BY BUDDY TABLER

Special to the Tribune

LARNED For thirty minutes, Larned's girls were poised to pull off a Central Kansas League upset. But Haven's clutch free throw shooting in the final two minutes held off the improbable upset, 48-45.

Haven (5-1) converted 21 of 32 free throws while Larned made six of seven free throws. Larned actually had five more field goals than Haven in the closely- contested and well-played game.

“I knew they were getting to the free throw line more than we were but I didn’t realize it was four times as much," said Larned coach Jerrod Smith. "That is the difference. I'm really proud of our defensive effort and how well we ran our offense tonight. Haven is a good team. We took them down to the wire.”

Sienna Defrain scored 25 points and Avery Brawner added 16 points as they combined for 41 of Haven's 48 points. Sorrel Defrain scored four and Karlee Cooprider three.

Larned's Jadyn Crosby scored 18 points. Also scoring were Taten Reynolds (8), Akielah Collins (6), McKenzie Reinert (5). Cassidy Wachs (3), and Abby Holt (3). Larned (1-5) plays Ellsworth Jan. 2. 

Haven led 16-15 at the end of the first quarter and then took a 27-23 halftime lead. The two teams matched each other bucket for bucket throughout the second half. Haven’s 6’0” Avery Brawner and 5’9” Sienna Defrain dominated around the basket, in rebounding and drew a lot of fouls with their aggressive drives.

Larned's aggressive defense forced Haven into 16 turnovers. Larned made 8 of 14 three-point shots to counter the huge disparity in attempted free throws . Haven made 11 of 32 field goals (34%) and converted 21 of 32 free throws for a big edge. Larned made 16 of 40 field goals (40%).