BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED — Larned's girls earned a rematch with Haven with a dominating 65-33 substate basketball victory over Russell. Larned's Jadyn Crosby scored a career high 22 points and Akielah Collins added 15 points. The Indians converted six 3-pointers.
Larned (9-12) plays Haven (15-6) in Friday's 3A semifinal at Hoisington. Haven swept the Cardinals 48-45 and 40-28 during the season.
Using their full-court, trapping defense to cause 15 Russell first-half turnovers. Crosby scored 12 first-quarter points for a 14-8 first-quarter lead they extended to 27-14 at halftime.
The Lady Indians converted 25 of 53 field goal attempts (47%) and 10 of 19 free throws. Jaidyn Pinkston scored seven points and played an all-round solid floor game.
The fast start, spurred by Crosby, enabled Larned to control the game's tempo. Larned delivered one of their best offensive outings. Crosby scored 16 first-half points.
"I'm happy we came out ready to play," said Larned coach Jerrod Smith. "Our defense and pressure gave Russell problems. We got tremendous play off of our bench tonight. It helped that Crosby got off to a good start. Akielah Collins got rolling in the second half. It was a good night for us."
Larned blitzed Russell with 27 third-quarter points. Collins got untracked with 13 points and Larned raced to a 54-26 lead that turned into a running clock in the fourth quarter. The foul-plagued game featured 49 free throw attempts.
Russell (7-14) made 7 of 33 shots for 21% and 19 of 30 free throws. Aubrey Birney led Russell with nine free throws. Kelvie Reeves chipped in eight points.
Russell 8 6 12 7 — 33
Larned 14 13 28 11 — 65
RUSSELL (4-17)—Birney 0 9-10 9, Reeves 4 0-0 8, Thielen 1 5-8 7, Donovan 0 4-4 4, Krug 1 0-2 2, Jefferson 1 0-0 2, Peterson 0 1-2 1, Strobel 0 0-4 0, Totals 7-44 19-30 33.
LARNED (9-12)—Crosby 9 2-4 22, Collins 6 5-8 15, Pinkston 3 0-0 7, Hagerman 1 2-2 5, Upson 2 0-0 4, Wachs 2 0-0 4, Holt 1 0-0 3, Hemken 0 1-2 1, Reinert 1 0-0 3, Totals 25-53 10-16 65.
3-pointers—L 6 (Crosby 2, Holt 1, Hagerman 1, Pinkston 1, Reinert 1).
HOISINGTON GIRLS 71, KINGMAN 26 — Hoisington's girls roared to a 34-2 lead after one period and coasted past Kingman 71-26 in Tuesday's 3A Hoisington basketball substate. The Cardinals (14-7) earn a rematch with Ellsworth (10-11) Friday after beating the Bearcats 37-34 earlier in the season.
The Cardinals placed Ellie Crawford (14), Mallory Mooney (13) and Kylee Hahn (11) in double figures. Hahn scored 10 first-quarter points and Boxberger, Mooney and Mollie Steiner also hit early 3-pointers for an 18-0 lead. The Cardinals made nine 3-pointers and converted turnovers into easy scores.
"We came out focused with great intensity," said Hoisington coach Trina Lutters. "I'm proud of the confidence we showed with our defense and shooting."
Kingman's Laney Wood scored 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers.
Kingman 2 2 10 12 — 26
Hoisington 34 17 12 8 — 71
KINGMAN (4-17)—Wood 4 2-6 13, McDorman 2 0-0 6, Campbell 1 0-0 2, Meng 1 0-0 2, Zeller 0 2-2 2, Schreiner 0 1-2 1, Dick 0 0-4 0, Totals 8 5-14 26.
HOISINGTON (14-7)—Crawford 6 0-2 14, Mooney 5 2-3 13, Hahn 4 2-3 11, Boxberger 3 0-1 7, Maier 1 5-6 7, Lutters 2 0-0 6, Steiner 2 0-0 6, Hanzlick 2 1-2 5, Sneath 1 0-0 2, Totals 26 10-16 71
3-pointers K 5 (Wood 3, McDorman 2); H 9 (Lutters 2, Crawford 2, Steiner 2, Boxberger 1, Mooney 1, Hahn 1)..
3A HOISINGTON—3-1—Haven 14-7 vs. Larned 9-12, 6 p.m.; Hoisington 14-7 vs. Ellsworth 10-11, 7:30; Haven 60, Lyons 29; Larned 65, Russell 33; Hoisington 71, Kingman 26; Ellsworth 58, Nickerson 37
