsville; Piper Johnson, jr., Santa Fe Trail; Karly Patton, sr., Wellsville; Sydney Wade, sr., Iola; Kirsten Young, soph., Burlington.
Second Team
Demi Aamold, fr., Wellsville; Lauren McDaniel, sr., Wellsville; Toni Macha, sr., Iola; Maycee Ratliff, sr., Anderson County; Asha Roney, sr., Burlington
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Four Cubs placed on 1st Team All-League
The Humboldt Cubs girls basketball team had four seniors who led them to a Tri-Valley League championship, sub-state championship and State Tournament appearance.
Fittingly, three of those seniors were honored as All-League selections.
Tilar Wells saw her role shift throughout the season. Initially, she was counted on to be a top-notch outside shooter and defensive bulldog for the Cubs. But when junior Rylan Wilhite was injured, Wells was asked to step up her playmaking and she delivered.
