Jr. High Lady Indians 4th in NWKL Tourney
After expending great effort in their semi-final loss to Hoxie, the junior high Lady Indians played Rawlins County in the 3rd place game of the Northwest Kansas League Basketball Tournament. The game started with some excellent shooting by the Rawlins County Lady Buffaloes. Rawlins County earned a basket on the opening tip and then scored on two-fast-breaks and an offensive rebound to hold an 0-8 lead. The Lady Indians scored at the 3:54 mark on an assist by Karly Bandel on an out-of-bounds play basket by Jessica Confer. Rawlins County followed with three more quick baskets (break, offensive rebound, and post back-door), to lead 2-14. With six seconds left in the first period, Lauren Johnson scored on an offensive rebound. The Lady Indians were in trouble, trailing a good Rawlins County team by ten points at the end of the first period.
The Lady Indians executed well offensively in the second period, but a poor shooting percentage allowed the deficit to increase even more. Rawlins County lead 4-18 until two free-throws by Lindsey Johnson at 2:17. A press offense basket by the Lady Buffaloes and an offensive rebound basket by Jessica Confer moved the score to 8-20 at halftime.
Rawlins County opened the second half with an offensive rebound basket and post-move basket. The Lady Indians continued to miss open shots. The Lady Buffs' advantage increased to 24-8. Extra determination by the Lady Indians on defense began to result in a few more shots for St. Francis. Taighe Weeter's right corner shot (assist Lindsey Johnson) seemed to jump-start the Lady Indians. Lindsey followed with a free-throw line jumper. Rawlins County again scored from the post taking advantage of their much superior size (12-26). A series of four consecutive baskets by the Lady Indians (Jessica Confer offensive rebound, Taighe Weeter [assist Lindsey Johnson], Lauren Johnson [assist Weeter], and Weeter steal-two) cut the deficit to 20-26. Rawlins County had seen enough and called time-out. After the time-out, the Lady Indians earned another steal, but could not convert. The final score of the third period may have been an omen, as Rawlins County banked in a shot from the left corner.
An offensive rebound basket by the Lady Buffs to open the fourth quarter gave Rawlins County a 30-20 lead. The gap closed a bit after Taighe Weeter's lay-up on a fast break. After a Rawlins County time-out, the Lady Buffs were very deliberate offensively. The result was another score from the post area (22-32). At 2:38, Jessica Confer nailed a trey from the left wing to pull the Lady Indians within seven (25-32). Unfortunately, the Lady Indians turned the ball over on the next two possessions, and Rawlins County converted both into baskets (25-36). At 1:13, Confer swished another trey, this time from the top-of-the-key. St. Francis called time-out with 1:13 to go. Only one more point was scored in the contest, a free-throw by Teagan Landenberger. The Lady Indians had mounted a good come-back from a poor-shooting start, but the effort had fallen short. St. Francis lost to Rawlins County 29-36. The Lady Indians placed 4th in the NWKL Tournament.
The season is now complete for the junior high Lady Indians.
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Click here to see the final bracket for the junior high girls NWKL Tournament
