BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
TOPEKA — The Washburn Rural Junior Blues delivered the first of three days of learning for the Great Bend Panther girls basketball team.
The No. 4 6A ranked Junior Blues (10-1) blew past the Panthers 75-37 behind a dominating 26-point performance by 6-foot-2 Brooklyn Deleye, who converted 11 field goals while played aggressive inside.
"She's a tough one to guard," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "You want to learn something from every game. I know we're outsized, but you've to give them one shot. You've got to put a body and get a call over the back."
The Panthers played solidly in the first quarter with a good offensive pace for a 17-12 deficit when Washburn converted the final shot. Sydney Unruh and Sadie Spray hit two hit two field goals.
"I'm proud of the girls. We came out and played strong," Beck said. "Our girls didn't back down. We knew it'd be a challenge. This is a good basketball team."
Deleye got rolling in the second quarter with nine points, a blocked shot and several rebounds. The Junior Blues pushed their lead to 36-19 despite two of 10 shots from 3-point range.
Washburn Rural put the game away with an 18-0 scoring burst for a 54-21 lead after Candice Smith scored the first basket for a 36-21 score. Deleye scored nine more points in the third quarter. The Junior Blues converted six 3-pointers in the second half.
"Our zone defense has got to be better," Beck said.
As always, the Panthers enjoyed some bright spots. Sydney Unruh scored 10 points with three steals. Sadie Spray scored six points and Hannah Loomis scored five points and converted both shots.
"We had girls step up off the bench with three games in three days," Beck said. "We're trying to keep our heads up.
Great Bend (4-7) plays at Leavenworth at 6 p.m. Friday for its second game of a three-day journey.
Great Bend 12 7 14 4 — 37
Washburn Rural 17 19 25 14 — 75
GREAT BEND (4-7)—Sydney Unruh 4-9 1-2 10, Harbaugh 1-2 1-2 3, Latham 2-3 1-2 5, Kaiser 1-5 0-2 2, Smith 2-7 0-0 4, Hall 1-3 0-0 2, Spray 2-5 2-2 6, Elliott 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Loomis 2-2 0-0 5, Tinkler 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 15-38 5-8 37
WASHBURN RURAL (10-1)—Deleye 11-14 2-5 26, Ingram 6-10 1-1 13, Kreeger 4-9 4-6 11, Ladson 1-2 0-0 3, Bagshaw 1-2 0-0 2, Lutz 1-3 0-0 3, Carlgen 0-2 0-0 0, Canfield 1-5 0-0 3, Brogan 2-2 0-0 6, Hurtig 2-9 0-0 4, Schuler 1-1 1-1 3, Totals 30-6 7-13 75
3-pointers—GB 2-12 (H. Loomis 1-1, Unruh 1-5, Latham 0-1, Tinkler 0-1, Elliott 0-1, Smith 0-1, Kaiser 0-2), WR 6-21 (Brogen 2-2, Deleye 2-3, Ladson 1-2, Lutz 1-3, )
TOPEKA GIRLS ROUND ROBIN
THURSDAY—Washburn Rural 75, Great Bend 37; Topeka High 71, Shawnee Heights 28; Lawrence (2-6) at Leavenworth (4-5)
FRIDAY—Great Bend (4-7) at Leavenworth, 6; Shawnee Heights (2-5) at Washburn Rural (10-1); Topeka High (10-0) at Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel
SATURDAY—Great Bend at Shawnee Heights, 11:30; Lawrence at Washburn Rural; Leavenworth at Topeka High
