LARNED — The Larned Lady Indians made a big comeback from a large first-quarter deficit but it fell just short as Kinsley held on to defeat Larned 47-43 for third place in the Keady Basketball Classic.
Larned pulled within two points with 20 seconds remaining in the game and Katelyn Sanger was fouled. She made one free throw and the Indians were forced to foul Josena Frame on the inbounds pass. She made one free throw to make it 45-43 and the Indians had the ball for the final possession with a chance to tie or win with a 3-point shot.
It was not to be as the Indians committed a back court violation and turnover with six seconds remaining giving the ball to Kinsley. Kinsley’s Rylee Gleason calmly made both free throws for the final 47-43 score.
“I am very happy with how my girls battled back,” said Larned coach Larned coach Ashley Crosby. “Due to injuries, we only eight players and we could have folded when it was 15-4. Nothing was working for us. We finally made a shot or two and my girls battled and battled. We are getting better.”
Kinsley jumped out to a 15-4 first quarter lead as Larned could not hit shots, but a big rally in the second quarter left the Indians trailing only 24-21 at halftime.
The two teams battled on even terms the rest of the way as Kinsley fashioned a third quarter advantage of 34-28.
Kinsley was led by Rylee Gleason who led all scorers with 30 points. Madison McElwain added 10 and Josena Frame six as the Coyotes improved to 3-1 on the season .
Larned (1-3) was led in scoring by Kristin Anderson who came off of the bench to score 13. Katelyn Sanger also scored 13 points and Baylea Perez added six. The Indians fell to 1-3 on the season and placed fourth in the Keady Basketball Classic.