Airalyn Frame scores 29 points in her final game as a Crusader.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The 2021-22 season has officially ended for the Wellington girls basketball team. Wellington would lose to Wamego 68-61 for the third-place prize. The Crusaders end the season at 23-2.

Wamego went nuts shooting in the second half, scoring 45 points, and 26 in the fourth quarter alone. They were 10-of-17 inside the arch for 58 percent. and was 3-of-7 beyond the 3-point line.  Wellington finished 18-of-56 and 3-of-18 at the 3-point line. The Crusaders never really found their shooting touch in the three state tournament games. .

“Wamego not only made shots, they made timely shots,” said Eric Adams, Wellington head girls basketball coach. “Anytime we thought we were going to pull within three, they would score a 3-pointer or a couple of free throws on the other end.”

The Raiders were also especially deft at the free-throw line, going 29-of-42. If you wanted to know the difference between this and the McPherson game – this was it.

But Wellington was impressive at the foul line as well going 22-of-30. And Airalyn Frame was simply sensational in her final basketball game as a Crusader senior.

Frame scored 29 points and was 13-of-16 at the charity stripe. Not only that, she was sick.

“Airalyn woke up with the flu this morning,” Adams said. “I guess you can call this her flu game (in reference to Michael Jordan’s 1990s World Championship win while being deathly sick).”

She came up big getting layups and getting to the line, keeping Wellington in the game in the fourth quarter. But Wamego, who was held to 23 points in the first half, generated plenty of offense in the second half to keep the Crusaders at bay.

Ali Zeka scored 8 points for Wellington.

Wellington also fought foul trouble all day. Three girls fouled out for Wellington. None bigger than senior Ali Zeka, who picked her fourth and fifth foul within 2.9 seconds of the third quarter. The senior had to end her career watching from the bench in the fourth quarter.

There was little to separate Wellington and Wamego in the first half. The Raiders led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Crusaders outscored the Raiders 13-9 in the second to take a 25-23 lead at the half.

But the third quarter proved to be Wellington’s demise, getting outscored 19-10.

Wamego opened the third quarter with two 3-pointers and suddenly the Raiders were up by six. It was a deficit the Crusaders would chase the rest of the ballgame.

It was 40-35 when A. Zeka was called for her fourth foul. The Wamego girl would go 1-of-2, missing her second. On the rebound there was a scramble for the ball and Ali was called for her fifth.

“That was huge, and you could feel a lot of the wind going out of our sails at that moment,” Adams said. “But give this team credit. We never gave up.”

Wellington saw the lead go into double digits and at one point saw Wamego take as big as a 15-point lead midway through the fourth. The game started becoming a free-throw contest. There were 72 free throws shot in this game.

The Crusaders were able to whittle the lead down to six, and seemed to be in business when a controversial timeout was called by the Wamego coach when the Raiders did not have possession of the ball. Wellington never could get that final push in the final 2 minutes.

Wellington fans, maybe not as numerous as the first two games, were still loud and vocal. This is of course is superfan Hagen Wright. 

And now it is over.

Wellington had three tournament championships, a third state tournament win, five consecutive weeks on top of the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, and 11 games decided in the fourth quarter with a running clock.

“Those were the hardest working girls,” Adams said. “Of course, there are a lot of tears in the locker room. This was their last time playing together.”

Frame and A. Zeka will graduate. But there is a huge nucleus coming back, an influx of prospective eighth-graders, and a couple of girls coming off injured reserve – as long as everything stays as it is now. The Crusaders girls basketball program is currently hitting on all cylinders.

2022-23 can’t come soon enough.

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