Macke Looking to Make the Most of Final Home Game
Mar 01, 2022 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Several years ago, the B&B Junior/Senior High School closed. There were too few students. It is now Highland Community College Western Center. There are no streetlights, a handful of stop signs, a post office and Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. Baileyville, Kansas has a population of 201, according to the 2021 U.S. Census. It is magical. All of it.
Especially the farm, and the shed, where Laura Macke shot her first baskets.
"I'd shoot at home in our shed with my brother David," Macke says. "When I was in the second grade, I played on a team with my sister Jenna, who was in the fourth grade. That's one of my first memories of playing in a game."
Macke has made a lot of memories since then. The 6-foot-2 forward and former Nemaha County High School all-state selection will see a chapter of life close on Wednesday night. That's when she'll play her final home game at Bramlage Coliseum as K-State, 18-10 overall and 8-8 in the Big 12 Conference, faces West Virginia, 13-13 and 6-10 in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff. Macke will be honored alongside fellow seniors Cymone Goodrich, Rachel Ranke and Savannah Simmons in a postgame ceremony.
"It's gone by really fast," Macke says. "I look back and think, 'Freshman year was a long time ago,' but now I'm sitting here and I don't know where the time goes. You have to make the most of it."
Macke certainly made the most of her latest game with the Wildcats.
Macke scored 14 of her career-high 17 points in the second half, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in a 72-69 loss at No. 20 Oklahoma on Saturday. Macke shot 7 of 14 from the floor and added two rebounds, four assists and two steals in a season-high 27 minutes.
Her previous best was 10 points at Omaha on December 8. She had eight points on 4 of 10 shooting with five rebounds, one assist and two steals against Oklahoma State on February 20.
"Even though I scored 17 points, I don't feel like it was really my best performance, but it was still exciting to have that feeling," she says. "I mean, it's a little different of a role for me to score that many points, but it felt good. The 27 minutes was exciting, too. My coaches keep telling me to shoot or at least be confident if I'm going to shoot, you know, and they keep believing in me and so do my teammates.
"They just tell me to be confident."
Macke grew up a K-State fan. She grew up in a pro-K-State family. There are her parents, Roger and Karen, then there's Sarah (currently 29), David (27), Jenna (24) and Jacob (19). Sarah and Jenna both went to K-State. Roger used to tell Laura tales about All-Americans Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker when they played for the Wildcats.
Macke played for Ohlde's AAU team, Ohlde Elite, from her freshman to junior season.
Ranked as the No. 53 wing in the nation by ESPNW Hoopgurlz, Macke enjoyed a career at Nemaha Central High School in which she earned 2018 first team all-state honors while averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists her senior season.
She received between eight and 10 scholarship offers, including regional schools Kansas, Creighton, Kansas City and K-State.
"K-State was later in my recruiting process, probably July before my senior year," she says. "(Associate head coach Brian) Ostermann watched me in Wichita in April, then saw me play at another tournament in July and apparently saw improvement. He knew Nicole Ohlde pretty well."
Macke signed with the Wildcats. She even made a Powercat electric guitar as her high school senior project.
"I started playing guitar in the third grade," she says.
Yes, she began guitar in the third grade, piano in the fourth grade, then began playing piano at her church her seventh-grade year. She continued playing the piano in church until high school graduation.
Many of those same folks at her high school graduation will be in the crowd along with her family on Wednesday.
"They pretty much come to every home game when they can," she says. "I have people from my hometown who come to watch me regularly. It's great to have that community support. I love my community and I loved growing up in my community, and I still enjoy going home on the weekends all the time and seeing friends and people. They're all so supportive."
Macke has played in 115 career games. Wednesday will mark her 116th appearance.
"It's been a really good journey," she says. "It's hard to describe. It's crazy because you go through the everyday practice and it's a grind and you've got to love it because it's such a process. To be a part of a team in college is really special, to be honest. To do it while getting a degree is even better. I have a lot of good memories. It's gone by really quick, to be honest, a lot quicker than I thought it would."
After playing in 31 games as a K-State freshman and 29 games with one start as a sophomore, Macke was one of two players to participate in all 27 games last season while starting in 11 contests.
She set career highs with 4.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.0 minutes and grabbed at least five rebounds in nine games last season. Some of her more notable games included recording eight points, three rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes against Kentucky and scoring nine points to go along with two rebounds and one assist at Iowa State.
Perhaps her best game last season came when she had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal against Kansas. She also had eight points, including two 3-pointers, three rebounds and one assist against Texas Tech in the first round of the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
This season, she averages 4.7 points to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.7 minutes per game.
Macke will graduate in May with a degree in architectural engineering and has accepted a position at PKMR Engineers in Topeka. She'll begin work in July after she marries fiancé Austin Gerety, who will be on the basketball court with Macke's parents when she is honored after Wednesday's game.
"It'll be crazy, I don't know, it went by so quick," she says. "I just have to cherish all these last moments. It'll be a good feeling, but also sad. I'm going to miss the games, the adrenaline and how important every single game is. It's a feeling you don't get anywhere else. You're not going to get it in the workplace someday. It's a pretty special feeling to have. A lot of people would love to be in this position, to be a college athlete."
From shooting hoops in the shed to scorching the nets against Oklahoma on Saturday, Macke has made her hoops dreams come true.
On Wednesday, a whole lot of people from her magical small town will be able to help her celebrate.
Several years ago, the B&B Junior/Senior High School closed. There were too few students. It is now Highland Community College Western Center. There are no streetlights, a handful of stop signs, a post office and Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. Baileyville, Kansas has a population of 201, according to the 2021 U.S. Census. It is magical. All of it.
Especially the farm, and the shed, where Laura Macke shot her first baskets.
"I'd shoot at home in our shed with my brother David," Macke says. "When I was in the second grade, I played on a team with my sister Jenna, who was in the fourth grade. That's one of my first memories of playing in a game."
Macke has made a lot of memories since then. The 6-foot-2 forward and former Nemaha County High School all-state selection will see a chapter of life close on Wednesday night. That's when she'll play her final home game at Bramlage Coliseum as K-State, 18-10 overall and 8-8 in the Big 12 Conference, faces West Virginia, 13-13 and 6-10 in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff. Macke will be honored alongside fellow seniors Cymone Goodrich, Rachel Ranke and Savannah Simmons in a postgame ceremony.
"It's gone by really fast," Macke says. "I look back and think, 'Freshman year was a long time ago,' but now I'm sitting here and I don't know where the time goes. You have to make the most of it."
Macke certainly made the most of her latest game with the Wildcats.
Macke scored 14 of her career-high 17 points in the second half, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in a 72-69 loss at No. 20 Oklahoma on Saturday. Macke shot 7 of 14 from the floor and added two rebounds, four assists and two steals in a season-high 27 minutes.
Her previous best was 10 points at Omaha on December 8. She had eight points on 4 of 10 shooting with five rebounds, one assist and two steals against Oklahoma State on February 20.
"Even though I scored 17 points, I don't feel like it was really my best performance, but it was still exciting to have that feeling," she says. "I mean, it's a little different of a role for me to score that many points, but it felt good. The 27 minutes was exciting, too. My coaches keep telling me to shoot or at least be confident if I'm going to shoot, you know, and they keep believing in me and so do my teammates.
"They just tell me to be confident."
Macke grew up a K-State fan. She grew up in a pro-K-State family. There are her parents, Roger and Karen, then there's Sarah (currently 29), David (27), Jenna (24) and Jacob (19). Sarah and Jenna both went to K-State. Roger used to tell Laura tales about All-Americans Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker when they played for the Wildcats.
Macke played for Ohlde's AAU team, Ohlde Elite, from her freshman to junior season.
Ranked as the No. 53 wing in the nation by ESPNW Hoopgurlz, Macke enjoyed a career at Nemaha Central High School in which she earned 2018 first team all-state honors while averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists her senior season.
She received between eight and 10 scholarship offers, including regional schools Kansas, Creighton, Kansas City and K-State.
"K-State was later in my recruiting process, probably July before my senior year," she says. "(Associate head coach Brian) Ostermann watched me in Wichita in April, then saw me play at another tournament in July and apparently saw improvement. He knew Nicole Ohlde pretty well."
Macke signed with the Wildcats. She even made a Powercat electric guitar as her high school senior project.
"I started playing guitar in the third grade," she says.
Yes, she began guitar in the third grade, piano in the fourth grade, then began playing piano at her church her seventh-grade year. She continued playing the piano in church until high school graduation.
Many of those same folks at her high school graduation will be in the crowd along with her family on Wednesday.
"They pretty much come to every home game when they can," she says. "I have people from my hometown who come to watch me regularly. It's great to have that community support. I love my community and I loved growing up in my community, and I still enjoy going home on the weekends all the time and seeing friends and people. They're all so supportive."
Macke has played in 115 career games. Wednesday will mark her 116th appearance.
"It's been a really good journey," she says. "It's hard to describe. It's crazy because you go through the everyday practice and it's a grind and you've got to love it because it's such a process. To be a part of a team in college is really special, to be honest. To do it while getting a degree is even better. I have a lot of good memories. It's gone by really quick, to be honest, a lot quicker than I thought it would."
After playing in 31 games as a K-State freshman and 29 games with one start as a sophomore, Macke was one of two players to participate in all 27 games last season while starting in 11 contests.
She set career highs with 4.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.0 minutes and grabbed at least five rebounds in nine games last season. Some of her more notable games included recording eight points, three rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes against Kentucky and scoring nine points to go along with two rebounds and one assist at Iowa State.
Perhaps her best game last season came when she had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal against Kansas. She also had eight points, including two 3-pointers, three rebounds and one assist against Texas Tech in the first round of the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
This season, she averages 4.7 points to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.7 minutes per game.
Macke will graduate in May with a degree in architectural engineering and has accepted a position at PKMR Engineers in Topeka. She'll begin work in July after she marries fiancé Austin Gerety, who will be on the basketball court with Macke's parents when she is honored after Wednesday's game.
"It'll be crazy, I don't know, it went by so quick," she says. "I just have to cherish all these last moments. It'll be a good feeling, but also sad. I'm going to miss the games, the adrenaline and how important every single game is. It's a feeling you don't get anywhere else. You're not going to get it in the workplace someday. It's a pretty special feeling to have. A lot of people would love to be in this position, to be a college athlete."
From shooting hoops in the shed to scorching the nets against Oklahoma on Saturday, Macke has made her hoops dreams come true.
On Wednesday, a whole lot of people from her magical small town will be able to help her celebrate.
Players Mentioned
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