HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
At Larned
Larned 46, Dodge City 42
DODGE CITY
Ashley Stephenson 3 5-6 12, Brenna Briggs 6 1-2 16, Alexis Sanchez 0 0-0 0, Kesha Buckner 4 4-10 12, A’zlynn Thompson 1 0-0 2, Teghan Pencis 0 0-2 0, Ciera Lampe 0 0-0 0, Sophie Shaull 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 10-20 42.
LARNED (2-4)
Bailey Schartz 0 1-2 1, Kaliegh Deitrich 1 3-4 5, Katey Vratil 0 0-0 0, Katie Seeman 0 2-4 2, Dannette Unruh 0 0-0 0, Brittney Perez 5 6-14 17, Amanda Haberman 3 6-8 12, Brittanie Miller 1 4-8 7, Liberty Turner 0 2-2 2, Maris Delgadillo 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 24-42 46.
Dodge City 6 9 12 15 — 42
Larned 13 11 6 16 — 46
Three-point goals — Dodge City 4 (Briggs 3, Stephenson); Larned 2 (Perez, Miller).
LARNED — The Dodge City girls’ basketball team is the defending Western Athletic Conference champion and fourth-place finishers at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia last March.
Friday night, the Lady Demons were humbled by Class 3A Larned, 46-42.
“We picked up our game,” Larned head coach Allen Perez said. “We hustled. We did everything that we needed to do.”
The Lady Indians jumped ahead of Dodge City early, jumping to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter.
Larned looked to Brittney Perez and Amanda Haberman, who scored six and five points, respectively in the opening quarter.
Brittney Perez continued to boost her team, scoring another six points in the second quarter on her way to a game-high 17.
The Lady Indians took a 24-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We had a lot of layups in the first half,” Allen Perez said. “They played man on us and we just kept looking to get inside. They switched in the second half.”
The switch to a zone defense slowed the Lady Indians enough for Dodge City to close the gap to 30-27 at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Demons, led by Brenna Briggs, who finished with a team-high 16 points, was outscored 16-15 in the fourth quarter. Dodge City guards Ashley Stephenson and Kesha Buckner each finished with 12 points, and post player A’zlynn Thompson was plagued with foul trouble throughout and finished with just two points.
Larned went to the free-throw line 21 times in the final quarter, hitting 11 to stay just ahead of Dodge.
Allen Perez said that Haberman, who finished the game with 12 points, and Brittanie Miller, who added seven in the game, hit critical foul shots at the end of the game.
“They kept their composure at the end of the game,” Allen Perez said. “I think Haberman hit her foul shots to put us back on top and it was Brittanie Miller who sealed the game for us. They both hit some crucial shots for us in the fourth quarter.”
