Lady Indians Swat the Hornets
The St. Francis Lady Indians played well in their NWKL contest at Dighton on Friday, January 11. The Lady Indians shot the basketball well and played good team defense to earn a 50-35 win over a much taller team from Dighton. The junior varsity team also earned a two-quarter victory, 18-10.
Lauren Johnson opened the varsity contest with a trey from the right corner. It did not take Dighton long to answer. Ella Roberts (6' 0" Sr.) scored from the mid-post on the left side of the lane on the next two Dighton possessions to give the Lady Hornets a 3-4 lead. Alondra Gomez swished a shot from the left-wing (assist Lauren Johnson), but Roberts again scored from the mid-post on a short jumper. Emily Shepard (5' 6" Sr.) followed with a right-wing jumper giving Dighton their largest lead of the contest (4-8). Emma Johnson's left-wing trey soon re-tied the game. Roberts continued to show her dominance getting two more baskets close to the hoop. A right-baseline shot by Karly Bandel and a top-of-the-key jumper by Lauren Johnson gave the Lady Indians a slim 13-12 lead at the first-quarter horn.
Ella Roberts began the second period with another post basket. The score gave Ella 12 of the first 14 points scored by the Lady Hornets. Karly Bandel's top-of-the key trey placed St. Francis back in front for good (16-14). Lauren Johnson followed with a trey from the left wing. Dighton called time-out at 7:05 trailing 19-14. The Lady Indians good shooting would continue. Lindsey Johnson scored a driving basket and then added an offensive rebound basket. Soon Ella Roberts picked up her second foul and went to the bench. The move would be very beneficial to the Lady Indians as the Lady Hornets' main scoring threat was now off the floor. Neither team scored for more than two minutes and both used time-outs. At approximately 3 minutes, Dighton's Kendalee O'Brien (5' 7" Sr.) scored for the Lady Hornets. Lindsey Johnson answered with a nice post move for the Lady Indians. The final two baskets came on a cut through the lane by O'Brien and back-door cut by Lindsey Johnson (assist Bandel). St. Francis led at halftime 27-18.
It didn't take long to know that Ella Roberts was back on the court. Roberts scored the first basket of the third period from the post. She did not score again in the period due to a good defensive team effort by the Lady Indians. On the next possession, Lindsey Johnson answered from the post on the opposite goal. After a free-throw by Dighton's Justice Barton (6' 3" Sr.), Lindsey Johnson drained a right-wing three-ball giving the Lady Indians a double-digit lead (32-21). O'Brien swished back-to-back free-throws, but the Lady Indians scored the final two baskets of the third period; a left-corner deuce by Karly Bandel and a steal-right wing jumper at the buzzer by Emma Johnson. Neither team had added very many points to their totals in the third period, due to good defensive play by both teams. St. Francis had extended the lead to 36-23 at the third quarter break.
The final period opened with two free-throws by Karly Bandel. The charity tosses increased the Lady Indians' lead to fifteen (38-23). Justice Barton used her height advantage to earn a stick-back basket for Dighton, but Alondra Gomez soon drained a left-wing trey to counter. With six minutes left, Dighton used another time-out for strategy. After returning to action, Lindsey Johnson earned a right-wing deuce extending the advantage to 43-25. After a Lady Indian time-out, Traci Cramer (5' 7" Fr.) earn a steal-two. Emma Johnson scored a give-and-go basket on a pass from Jordyn Faulkender. Melanie Whipple's (5' 9" Jr.) free throw was followed by a left-wing jumper by O'Brien. The action reduced the margin to 45-30. Ella Roberts then earned a jumper at the left-elbow for her second basket of the half. Faulkender added a top-of-the-key shot and free-throw before Cramer chipped in another charity toss. Late in the contest, Hannah Zimbal swished two free-throws, and Roberts scored on a press-offense basket. St. Francis defeated the Dighton Lady Hornets 50-35.
The Lady Indians received balanced scoring from a number of players and shot a good percentage from the floor. Lindsey Johnson led the Lady Indians in scoring with 15 points. Karly Bandel added 9, Lauren Johnson chipped in 8, and Emma Johnson 7. Other Lady Indians scoring in the contest were Alondra Gomez 6, Jordyn Faulkender 3, and Hannah Zimbal 2. The Lady Indians made 5 of 9 from the free-throw line, had 14 fouls, and committed 21 turnovers.
Dighton was led in scoring by Ella Roberts with 18 points. Kenadee O'Brien added 8. The Lady Hornets made 5 of 12 from the stripe, had 18 turnovers, and committed 12 fouls.
The Lady Indians and Lady Hornets will match-up again on Tuesday, January 15, in the opening round of the NWKL Tournament in Sharon Springs.
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