Halstead's 5-3 dynamo Kaci Young was on fire with a 22-point effort, including 13 first-half points for a 32-13 halftime lead. Halstead’s hot start dampened the spirits of the Larned Winter Royalty crowd. Halstead’s “in-your-face” defensive effort kept Larned off balance most of the night as Halstead led at every quarter stop.
Dominique Schutte added nine points and Sydney Holzrichter added seven points for Halstead (9-6, 3-1 CKL). Halstead shot a blistering 12 of 17 in the first half for 70% and finished 18 of 35. Larned was 13 of 40 for 33%.
“Halstead is a quick and athletic team," said Larned coach Jerrod Smith. "We opened in a zone defense and they picked it apart with some excellent outside shooting. We switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half. It seemed to spark us. We outscored Halstead in the second half but they had too big of a lead."
Larned outscored Halstead 12-7 in the third quarter and 24-23 after halftime.
Larned’s Akielah Collins solved the Halstead defense as she worked inside effectively for 11 points and grabbed key rebounds. Larned had an opportunity to be closer, but the Indians converted 9 of 24 free throws, sealing their fate.
Jadyn Pinkston added seven and Karley Lemuz six for Larned (3-12 1-3 CKL), which plays at CKL leader Hillsboro Tuesday.
Halstead 15 17 7 16 — 55
Larned 6 7 12 12 — 37
HALSTEAD (9-6, 3-1)—Kaci Young 8 4-9 22, Dominique Schutte 2 4-6 9, Wills 1 3-4 6, Holzrichter 2 1-2 5, Dalaina Schutte 2 0-0 5, Myers 1 0-0 3, Martinez 1 0-0 3, Wilson 1 0-1 2, Totals 18-35 12-22 55
LARNED (3-12, 1-3)—Collins 3 4-6 11, Pinkston 2 2-5 7, Lemuz 2 2-6 6, Holt 2 0-2 4, Meyer 2 0-1 4, Herrera 1 0-0 2, Mackenzie Reinert 0 1-2 1, Hempke 1 0-2 2, Totals 13-40 9-24 37
3-pointers—H 7 (Young 2, Wills 1, Dominique Schutte 1, Dalaina Schutte 1, Martinez 1, Myers 1); L 2 (Pinkston 1, Collins 1)
BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED – That games are won and lost at the free throw line was true when the Halstead Dragons rallied for a nail-biting 37-34 Central Kansas League basketball victory over cold-shooting Larned on Winter Royalty night.
Larned (5-10, 2-2 CKL) closed to a 1-point deficit several times in the final minutes, but the Indians were 1 of 7 on free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Larned made 4 of 11 free throws and missed the front end of several one-and-ones.
Brady Hope scored 11 points. Ty Smith added eight, Easton Fitzpatrick six and Carson Shaver five.
“Boy, we couldn’t make a free throw,' said Larned coach Luke Steinlage. "We’ve been a good free throw shooting team lately. But, tonight, we couldn’t make them, especially in that fourth quarter. If we shoot average, we win that game.”
Halstead (6-9, 1-3 CKL) was led by Kohen Corona’s 17 points, 15 in the second half. Braxton Creed scored nine and Spencer Johnson added six.
Baskets were hard to convert in the rough defensive slugfest. Halstead’s 6-6 Spencer Johnson shut down Larned’s inside game. Larned’s interior defense of Cade Colglazier and Easton Fitzpatrick limited Halstead’s scoring in the paint. Larned shot 32% and Halstead 36%.
Larned and Halstead battled to a 7-7 draw after the first quarter. Hope converted a trio of 3-pointers and scored 11 first-half points for a 18-13 halftime lead. Halstead shut out Hope after halftime. Meanwhile, Corona shot down Larned by scoring 15 second-half points.
Halstead Corona nailed a 3-point basket to give Halstead a 2-point lead with two minutes left.
Halstead 7 6 12 12 — 37
Larned 7 11 8 8 — 34
HALSTEAD (5-10, 1-3)—Kohen Corona 5 3-5 17, Creed 3 2-3 9, Johnson 3 0-1 6, McDonald 1 1-2 3, Heredia 1 0-0 2, Totals 13 6-11 37
LARNED (5-10, 2-2)—Hope 4 0-0 11, Ty Smith 3 2-9 8, Shaver 2 0-0 5, Fitzpatrick 2 2-2 6, Colglazier 2 0-0 4, Totals 13 4-11 34
3-pointers—H 4 (Corona 3, Creed 1); L (Hope 3, Shaver 1)
