Monarchs’ defense slows down Panthers
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The Hays Thomas More Prep Monarchs started slowly, but built momentum against the Great Bend girls. The Monarchs powered past the Panthers 46-29 in Tuesday's non-league basketball game.
The 3A Monarchs (12-7) played with discipline and patience offensively with 17 of 35 shooting. Monarch point guard Brooke Koenigsman scored 18 points and did a solid job directing the offense. Gracyn Schippers added nine points in a game dominated by defense.
Sadie Spray scored 14 points off 5 of 19 shooting. Makenzie Premer scored six points and Emilee Hall added five points.
The Panthers were consistent offensively with 6 of 26 first-half shooting followed by 6 of 26 shooting after halftime. At times, the Panthers played defense well enough to win the ballgame. The Panthers held the Monarchs scoreless for five minutes to start the fourth period, but managed three points to slice the lead to 36-29. The Monarchs closed with a 10-0 scoring burst.
“We’re moving in the wrong direction,” said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. “We’ve got to find a way to turn it around. We struggled offensively, but we need to buckle down and find a way to make shots. We dug ourselves a hole again. We got sped up.”
The Monarchs were hurt by turnovers at times, but converted just under 50% from the field and 8 of 10 free throws.
“They knocked down some shots for a team shooting 15% on 3-pointers,” Beck said.
The Panthers dictated the tempo in the first quarter with offensive rebounding. Spray scored 10 of the Panthers' first 11 points. Hall chipped in three points and Premer two.
The Monarchs misfired with 3 of 10 first-quarter shooting. But TMP converted a trio of 3-pointers and broke down the Panthers' defense for back-to-back backdoor baskets to Koenigsman for a 19-13 lead. Premer and Spray scored to slice the halftime lead to 21-17. The Monarchs converted 7 of 11 second-quarter shots with excellent passing and player movement.
No. 11 seeded Great Bend (7-10) finishes with Dodge City Friday, Liberal Saturday and Hays High next week.
Hays TMP 5 16 15 10 — 46
Great Bend 9 8 8 4 – 29
HAYS-TMP (12-7)–Koenigsman 6-10 5-7 18, Claire Schippers 2-4 0-0 4, VonLintel 3-9 0-0 6, Garcia 2-6 0-0 5, Gracyn Schippers 3-4 1-1 9, Teagan Gottschalk 1-1 2-2 4, Totals 17-35 8-10 46
GREAT BEND (7-10)–Spray 5-19 3-4 14, Hall 2-11 1-4 5, Premer 3-10 0-0 6, Ellegood 0-2 0-0 0, Thexton 1-5 0-2 2, Reimer 1-2 0-0 2, Kara Feist 0-3 0-0 2, Totals 12-52 4-10 29
3-pointers–TMP 4-14 (Garcia 1-5, Koenigsman 1-4, C. Schippers 0-2, VonLintel 0-1, G. Schippers 2-2); GB 1-12 (Spray 1-6, K. Feist 0-2, Thexton 0-2, Premer 0-2)
WESTERN ATHLETIC GIRLS
Liberal 4-1 14-2
Dodge City 4-1 8-9
Hays High 2-3 10-7
Garden City 2-4 6-12
Great Bend 1-4 7-10
2-14—Hays TMP 46, Great Bend 29; Dodge City 38, Garden City 30; Hays 52, Abilene 23
2-17—Dodge City at Great Bend; Hays at Garden City
2-18—Great Bend at Liberal
LIBERAL (4-1, 14-2)—W Ulysses 49-17; W Scott City 43-30; W Coronado, Colo. 71-38; W Wichita North 51-8; W Hugoton 53-44; L *Hays 59-50; W *Garden City 58-50; L *Dodge City 29-32; Salina (W JC 61-21; W SC 55-46; L Andover 47-48, OT); W Guymon, Okla. 43-42; W Hooker, Okla. 57-47; W *Great Bend 43-38; W Guymon, Okla. 63-35; W *Hays 55-38; 2-18—*Great Bend; 2-21—*Garden City; 2-23—*Dodge City
DODGE CITY (4-1, 8-9)—L McPherson 37-43; L Manhattan 32-37; W Junction City 36-27; L Woodward, Okla. 28-42; L Wichita Southeast 39-51; L Garden Plain 23-33; W Wichita Trinity 50-23; W Guymon, Okla. 49-38; W *Liberal 32-29; L *Great Bend 53-57; McPherson (L Clearwater 38-49; L Manhattan 35-46; W Olathe South 49-37); W *Hays 37-36; L Colby 25-43; W *Garden City 38-30; 2-17—*at Great Bend; 2-21—*Hays; 2-23—*at Liberal
HAYS HIGH (2-3, 10-7)—W Newton 45-29; W Washburn 37-33; L Fort Smith, Ark. 36-39; W Manhattan 56-47; W Junction City 51-25; L Wichita North 38-44; L *Liberal 50-59; W *Great Bend 63-45; W *Garden City 52-43; Colby (W Lamar, Colo. 56-34; L Goodland 37-44; W Beloit 56-23); W Scott City 46-32; L *Dodge City 36-37; L McPherson 34-52; L *Liberal 38-55; W Abilene 52-23; 2-17—*at Garden City; 2-21—*at Dodge City; 2-24—*Great Bend
GARDEN CITY (2-4, 6-12)—W Coronado, Colo. 52-50; W Fairview, Colo. 57-31; L Palmer Ridge, Colo. 50-53; W Coronado, Colo. 55-34; L Scott City 34-36; L Wichita Life Prep 47-62; L Wichita East 47-49; W *Great Bend 54-47; L *Liberal 50-58; L *Hays 43-52; Newton (L Carroll 24-57; L SMNW 36-40; L Newton 30-40); L Goodland 45-67; W Guymon, Okla. 64-57; W *Great Bend 49-40 (OT); L *Dodge City 30-38; 2-17—*Hays; 2-21—*at Liberal
GREAT BEND (1-4, 7-10)—W Junction City 47-38; W Sterling 54-21; W Conway Springs 35-21; L Haven 35-40; W Larned 45-34; L Emporia 40-45; L *Garden City 47-54; L *Hays 45-63; L Hutchinson 33-45; W *Dodge City 57-50; Lawrence (L Blue Valley; L Topeka West 40-46; W Free State 64-19); L *Liberal 38-43; W Buhler 52-35; L *Garden City 40-49 (OT); L Hays TMP 29-46; 2-17—*Dodge City; 2-18—*at Liberal; 2-24—*at Hays
