Kansas High School Basketball State Championships Roundup: Hanover defeats Axtell in boys, Linn defeats Hanover in girls

EMPORIA - North Central Kansas was the epicenter of small school high school basketball in the state this weekend: both the girls and boys 2026 high school basketball state championships in the 1A DII classification were contested between schools in that part of the state, bringing both conference and local rivalries to the sport's biggest stage.

After a week of traveling across the state in the first year of the KSHSAA's new basketball postseason format, three schools from North Central Kansas descended on Emporia on Saturday for the championship games in the state's smallest classification. In the girls 1A DII championship, Hanover and Linn defied their state tournament seeding to meet in the title game for the second season in a row; while in the boys championship, Hanover and Linn faced off for the third time in 2026, a rivalry rubber match to determine the state champion.

Boys Basketball: #2 Hanover 66, #1 Axtell 60

After competing in many big-time battles in football over the last few years, this longstanding rivalry hit the hardwood this weekend. Both teams came into Saturday with records of 27-1: Axtell's only loss came against Hanover at the end of January, and Hanover's only loss came against Axtell two weeks later.

So the two local rivals, champions of the same sub-state bracket that were awarded the top two seeds in the field of the final eight, met up for a rivalry rubber match with a state title at stake on Saturday afternoon in White Auditorium.

The Eagles got off to a flying start, outscoring the Wildcats 21-10 in the first quarter. But Hanover steadily righted the ship in the second quarter, holding Axtell to 3-of-14 shooting in the frame to get back within 29-27 at the halftime break.

The third quarter was literally dead even, 17 apiece, as the two juggernauts lined up for a photo finish. Both teams shot it at exactly 50% in the final period, but Hanover enjoyed a significant edge at the free throw line (9-of-13 vs. 2-of-6), one of the biggest reasons why the Wildcats outscored the Eagles by eight in the last quarter, lifting Hanover to a 66-60 win and a state championship, their eighth all-time in this classification and first since 2021.

Cooper Bruna paced the Wildcats with 22 points (8-of-17 FG), while Braylon Meyn provided a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. Longan Sandmann was the engine for the Eagles with a massive 22-point, 18-rebound, 5-assist effort in the losing cause.

Girls Basketball: #7 Linn 57, #4 Hanover 50 (OT)

Speaking of two schools that are very familiar with each other, the girls from Hanover and Linn have faced off a ton in every sport over the last few years, including premier matchups late in the postseason in volleyball and in basketball. In fact, this year's championship game was a rematch of last year's: Hanover won that one to claim their third straight state title, but this time, Linn earned their revenge to win their first state title at this classification in team history.

For much of the first half, it seemed like the Bulldogs might coast to that first title as the Wildcat offense was late to arrive: Hanover made just three field goals over the course of the first half, while Linn went 5-of-11 just from beyond the arc. An 18-7 Linn edge after one quarter became 24-14 at the intermission.

That's when the Wildcat offense started to wake up. Despite making only one three-pointer in the game, Hanover shot 54% from the field after halftime to start to cut into the deficit. Linn didn't exactly cool off, shooting 47% from the field in their own right, but they didn't have as many scoring opportunities as Hanover did. The Wildcats dominated the points in the paint (32-16) and ten offensive rebounds helped them score 11 second-chance points.

Steadily, Hanover managed to even the score at the end of regulation, forcing the championship game into overtime tied at 46. But remarkably for a game that was decided in overtime, there were only three ties and one lead change in the game: Linn led for more than 30 minutes and was in the driver's seat for all of overtime. The Bulldogs prevailed 57-50 in the extra session, earning some revenge from previous defeats in basketball and volleyball and claiming the state title for themselves, finally.

Baileigh Peters was the centerpiece for the Bulldogs, scoring a game-high 22 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Gretchen Bott was 6-of-9 from the field to score 16 points. Drew Bruna was the driving force for the Wildcats with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, both of which were team highs.