ST. JOHN — The two high school girls’ basketball teams fought neck-and-neck at St. John on Tuesday night, but Wichita Word of Life finished ahead 49-47, beating the Lady Tigers.
Word of Life was up 28-27 at halftime, and was able to add just one more point to the margin in the third quarter before holding on for the win.
The Fire was led by Domonique Knowles, who finished with 15 points.
The Lady Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in Class 1A Division-I in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, were led by Teresa Wade, who finished with a game-high 23 points, scoring 13 points in the second half.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
At St. John
Tuesday
GIRLS
Wichita Word of Life 49, St. John 47
WORD OF LIFE
Domonique 5 5-8 15, Riesha Deans 2 0-0 4, Milica Savic 5 3-5 13, Taya Novo 2 0-0 6, Alexis Bele 1 0-0 2, Angela Onyema 3 3-6 9. Totals 18 11-19 49.
ST. JOHN (14-2)
Jessie Hanson 2 0-0 5, Morgan Osborne 1 2-4 4, Jamie Waters 2 4-7 8, Tara Christie 0 0-1 0, Teresa Christie 2 0-0 4, Rhian Collins 1 1-2 3, Alexis Witt 0 0-3 0, Teresa Wade 11 1-3 23. Totals 19 8-20 47.
Word of Life 11 17 10 11 — 49
St. John 17 10 9 11 — 47
Three-point goals — Word of Life 2 (Novo 2); St. John 1 (Hanson).
Otis-Bison 58, Macksville 23
OTIS — The Otis-Bison defense kept Macksville from scoring until the second quarter.
The Lady Cougars jumped ahead 27-4 by halftime, and held on to win.
Janel Tammen led Otis-Bison with 19 points.
Joining her in double figures were Kim Pechanec with 17 points and Hannah Bannister with 11.
Freshman Tara Bunker led the Lady Mustangs with six points.
At Otis
Tuesday
GIRLS
Otis-Bison 58, Macksville 23
MACKSVILLE (1-17)
Melissa Espino 2 1-1 5, Kristina Murphy 1 0-0 2, Bri Evans 0 1-2 1, Tara Bunker 1 4-4 6, Karissa Langlois 0 1-2 1, Kiley Freeman 2 0-0 4, Clara Cross 0 0-0 0, Mindy Wood 2 0-0 4. Totals 8 7-9 23.
OTIS-BISON (8-9)
Annie Krainsinger 2 0-0 4, Dekota Nelson 0 0-2 0, Katie Tammen 0 0-2 0, Carla Classen 0 0-0 0, Hannah Bannister 5 0-0 11, Kim Pechanec 5 7-9 17, MacKinzie Boone 1 1-2 3, Janel Tammen 7 5-6 19. Totals 23 13-21 58.
Macksville 0 4 12 7 — 23
Otis-Bison 14 13 22 9 — 58
Three-point goals — Otis-Bison 3 (Bannister); Macksville (none).
Ellinwood 54, Larned 28
ELLINWOOD — Ellinwood led by 14 points at the halfway point, and held on to beat Larned.
The Lady Eagles were led by Sophia Hayes, who finished with 14 points.
Darri Beckwith added 11 points.
Roxy Foster, Maci Perez and Danette Unruh each scored six points to lead the Lady Indians.
At Ellinwood
Tuesday
GIRLS
Ellinwood 54, Larned 28
LARNED (2-13)
Roxy Foster 1 4-8 6, Bailey Schartz 1 1-4 3, Reagan Quick 0 0-0 0, Jodie Skelton 0 3-4 3, Kristal Duft 0 1-2 1, Maci Perez 3 0-1 6, Katie Seeman 1 0-0 2, Danette Unruh 3 0-0 6, Tiara Diaz 0 0-2 0, Jessie Johnson 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 10-23 28.
ELLINWOOD (6-11)
Sophia Hayes 5 4-8 14, Oma Thomas 0 0-2 0, Jenna Snell 0 0-0 0, Bailey Schartz 0 0-0 0, Amanda Tucker 0 0-0 0, Darri Beckwith 4 0-0 11, Brooke Panning 0 0-0 0, Rachel Doll 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Ward 4 1-2 9, Kenzie Corbett 4 0-0 8, Tawny Arndt 1 0-0 2, Linsey Zink 2 1-4 5. Totals 21 7-18 54.
Larned 2 10 7 9 — 28
Ellinwood 14 12 13 15 — 54
Three-point goals — Larned (none); Ellinwood 3 (Beckwith).
Central Plains 66, Ness City 29
CLAFLIN — Janae Hekele scored 16 points to lead Central Plains past Ness City, scoring seven in the first quarter as the Lady Oilers took a 19-8 lead.
Lindsey Woodmansee added 13 points and Jennifer Hitschmann finished with 10 for Central Plains.
Jessie Rohbottom led Ness City with 12 points.
At Claflin
Tuesday
GIRLS
Central Plains 66, Ness City 29
NESS CITY
Erin Flax 4 0-0 9, Joni Johnson 0 0-0 0, Allison Seib 0 0-0 0, Kylie Stoecklein 1 0-0 2, Bree Humburgh 1 0-0 2, Calin Foos 0 0-2 0, Jessie Rohbottom 5 2-2 12, Kenzie Stoecklein 1 1-2 3, Ashleigh Seib 1 0-2 2, Tristan McNicker 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 3-8 29.
CENTRAL PLAINS (12-5)
Janae Hekele 7 0-0 16, Breanna Holmes 0 0-0 0, Katie Hipp 2 0-0 4, Sydney Rugan 4 1-1 9, Amanda Lewis 3 0-0 6, Miranda Burton 2 1-2 5, Jennifer Hitschmann 4 2-2 10, Lindsey Woodmansee 4 2-2 13, Abby Holmes 1 0-0 2, Stacey Bohnke 0 1-1 1. Totals 27 7-8 66.
Ness City 8 3 9 9 — 29
Central Plains 19 17 21 9 — 66
Three-point goals — Ness City 1 (Flax); Central Plains 5 (Woodmansee 3, Hekele 2).
BOYS
Ness City 49, Central Plains 41
CLAFLIN — Both teams stayed close, but Ness City pulled away in the final quarter to beat Central Plains.
The Oilers were led by Benn Kirmer, who finished with nine points.
Layne Bieberle added eight points.
At Claflin
Tuesday
BOYS
Ness City 49, Central Plains 41
NESS CITY
D. Gantz 3 1-2 10, D. Clarke 7 7-7 26, M. Frank 2 0-0 4, C. Foos 2 2-2 6, K. Ratliff 0 0-0 0, T. Vonlehe 1 1-2 3, W. Beckman 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 11-15 49.
CENTRAL PLAINS (7-10)
Layne Bieberle 3 0-0 8, Benn Kirmer 2 5-9 9, Patrick Hubbard 2 3-3 7, Tim Stueder 2 0-0 4, Joe Barton 0 0-0 0, Colton Zink 2 1-2 6, Bryce Straub 1 0-0 3, Evan Liebl 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 9-14 41.
Ness City 14 13 11 11 — 49
Central Plains 12 12 12 5 — 41
Three-point goals — Ness City 8 (Clarke 5, Gantz 3); Central Plains 4 (Bieberle 2, Zink, Straub).
Wichita Word of Life 52,
St. John 45
ST. JOHN — Wichita Word of Life gradually pulled away to beat St. John.
The Tigers were led by Spencer Nusser, who finished with a game-high 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
Esai Macias and Zuriel Reyes each added eight points for St. John, which travels to rival Macksville on Friday night.
At St. John
Tuesday
BOYS
Wichita Word of Life 52, St. John 45
WORD OF LIFE
Jones 4 1-2 9, Osimuegie 4 0-0 8, Begic 1 0-0 2, Jovanavic 3 0-0 6, Bozovic 5 0-1 10, Kacinas 4 4-4 12, Botica 2 1-2 5. Totals 23 6-9 52.
ST. JOHN (11-6)
Kade Kinnamon 1 2-6 4, Kinser Crissman 0 0-0 0, Omar Ramirez 0 0-0 0, Spencer Nusser 5 1-2 15, Esai Macias 3 2-2 8, Ethan Long 2 0-0 6, Dean Wade 2 0-0 4, Zuriel Reyes 2 2-2 8. Totals 15 7-12 45.
Word of Life 9 10 12 21 — 52
St. John 8 5 13 19 — 45
Three-point goals — Word of Life (none); St. John 8 (Nusser 4, Long 2, Reyes 2).
Ashland 63, Pawnee Heights 14
ROZEL — Ashland put the game out of reach by halftime, leading Pawnee Heights 43-5.
Jay Lueman led Ashland with 17 points.
The Tigers were led by Jacob Hardiman, who finished with six points.
— Kevin Price
