Lady Indians Thump Greeley County
The St. Francis Lady Indians played well in the opening round of the Northwest Kansas League Basketball Tournament. The Lady Indians earned a 15-point halftime lead over the Greeley County Lady Jackrabbits (4-4) and stretched the margin to as many as 31 points late in the contest. The Lady Indians took decent control of the basketball (19 turnovers) and benefited from numerous turnovers by Lady Rabbits. Greeley County committed three or more consecutive turnovers several times in the game. As the miscues accumulated, the point margin increased.
St. Francis scored first on a nice assist by Lindsey Johnson to Lauren Johnson. Greeley County's (GC) Carla Ibarra (5' 10" Sr.) answered with a drive. The next St. Francis score resulted from an assist by Reagan Beims to Hanna Bracelin. Taighe Weeter added a steal-two, and a Bracelin to Beims pass resulted in a score in the lane. After a free-throw by Kamryn Youmans (5' 3" So.), Karly Bandel knocked down a shot from the right wing extending the Lady Indians' lead to 10-3. Greeley County called time-out at 5:05 to discuss strategy. After returning to action, GC's Knobbe scored on a drive. Lauren Johnson scored on a back-door cut after a nice assist by Bandel. A right-wing trey by Lauren Crotinger (5' 5" So.) at 3:35 trimmed the margin to 4 (12-8). Lindsey Johnson picked up her 2nd foul and did not play again in the first half. The Lady Jackrabbits would not score again in the period. St. Francis added a right-wing basket by Jylian Laten (assist Lauren Johnson), a left-wing deuce by Lauren Johnson, and a stick-back basket by Reagan Beims to lead 18-8 at the first quarter break.
The margin would continue to increase in the second period. Though a Lady Indian turnover led to a basket by Crotinger to open the quarter, Hanna Bracelin answered from the lane. Youmans then tossed in a right-wing shot for the Lady Rabbits. Karly Bandel swished a three-ball, and a Bandel assist led to a left-wing trey by Bracelin. St. Francis used their first time-out at 3:54 leading 26-12. Only five more points were scored in the final half of the period; three by St. Francis and 2 by Greeley County. Hannah Zimbal scored on an out-of-bounds play. GC followed with a free-throw each by Knobbe and Hannah Brandl (5' 10" Sr.). Emma Johnson sank a free-throw for St. Francis late in the first half. St. Francis led 29-14 at the halftime break.
Youmans opened the third period scoring with a break-away basket. Lauren Johnson answered with a top-of-the-key deuce on the next possession. On the ensuing Lady Indian possession, Johnson added a trey from the right corner. The margin now stood at 34-16. With increased pressure from the Lady Indian defense, the Greeley County turnovers began to accumulate at a rapid rate. After the addition of two free-throws by Bracelin, Crotinger sank another trey. Another Bracelin basket, this one in the lane, preceded a right-wing trey by Karly Bandel. The St. Francis lead had now grown to 41-19. With 5:14 left in the third period, Greeley County called time-out in an attempt to re-group. With play being ragged on both sides, neither team scored for several minutes. At 2:02, Reagan Beims connected on consecutive free-throws. A Bandel assist was finalized by a fast-break basket by Emma Johnson. GC finally added another free-throw by Brandl, but the Lady Indians closed the quarter with two more baskets; a post-basket by Lindsey Johnson (assist Beims) and a drive by Taighe Weeter after an offensive rebound. St. Francis led 49-20 at the break.
The fourth quarter scoring was limited to a total of 6 points, and both teams committed several turnovers during the action. Lauren Johnson scored on an offensive rebound setting the running clock in motion due to the 31-point margin. The Lady Indians would not score again. Greeley County tallied two free-throws by Brandl and a right-elbow basket by Brittany Leubbers in the final period. St. Francis defeated Greeley County 51-24 to advance to the championship semi-final contest.
St. Francis had nine players add to the scoring total. Lauren Johnson led the Lady Indians with 13 points. Hanna Bracelin added 11. Others contributing to the Lady Indian scoring were Karly Bandel 8, Lindsey Johnson 4, Reagan Beims 4, Taighe Weeter 4, Emma Johnson 3, Hanna Zimbal 2, and Jylian Laten 2. The Lady Indians made 5 of 8 from the stripe and were whistled for 16 fouls.
Greeley County was led in scoring by Lauren Crotinger with 8 points. The Lady Jackrabbits made 6 of 14 from the line and tallied 17 fouls.
In other first round girls contests, Hoxie defeated Decatur Community 59-26, Dighton beat Rawlins County 36-20, and Quinter defeated Wallace County 65-51.
The Lady Indians will play Hoxie on Friday, January 19, at 6:00 p.m. in the Varsity Gym at Quinter High School.
Click the photos to see more photos!
