BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
GREAT BEND—Larned’s Lady Indians hit four of their first five shots and created nine Macksville turnovers in the first quarter as they raced to a 48-26 first-round Hilltop Classic victory Monday.
The Larned full-court defense forced the Mustangs into 31 turnovers and Larned converted many of those into easy baskets. Macksville had trouble getting into its offense and trailed 14-3 after one quarter.
“That was our plan, to pressure them all over and see if we could get turnovers,” said Larned coach Ashley Crosby. “Our guards did a really good job of forcing their guards into passes that were contested. I liked our effort tonight and it resulted into a win.”
At halftime Larned led 23-12 after shooting 36 percent. Macksville converted 6 of 14 free throws.
“I wasn’t happy with our rebounding, but we made up by creating a lot of turnovers,” Crosby said. “I liked our offense. We only attempted five three-point shots and worked the ball inside a lot. We got to the free throw line a lot.”
Larned outscored Macksville 17-11 in the third quarter after Macksville once pulled to within 10 points. Larned played more of a ball control fourth quarter, outscoring Macksville 8-3 to coast to the 22-point victory.
Macksville shot 20 percent on 7 for 30 but converted 9 of 17 free throws. Jennifer Ortiz with 12 points and Jacquelin Galan added 7. Macksville (2-9) plays Central Plains (12-0) at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Larned’s Katelynn Sanger scored 16 points with four assists on nifty passing. Baylea Perez added nine points and Ivory Muldrow eight. Muldrow was credited with seven steals.
Larned (4-5) meets Central Plains at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Macksville 3 9 11 3 – 26
Larned 14 9 17 8 – 48
MACKSVILLE (2-9)—Ortiz 4-8 3-4 12, Russell 0-2 2-3 2, Anchutz 0-3 2-4 2, Wright 0-3 0-1 0, Galan 2-5 2-4 7, Mendez 0-4 0-0 0, Kuckelman 0-1 0-0 0, Duncan 1-2 0-0 3, Smith 0-2 0-2 0, Totals 7-30 9-17 26
LARNED (4-5)—Sanger 7-12 2-6 16, Muldrow 3-6 2-6 8, Fischer 1-6 2-2 4, Butler 2-6 0-0 5, Perez 3-7 3-5 9, Mead 0-1 0-0 0, Nesby 0-2 0-0 0, Grandy 0-1 0-0 0, Tapia 3-5 0-0 6, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-47 9-19 48
3-pointers—M 1-8 (Ortiz 1, Duncan 1), L 1-5 (Butler 1). Rebounds—M 36 )Ortiez 13), L 26 (Sanger 8). Assists—M 4, L 9 (Sanger 4). Steals—M 6, L 24 (Muldrow 7).
ST. JOHN 41, NESS CITY 32 — St. John’s Paige Doran scored 15 points and Erin Crissman and Claussen scored eight points apiece to spark the Tigers past Ness City in Monday’s Hilltop Classic. The Tigers had 18 steals and forced 29 Ness City turnovers.
Ness City 7 6 11 8 – 32
St. John 7 15 7 12 – 41
NESS CITY (1-9)—Epperson 4-10 1-2 13, Morales 0-2 2-1 1, Werth 3-5 0-0 6, Flax 0-3 0-0 0, Guzman 1-2 0-0 2, Reinhardt 4-9 0-0 8, Liggett 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 13-32 2-4 32
ST. JOHN (5-6)—Doran 4-8 7-10 15, Crissman 2-18 4-9 8, Smith 1-8 2-4 5, Bree Meyer 0-5 0-0 0, Rios 0-3 0-0 0, Payton Meyer 0-2 1-4 1, Dowling 2-2 0-1 5, Claussen 4-6 0-0 8, Totals 13-52 14-28 41
3-pointers—NC 4-9 (Epperson 4-8, Flax 0-1), SJ 1-10 (Dowling 1-1, Rios 0-2, Crissman 0-2, Smith 0-2, B. Meyer 0-3). Rebounds—NC 32 (Morales 6), SJ 35 (Doran 6). Assists—NC 8 (Starr 2, Pfannenstiel 2), SJ 9 (B. Meyer 4). Steals—NC 5 (Epperson 2), SJ 18 (Claussen 3, P. Meyer 3, Smith 3, Crissman 3)
LITTLE RIVER 46, ELL SALINE 33 — Little River's Kaylie Zimmerman scored 13 points and Emma McBride added 11 points to spark the Redskins.
Ell-Saline 4 7 10 12 – 33
Little River 7 8 13 16 – 46
ELL SALINE (0-11)—Lange 1-7 0-0 2, Ditto 2-4 0-0 5, Rowley 3-5 0-0 6, Backhus 1-6 0-0 2, Kramer 3-8 0-2 7, Hynes 2-3 0-0 4, Short 1-1 0-0 2, Hardesty 1-5 0-0 2, Vogt 1-3 1-2 3, Totals 15-42 1-4 33
LITTLE RIVER (9-3)—Zimmerman 4-12 5-6 13, Bergkamp 1-1 2-4 4, Wright 1-5 0-0 2, Konen 4-8 2-2 10, McBride 2-9 5-6 11, Barta 1-3 0-0 2, Renken 0-2 1-2 1, Loder 0-1 1-2 1, Boughman 0-2 2-2 2,Totals 13-43 18-24 46
