BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
EMPORIA — Another night, another heroine steps up.
Makenzie Premer preserved the Panthers' historic 37-35 basketball upset over 6A Wichita Southeast with two clutch defensive plays.
Premer forced back-to-back turnovers against Nyah Chandler to secure the Panthers first appearance in the championship game of the Emporia Glacier's Edge Tournament. Premer closely guarded Chandler for a defensive 5-second violation. She drew a charging foul with 6.8 seconds left against Chandler with the Panthers up 36-35.
Panther Sadie Spray converted a free throw for the game's final point with 2.9 seconds left. A desperation 3-pointer by Buffalo Rylan Chandler came up short.
The underdog Panthers (4-8) pulled back-to-back upsets to qualify for a championship showdown against Emporia (9-3), which beat the Panthers 47-39 Dec. 17 at Great Bend. Emporia defeated Wichita Life 49-42 in the semifinals.
Spray scored 15 points and Hall added 13 points. Southeast's Nyah Chandler scored 13 points on 3 of 14 shooting. The Buffaloes converted 3 of 16 3-pointers.
"It's huge to see us compete. This feels unreal," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "We've gained confidence, which is nice to see."
Southeast shocked the Panthers with a stunning 21-2 scoring run for a 33-23 lead when Rylan Chandler scored a breakaway layup. Nyah Chandler scored eight points during a stretch when the Panthers scored two points on 19 offensive possessions.
Taryn Warren ended the run with a rebound basket for a 33-25 score when Southeast coach Donald Dixon made a baffling decision to waste time rather than try to score. The Buffaloes never regained offensive momentum with Nyah Chandler dominating the basketball.
The Panthers rallied with a game-ending 14-2 scoring run. Spray scored six points and Emilee Hall scored five points in the final six minutes. Spray tied it at 34-34 with a free throw and Hall converted the game-winner for a 36-34 lead. Premer drew a crucial charging foul when Nyah Chandler stole the ball for one last Buffalo chance.
"That was a huge defensive play by Kenzie Premer drawing a charge," Beck said.
Great Bend's late comeback was a sharp contrast to a Jan. 7 game when the Panthers lost their swagger in a 49-40 loss to Garden City.
"They believe in themselves now," Beck said. "They're on the bench saying 'c'mon, let's go because we can do this. We played scared against Garden City, and I haven't seen that since."
The Panthers dominated the boards 38-19 behind 16 offensive second-chance rebounds.
"Rebounding was huge because we crashed the boards," beck said. "We struggled inside, but we kept at it and battled."
Great Bend 7 12 4 14 — 37
Wichita SE 5 7 17 6 — 35
GREAT BEND (4-8)—Spray 6-9 3-4 15, Hall 5-14 3-5 13, Warren 3-7 1-2 7, Premer 1-8 0-1 2, Kaiser 0-5 0-2 0, Fletchall 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 15-45 7-14 37.
WICHITA SOUTHEAST (9-4)—Nyah Chandler 3-14 5-8 13, Rylan Chandler 2-7 3-6 8, Jones 3-11 1-2 7, Jasyra Kennedy 2-5 0-0 4, Ramya Kennedy 0-3 3-4 3, Webb 0-1 0-0 0, Adair 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 10-43 12-20 35.
3-pointers—SE 3-16 (Nyah Chandler 2-7, Rylan Chandler 1-5, J. Kennedy 0-1, Jones 0-3); GB 0-4 (Premer 0-1, Fletchall 0-1, Kaiser 0-2).
EMPORIA TOURNAMENT
1ST—Emporia 9-3 vs. Great Bend 4-8; 3RD—Wichita Southeast 9-4 vs. Wichita Life 10-2; 5TH—Hutchinson 9-2 vs. Goddard Eisenhower 4-7; 7TH—Wichita South 5-6 vs. Shawnee Heights 5-5
FRIDAY—Emporia 49, Wichita Life 42; Great Bend 37, Wichita Southeast 35; Goddard Eisenhower 53, Wichita South 37; Hutchinson 45, Shawnee Heights 28
THURSDAY—Emporia 55, Wichita South 31; Wichita Life 44, Goddard Eisenhower 24; Wichita Southeast 44, Shawnee Heights 38; Great Bend 56, Hutchinson 53
HAVEN TOURNAMENT
1ST—Cheney 9-3 vs. Andale 8-2; 3RD—Nickerson 11-1 vs. Garden Plain 9-3; 5TH—Valley Center 5-7 vs. Halstead 6-6; 7TH—Haven 5-7 vs. Rose Hill 2-10
FRIDAY—Cheney 53, Nickerson 35; Andale 46, Garden Plain 36; Halstead 37, Rose Hill 28; Valley Center 43, Haven 22
THURSDAY—Nickerson 64, Rose Hill 28; Cheney 65, Halstead 24; Garden Plain 43, Valley Center 39; Andale 37, Haven 32
