JUNCTION CITY – Great Bend’s courageous comeback came up one basket shy in a 69-63 loss to 6A Junction City’s girls Friday.
The Panthers sliced a 51-37 lead to two points at 61-59 on Carley Brack’s basket and 63-61 on Brack’s basket that capped a 21-point night. Brack scored 17 second-half points to spark the rally.
The Bluejays (1-2) responded with back-to-back scores that secured the victory. Alana Kramer capped a 28-point night with a rebound score off a Panther turnover. Melanie Santoro scored the next basket for a 67-61 lead. Junction City had lost to Dodge City 46-39 and Salina Central 66-36 to start the season.
The Panthers (1-3) return home Dec. 15 for a home game against 6A Hutchinson High.
The Panthers dug a hole with 21 turnovers and second-chance points by the aggressive Bluejays. When Brack sparked the offense, it was just shy of a miraculous comeback.
“All those little things added up,” said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. “We didn’t execute and box out and gave up an offensive rebound at the end.”
The Panthers had issues containing Kramer on the boards and inside and Briona Jensen, who scored 13 points. Stylish point guard Gabriela Martinez sparked the Bluejays second-half surge with ballhandling and passing. But the Panthers made their run when she earned her fourth foul.
“It came down to mental mistakes at the end of the game. It was frustrating to see that from the bench,” Minton said. “It was an extremely physical game and the girls battled hard. A couple turnovers hurt us.”
Panther Camryn Dunekack continues to play well with a hustling 16-point effort. Alyssa Herter added seven points and Jenna Mauler six.
GB 16 18 13 16 — 63
JC 13 23 22 11 — 69
GREAT BEND—Brack 6-9 9-15 21, Dunekack 6-11 4-6 16, Clark 0-3 1-4 1, Herter 2-7 2-4 7, Mauler 2-9 2-6 6, Unruh 2-4 0-0 4, Schroeder 0-0 2-2 2, Unruh 1-1 0-0 3, Mills 1-2 0-0 2, Totals 20-46 20-37 63.
JUNCTION CITY—Kramer 11-22 6-7 28; Jensen 5-16 0-1 13, Davis 0-3 0-0 0, Dotson 2-4 0-0 4, Johnson 1-3 1-2 3, Martinez 2-3 43-4 7, Patty 3-8 0-0 7, Greaser 0-1 0-0 0, Santaro 1-1 0-0 2, Rarrick 2-5 0-0 5, Totals 27-67 10-14 69.
